COP3 : Practical - Website research

WEB

As a am creating a website I felt it was necessary to look at other websites out there that deal with creative matter. It's been really useful to see that there are such platforms as it shows there are people interested in creativity an its byproducts.


Flight Of insight -

I have been in conversation with a designer in Canada Laurie Millotte. She contacted me thought Linkdin and told me to keep in touch, so I took this opportunity to ask her if she would be one of the designers I interview for my dissertation she said yes, and I discovered she also has a key interest in this area of graph design and creative thought and has created a website, flights of insight, where she showcases peoples creative talents through the concept of a plane journey. There are also other bits on there like 'in flight entertainment' where Lauire posts interesting things circulating creativity. I have found this website very useful in my research as it directed me to lots of things to further research.

It's Nice That -

It's Nice That is a website dedicate to spreading creativity in all forms that circulate under the umbrella of 'arts sector' such as photography, fashion, architecture, graphic design, film, illustration, music. It is great to have such a huge resource of creative output as often people who do find themselves in a creative profession such a graphic design, they will usually hold an interest and appreciation of other creative products. It's nice that also includes interviews which delve deeper into the workings of the creative which is often insightful and very useful for my study project.

Ycn

Ycn features an area on their website called 'Creative Cultures' Where they interview designers and studios about their creative endeavours. It is really interesting how differently each studio/ designer answers the set questions. It is also quite refreshing to hear about their personal approach to their chosen discipline area and their opinion, how they run things, their process etc rather than hearing about their work specifically it's more of a broad scope which allows you to build a clear vision of how they approach their work. The idea of having set questions works really well as a way of comparing opinions, this is something that I will consider doing in my practical

COP3 : Refined Chapter structure

Chapter Structure:

From the last tutorial with Simon he advised me to make a structured chapter list ASAP. I thought I 
had my structure sorted but when I looked over it, it was clear to see that I needed to outline my chapters more specifically. To gain this focus I wrote down all the things I wanted to cover, this list was as follows -

- Introduction
- What is creativity
-How to test creativity
- Process of creativity 
- Biological side
- Environments of developing creativity - school - college } education
- History 
- How to harness creativity
- Stages of creativity


Looking at this list and comparing it to my previous structure is made it easier to group things together and form well rounded chapters. From further researching of the definition of creativity I discovered a theory of how to define a creativity the 4 p's. I want to apply this way of defining creativity directly to graphic design to highlight the importance that innovation has within the field of design. The chapters will run as -

- Intro

Chapter 1:
- How is creativity developed

Chapter 2:
- How does education today develop or constrain creativity 

Chapter 3:
- The 4 p's and graphic design

- Conclusion


To help me have focus in my chapters and not go off on a tangent I have stated what needs to be covered in each chapter :

Graphic design – from education to industry

Education and constraints in creativity

Working title:  How is creativity developed in the graphic designer?

Definitions of creativity:

Dictionary

Artistic

Philosophical

Definitions of creativity from graphic design industry (what they are about)

………………………………………..

Chapter One – How is creativity developed?

Look at the right side/left side of the brain

How does the creative part of the brain develop physiologically?

Which tests show creativity – divergent thinking tests

Which circumstances allow the development of creativity?

What enables creative potential? Experiments show - sit still for 2 mins – doesn’t make more creative. mundane tasks – makes more creative

…………………………………………

Chapter Two – How does education today develop or constrain creativity?

Art – from education to industry

Intro -  how do schools approach creativity – curriculum defined & about passing exams

How does art education in primary schools develop or constrain creativity?

How do Steiner schools develop or constrain creativity?

How does higher education develop or constrain creativity?

How do students progress from the educational environment to becoming a graphic designer?

Are the requirements in education different from those of industry?

Chapter Three

The four (or six) ps

Process

·       of the brain (physiology)

·       of creative thinking

·       what are the designers’ (at least 4) creative processes – e-mail them/interview

Product

·       types of graphic design

·       immediate impact of graphic design

Personality (person)

Place

Persuasion

Potential

Step further – good communication in graphic design

Conceptual graphic design

In conclusion, this dissertation set out to investigate………………………..it has found that……………

(recommendations for improvement in education/industry?)

the freedom and constraints that education often brings can be seen as positive factors which prepare the graphic design student for what can be the realities of industry.

