After completing the define stage, the next step in the design process is to ideate. What this means is that the designer must now apply creativity to their work. Creativity is problem solving that is tangible, recognizable, and learnable. There is no limit to creativity and a person can improve and expand their mind through using it more. There are some things to keep in mind though when thinking creatively. Early on ideas may be more relevant to solving the problem but the amount of relevant ideas may decrease over time but a second wind of novel ideas can inspire creativity again. Motivation is the greatest challenge for a designer, not always time.
One process that can be used within ideate is play. A great analogy of play is practicing for a sport but if you never play a real game what good is practicing for? This process will expose people to failure which can be a fear of some people. The faster a person fails though the more quickly they can learn what does work and what doesn’t to help create a higher quality end product. Obstacles cannot be predicted or stopped always but what a designer can do is recognize them so that they are aware of their presence and can make adjustments accordingly.
The problem for people today is overcoming their fear of being creative and letting loose. On a recent Ted Talk that I watched, David Kelley talks about how people can unlock their creative confidence. This is a trait that everyone possesses, but it is up to everyone to use it because they may sometimes feel judged by what others say and choose to lock away their creativity for the fear of being wrong. He talks about how a psychologist by the name of Bandura, used techniques to help people unlock their “guided mastery” and overcome phobias they had. His work helped people who had a fear of snakes not only touch the snake but appreciate its beauty because anxiety was no longer in the way. The big picture though is that the people treated for their phobia were able to apply their ability to overcome fear in other aspects their life and gain a new confidence and self-efficacy. This can help in relationships, family, work, and community. This can also apply directly to the ideate process as well. People who have a fear of not being creative can be taken through steps to help create a sense of familiarity with experimenting with their ideas and creations. This helps to build confidence in their minds and have them see themselves as creative person.
When a person is able to realize their potential and creativity, then that allows them to unlock new and innovative ideas that can not only help themselves in life but also apply it to their work in helping others. A good example of this brought up by David is the story of Doug Dietz who designs medical equipment for hospitals. Kids were growing more and more afraid of MRI machines and being scanned which required hospitals to sedate them. So David decided to decorate and design one of the machines to look like a pirate ship to help eliminate fear and created a story about pirates. The number of kids who had to be sedated went from 80% to 10% because of his applied creativity.
When people discover these breakthroughs and ideas to solve problems that have been mulling over them for some time, they connect with what’s called the creative spirit. When the connection is made it inspires a new life style for a person to explore new techniques of how to do something, a desire to innovate and create, and bring dreams from a thought, to paper, and finally reality.