COP3 : Tutorial 2

Tutorial 2 :

Feedback -

In this tutorial we spoke about ways of making the essay relevant to graphic design, this could be done through talking about how education tries to contain creativity but the concept of constraint and restriction is something which graphic designers come up agains all the time through client briefs, there are allows deliverables. 

It was mentioned that I should look into the philosophical views on creativity. I agree with this and have a list of philosophies to look into.

The plan that has been advised to me is to define creativity first being thorough and talking through theories, phycologists reviews, science etc then apply the discoveries to graphic design adapting them. I need to make the essay flow logically, take what I have learnt through science and how to adapt it to harness creative thinking in graphic design (which could be showcased through practical produce a series of strategies to harness creativity.

I need to ask designers if they consciously consider if they are creative / if they use strategies. I need to find out how they solve briefs, what specifically relates graphic design to creativity a posed to other fields.

I need to analyse and weigh up what method I want to use to interview the graphic designers.

Plan:

- I need to complete a chapter structure ASAP so that I know exactly what I am doing in each chapter

- I need to contact the graphic designers 

- Decide on design outcome

COP3 : Tests for creativity

creativity tests

COP3 : primary research questionnaire

General Public questionnaire

To gauge a better understanding of what the general public thinks about creativity, more specifically what they think defines creativity, I devised a questionnaire.

The questions that were proposed are as follows :

- What do you think 'Creativity' is?

- Do you think you are creative?

- If you answered yes, what do you think is 'creative' about yourself, if you answered no why do you think you are not 'creative'?

- If you answered yes to being creative, do you think it helps you in your profession?

- Do you have any comments about 'creativity'?

These questions will take the format of a survey monkey questionnaire. I have decided to use this format as it is a useful way to generate many responses from a wide selection of people. The results will be used to gain an understudying of the definition of creativity and what people think makes them creative whether its the obvious thing like, 'I paint' or the more accurate description of 'I join unrelating ideas and form new connection in my mind to try and solve problems'.

Results :

COP3 : Visual research for practical

Visual research for practical :

Left store by Arthur Foliard -

Interesting concept for appealing to the left handed person, who is in theory 'right brain' dominant and there fore more creative in thought
"LEFT is a concept store that offers cultural products related to left-handed people in order to give a different point of view about them. 
LEFT gets people interested in left-handed people through their center of interest: literature, theater, art, music, objects, etc.
It is also the opportunity for left-handed people to get objects that suit them."

D&AD - 

The Brief

Create a brochure promoting D&AD Workout – a professional development training programme, offering a range of courses and workshops to individuals working in design and advertising.

The Solution

A brochure was created that challenges the reader through a series of witty questions that play on the idea of lost inspiration, emphasising the relevance of the programme to a creative audience.

By printing only black on to different coloured paper stocks, we produced cost-effective, engaging brochures that were colour coded into sections.

really interesting concept for a way of encouraging and promoting creativity 

Faces -

I really enjoy this concept of changing a picture into what ever you like by drawing over it. It alters it and makes it instantly into something of your own. It is way of seeing something in a different way which will allow different connection to build up in the brain and make you think more creatively. This idea of defacing a face could work well as break page.

Lets Make Some Great Art -

This is a great book and website that encourages creativity in the form of art.  It makes the person see an ordinary thing in a creative way, like a finger print, changing it into what ever the mind can see. It is engaging and interactive and a good example of how a range can work across print and digital

COP3 : book - Cambridge handbook to creativity

Cambridge handbook to creativity 

Kaufman, J. C. and Sternberg, R. J. 2010. The Cambridge handbook of creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

This book has been by far the best, most useful book in terms of research. I was struggling to find theorists into creativity, I had many scientists, psychologists and authors of books, but no theorists which was troubling me as I need theorist for my essay. This book has introduced me to many theories and theorists of creativity. I now feel more comfortable about my essay and feel I have gained much more information and knowledge into my subject area.

a list of some of the theorists:

- Runco (2008)
- Barron (1995) , Feist (1998, 1999)  } Personality
- Martindale (1999) } Biological
- Nickerson (1999) } Improvement
- Galton (1969) (hereditary genius) } Development
- Gaynor and Runco (1998) (families and development of creativity , middle child rebel etc) } Development
  Solloway (1996)
- Ayman-Nolley (1999) Pearson, Russ & Cain Spannagel (2008) Russ & Schafer, (2006)
   (play and creativity) }development
- Albert & Runco (1999), Helson(1999) Plucker (1999), Subotnik &Arnold (1996) ( Development of creativity, Trust     
  worthy long investigation }Development

COP3 : Practical Final Concept rationale - product - Range - Distribution.

Concept -

Product :

For my practical I am going to create a range that explores graphic designers and creativity. 'Creative' the word has such negative reviews, it tends to make people pull a face when someone says it, it is seen as a dirty word tarnished. But I really don't understand the problem with it since if you look at the bigger picture, creative thought has got the world to where it is today, would anyone who is classed as 'creative' really rather be maths a junkys (stereotype just for effect, obviously people can still be creative and good at maths). So I want to create something that celebrates and harnesses creativity.

The audience for my outcome is graphic designers, both professional and students, male and female, ages 18 -35.


Range:

My range will break down into three -

Magazine, book, website

I have decided to do this range as the study into the brain and creativity is so current at them moment and moving forward faster than ever, so I want to propose something that can move with the new research. The book will act as the one constant, but the magazine and website will be able to be updated at altered for new discoveries.

Book -

The book will include a break down of how to get over creative hurdles, it will also try and break down the connection between graphic design and creative thought.

Magazine-

The magazine will be more focused on specific graphic designers. It would be a mouthing magazine where each issue would feature different graph designers, asking questions to gain insight into their designing process and what their views are on creativity and graphic design, whether they embrace it and it's just students who pull a face? who knows - will find out.

Website -

The website will feature a whole hose of different things to do with creativity , how to become more creative, how to get over the creative hurdle, interviews, articles, new studies. It will be something that doesn't have any rules about what is uploaded as long as it is relevant to creativity and graphic design and evolving the designer.

COP3 : Working Bibliography

References

To make sure I don't have the gruelling task of compiling a bibliography at the end I am doing it as I go to make it a bit more manageable. Not everything will end up in my finished bibliography but it will be useful to have a full resource of references ready to use.

Austin, J. H. 2003. Chase, chance, and creativity. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Gazzaniga, M. 2002. The split brain revisited. Special Editions.

Jarrett, C. 2012. Why the Left-Brain Right-Brain Myth Will Probably Never Die. [online] Available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-myths/201206/why-the-left-brain-right-brain-myth-will-probably-never-die [Accessed: 25th september 2013].

Johnson, S. 2010. Where good ideas come from. New York: Riverhead Books.

Lehrer, J. 2008. The eureka hunt. New Yorker.

Mednick, S. 1962. The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological review, 69 (3), p. 220.

Moore, E. 2007. How to kill creativity ten easy steps. Industry and Higher Education, 21 (5), pp. 337--343.

RSA. 2010. RSA Edge Lecture with Sir Ken Robinson - Changing Paradigms. [video online] Available at: http://www.thersa.org/events/video/archive/sir-ken-robinson [Accessed: 30th october 2013].

Sethi, R., Smith, D. C. and Park, C. W. 2002. How to kill a team's creativity. Harvard Business Review, 80 (8), pp. 16--17.

Strawberry. 2013. Divergent thinking tests. [online] Available at: http://educationmuseum.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/divergent-thinking-tests/ [Accessed: 22 sep 2013].

The Creative Brain: How Insight Works. 2013. [TV programme] BBC, channel two, 27th june.

COP3 : Video

Vimeo :


Wonderland | A Short Form Doc on Creative Commerce from Eskimo on Vimeo.


After talking to John I wanted to explore creativity videos on Vimeo. Here is one I found about creative profession and that battle between client led work and personal work:

WonderLand -

This is a video talking to creatives within the industry about creativity within the commercial world. People don't feel the work they do for clients belongs to them it the clients work. The money that they gain from doing commercial work often goes straight back into the work they do for love and passion. The general feel is that when working with clients you can not be precious with your work you have to allow changes and let the work go at the end. At times you will find that perfect balance, things happen and clients allow you to do what you want and get paid, this is the perfect situation to be in. The final advise is do all work for the love and passion,  and you will succeed. Also be active don't sit around waiting for things to happen make them happen.

This video was really useful to gain an insight into opinion on creativity and client briefs. There is a tendency to think that a client will let you do what you want but that is not always the case as seen in this video. It was also interesting to see that people do take on briefs purely for the money, but that money then gets plugged into projects that they do for the love, that is the power of the intrinsic motivation.

COP3 : Feedback John

John Watters

As John is experienced in contacting and talking with Graphic designers who work within industry I decided to use a tutorial I had scheduled with him to talk through the questions I had prepared to send to professional designers. His advise was to keep the number of questions down to a minimum as it will seem less time consuming for the recipient to do, and time is not something that working professionals have on their hands. It is also beneficial to make the questions not too intimidating in length or language or not to sound pretentious. When contacting professional it is important to maintain a level of professionalism but also to be friendly and represent your personality.

Other advise John gave me to do with my dissertation is......


I sent John the revised questions to get is feedback and this was my reply.....

Hi John,

Following our talk we had the other week, I was just wondering if I could get some feed back on the questions I have written to send out to designers.. they are below:

Is the process of coming up with an idea quite mechanical or is more of a sudden moment of inspiration?

What do you think the importance of 'creativity' is within Graphic Design?

Do you harness what 'creativity' you have or do you think it can be developed further?

I'm struggling to word the bottom one, does it make any sense? I have also made a quick survey monkey, just to generate a wider range of opinions..

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FSSFNRV

any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,

Suzanne

Hi Suzanne,

I completed your survey, it is a simplistic one and what is good about it is that it allows the responder to be 'creative' and individual in the answers. Especially the last one. As I probably have said before, being creative is like being a nurse, a vicar or a nun, it is what I feel is a calling from somewhere in our psyche that demands us to do what we do?

This may not help, but it is my view and if you want to discuss further...anytime.

Best as ever

John

Hi Suzanne,

Just thinking about:

Do you harness what 'creativity' you have or do you think it can be developed further?

I feel we build on cumulative experience in creative work, all ideas can be developed, it is simply the

application of 'relevant' data and research to achieve a directed outcome. The extent we apply this use of creative thought is

to answer a specific brief. However we should be aware of the fact that there are more possibilities above and beyond the

brief, meaning creativity is endless. That is why we need to review our work and critique what our desired outcomes really are

and not simply running out of time. Like creativity time is endless too.

Best

John

I still think some of the questions need work as I want them to be spot on and relevant to what I want to find out otherwise this bit of primary research would become unusable which would be a shame.

COP3 : Meaning of Creativity

Definition of creativity

It is very clear from the vast array of definitions that creativity is something which is hard to define. Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what creativity is, who is creative etc, which is interesting as it proves that it is something that people assume they know what it is when in actually fact it is clear that it is very hard to know exactly how to define creativity, even the dictionary definition is very fluffy and does not commit to one definition as it can be taken in many different ways and applied however you want to interpret it. One thing that all the definitions do have in common is the concept that creativity is based around an idea, this is a good starting point to deal with when addressing defining creativity as all creative actions and thought process stem from an idea, and that idea blossoms on to become that something new and of value to society.

Dictionary:

-  The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness 

Sir Ken Robinson:

- The process of having original ideas that have value

http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/creativity/define.htm - 20.11.13

- What is creativity?

From Human Motivation, 3rd ed., by Robert E. Franken: 

• Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. (page 396)

• Three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:
1. need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
2. need to communicate ideas and values
3. need to solve problems (page 396)

• In order to be creative, you need to be able to view things in new ways or from a different perspective. Among other things, you need to be able to generate new possibilities or new alternatives. Tests of creativity measure not only the number of alternatives that people can generate but the uniqueness of those alternatives. the ability to generate alternatives or to see things uniquely does not occur by change; it is linked to other, more fundamental qualities of thinking, such as flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity or unpredictability, and the enjoyment of things heretofore unknown. (page 394)

From Creativity - Beyond the Myth of Genius, by Robert W. Weisberg.

• ..."creative" refers to novel products of value, as in "The airplane was a creative invention." "Creative" also refers to the person who produces the work, as in, ?Picasso was creative." "Creativity," then refers both to the capacity to produce such works, as in "How can we foster our employees' creativity?" and to the activity of generating such products, as in "Creativity requires hard work." (page 4)
• All who study creativity agree that for something to be creative, it is not enough for it to be novel: it must have value, or be appropriate to the cognitive demands of the situation." (page 4)

From Creativity - Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

• Ways that "creativity" is commonly used:
1. Persons who express unusual thoughts, who are interesting and stimulating - in short, people who appear to unusually bright.
2. People who experience the world in novel and original ways. These are (personally creative) individuals whose perceptions are fresh, whose judgements are insightful, who may make important discoveries that only they know about.
3. Individuals who have changes our culture in some important way. Because their achievement are by definition public, it is easier to write about them. (e.g., Leonardo, Edison, Picasso, Einstein, etc.) (pages 25-26)

• The Systems Model of Creativity: (pages 27-28)
1. the creative domain, which is nested in culture - the symbolic knowledge shred by a particular society or by humanity as a whole (e.g., visual arts)
2. the field, which includes all the gatekeepers of the domain (e.g., art critics, art teachers, curators of museums, etc.)
3. the individual person, who using the symbols of the given domain (such as music, engineering, business, mathematics) has a new idea or sees a new pattern, and when this novelty is selected by the appropriate field for inclusion into the relevant domain

• Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one...What counts is whether the novelty he or she produces is accepted for inclusion in the domain." (page 28)
  
• Characteristics of the creative personality: (pages 58-73)
1. Creative individuals have a great deal of energy, but they are also often quiet and at rest.
2. Creative individuals tend to be smart, yet also naive at the same time.
3. Creative individuals have a combination of playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility.
4. Creative individuals alternate between imagination and fantasy ant one end, and rooted sense of reality at the other.
5. Creative people seem to harbor opposite tendencies on the continuum between extroversion and introversion.
6. Creative individuals are also remarkable humble and proud at the same time.
7. Creative individuals to a certain extent escape rigid gender role stereotyping and have a tendency toward androgyny.
8. Generally, creative people are thought to be rebellious and independent.
9. Most creative persons are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.
10. The openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often exposes them to suffering pain yet also a great deal of enjoyment.

http://celestra.ca/top-10-creativity-definitions/

top 10 creative definitions

What exactly is creativity and how can you improve and nurture it?  Researchers define creativity as the development of ideas, products, or solutions that are perceived both as (a) unique and novel and (b) relevant and useful. You can find below 10 of the best definitions I have found from published literature and online sources.

“Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.” – Robert E. Franken, Human Motivation

“’Creative’ refers to novel products of value, as in ‘The airplane was a creative invention.’ ‘Creative’ also refers to the person who produces the work, as in, ‘Picasso was creative.’ ‘Creativity,’ then refers both to the capacity to produce such works, as in ‘How can we foster our employees’ creativity?’ and to the activity of generating such products, as in ‘Creativity requires hard work.’” – Robert W. Weisberg, Creativity – Beyond the Myth of Genius

“Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one… What counts is whether the novelty he or she produces is accepted for inclusion in the domain.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Creativity – Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

“Creativity is nothing more than seeing and acting on new relationships, thereby bringing them to life.” – Joseph V. Anderson, Weirder than fiction: the reality and myths of creativity

“Creativity is generating new ideas and concepts, or making connections between ideas where none previously existed.” – Mitchell Rigie and Keith Harmeyer, SmartStorming

“Creativity is the ability to find new solutions to a problem or new modes of expression; thus it brings into existence something new to the individual and to the culture.” – Dr. Betty Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

“I define creativity as the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don’t act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.” – Linda Naiman, Creativity At Work

“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.” – Rollo May, The Courage to Create

“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought.” – Einstein, quoted in Creativity, Design and Business Performance

“Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality. The process involves original thinking and then producing.” –

COP3 : Refined structure

Refined Structure:

After the tutorial with Simon I was able to pinpoint certain areas that I am interested in and re structure the essay so that it is more focused and with a more obvious association and focus on graphic design. Through the re structure of the essay a new working title was developed.

Working title : How is creativity developed in the graphic designer?

Definition of creativity:

- Dictionary
- Artistic definition
- Philosophical
- Definitions of creativity from graphic design industry

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

- Look at the right side/left side of the brain
- Developing physiologically? as well as in ability
- Tests
- Which circumstances allow the development of creativity?
- Experiments show - sit still for 2 mins doesn't make more creative - doing a mundane task improves creative thought

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Art - from education to industry
- Art in education - how schools approach creativity - curriculum defined and about passing exams
- Primary schools
- Steiner schools
- (home schooling)
- How do students progress from the teaching/constraints of teaching in a school environment to becoming a graphic designer? - different requirements at university - teaching for industry
- good communication in graphic design
- conceptual graphic designer

Now that I have my focus on graphic design I need to check it over with Simon again and find some relevant books etc that will give me theorist who have looked into similar things.

COP3 : Lecture 3

Lecture three -

Methodologies and critical analysis:

text heavy presentation self referral to the studio PowerPoint is advisable.

– You must have a clear methodological focus

– this is level VI critical writing, so it got to be good

– mainly marked in written element

– the synthesis will happen more on the blog

methods:

how is the information you have found source, collected/collated/presented

– write 100 words a plan of your methodologies, quantitative qualitative and so on

– that is a great steel thought analyse

– clearly thinking about where and what sort of research you are going to look at and which you will ignore

– get enough so that it will not be biased back up your points

– shows you are in control of research project

– a way of approaching focus and getting to the core

– what methods and approaches will get to the point

– most appropriate not just doing a survey for the sake of it

the following is what happens in the introduction to your essay:

– organised the principles of your essay

– approve  and enquiry rate of your essay

– think about limitations each methodology has one.

– Methodology is distinct from theory

– theory is just a particular lens that you have looked at the world through

– theory should not be the be all and end all

– what a theory is necessary which relate, fuse theories

– possible person to look at Shannon Weaver – mathematical communication theory model

– different lens theory gives a different outcome on the same object

action research:

practice-based research

experiment –  act of making– research 

– same critical rigour, evaluate, document, reflect record, improve

– needs theory, a critical lens

– you need a methodology and theory

– attempts to write out a sketch of methodology and theory

– how to collect information/structure

– which theories use/reject at least one theory should be used

– apply to study

– outline in introduction address sales in conclusion

critical analysis:

– outline ways we interpret and reach decisions

– how we interpret theories

– do not cause offence when talking about someone do it in a critical way

– created argument

– being critical is distancing oneself, it is not emotive it is critically informed

–Wittgen stein  Derek

duck rabbit. You can see even a duck or a rabbit. In life you usually report one way. but with this you can see both, and have to acknowledge they are both there. You can't make it one. In the conclusion you would acknowledge both.

– Not such thing as a neutral opinion

– state your take on things

– say something with conviction and packets up with research no wishy-washy. Make it clear

– different perspectives make different results

– being critical is important with theorists

– think about your take of your bias

– context is very important

– consider in your analysis everything you are going to include and content

– leave enough time for word development

– critical analysis is not just reporting the duck it's about not just looking at/analysing chapters, why was it written, when, applied to what think that context it was written in.

– Map the analysis into research

evidence:

– don't just make points, back them up with evidence quotes empirical evidence data

– every argument needs backing up

– not just one thing to back up arguments needs more

– evidence, reason, logic, argument

– research – thought – analysis needs to happen first

Triangulation:

– evidence you've looked at more than one source and been able to marry them together to make a critical point

– can be done with visuals research

COP3 : Primary research - Questions to ask professional graphic designers

Questions For Designers:

To gain a greater understanding about  creativity within graphic design, and also look at some opinions on what they think about creativity like if it can be developed, if there is a specialist area within graphic design that creativity is most important like for example publishing or branding etc. I also want to find out about what the creative process is for the designers and if they have any particular methods, this will be interesting to see if they match up with the research I have been conducting into ways of harnessing and developing creativity.

To makes sure I ask the right questions so I can cain as much as possible from the interviews I am going to draft them a few times and then decided then how I will conduct the interview either email, in person, phone etc.

This topics I want to cover are :

- Thoughts on creativity
- Where ideas come from
- Process of creativity
- What they think creativity is
- Importance of creativity within the discipline graphic design
- Benefits from harnessing creativity
- How they harness creativity
- Process of ideas
- Epiphany moments of insight
- Is creativity something they look for in perspective employees

The above is the original list I developed of topics. It was beneficial to get down all the possible subjects I want to cover / ask designers about, but there are obviously too many and some are the same sort of questions or could be covered with one question. The next job is to group them and the go from there

Group 1:
- Thoughts on creativity
- What they think creativity is

Group 2:
- Where ideas come from
- Epiphany moments of insight

Group 3 :

- Process of creativity
- Process of ideas 

Group 4:

- Benefits from harnessing creativity
- How they harness creativity


It is clear from the grouping that there are four topics to cover:

- Graphic designers opinion on creativity and if there is a particular specialist area within design that is most benefited from creative thinking

-Where the ideas for there work come from

- The process they go through when working on a brief

- How they develop their own personal creativity / if they think it can be developed/ it would be beneficial to do so.

I will now develop these four areas into well rounded questions so that I will get decent and useful feedback.

COP3 : Methodologies

Methodologies:

As the focus of my dissertation has narrowed down and become more specifically directed to my degree discipline I feel I should re address the research methodologies I proposed in my presentation.

The methodologies for gaining research that I think will be most useful to my project are:

- Interviews
- Questionaires
- Action research
- Case study
- Observations


Interviews

As my research project is now more focused on graphic design I will need to gain opinions from professional designers. I will be looking for designer opinions on creativity whiten the industry and how they develop their creativity etc. From talking to graphic designer I will be able to gauge an opinion about where the industry stand on a creative front. At this moment I do not know the question I will be asking but they will have to be well structured so that I can get the most out of the answers. I would like to get at least 3 interviews with graphic designer if not more as this allow me to be able to draw conclusions from the answers given.

Questionnaires

I will use questionnaires to draw up both qualitative and quantitive research. I want to gain a broad scale knowledge about the opinions surrounding creativity. I will also use more of a targeted questionnaire to gain feedback from specifically graphic designers / student graphic designers. This data will inform my research project and allow me to to have an insight into how people define creativity and allow me to form opinions.

Action research/ case study

I was planning on conduction my action research through using someone who does not believe they are creative and seeing if the research I looked into about how to develop creativity / if creativity can be develop is possible through seeing if said person can develop a more creativity thought pattern. This will now adapt to be more specifically about graphic design. Instead of seeing if a graphic design can develop creativity ( which they will be able to ) I am going to use the creativity tests that have been used for many years to determine creative potential in the student graphic designer and what scenarios allow most creative output. I will be able to put to use the information I have gathered about testing creativity into a real life situation and gain a better insight into the subject.

Observations

I was planning on conducting observation research through observing a graphic design studio on a normal day to see how the studio works and the processes that take place and also how the environment works amongst this. I have decided to not participate in this research as simon pointed out to me that looking at how the environment improve creative moment is more something to focus on if I was interested in furniture or interior design.

Plan

I want to have all my primary research done before christmas the order I will perform it is

1. Questionnaire
2. interview with graphic designers
3. case study / action research