At 11:40 AM 3/3/2003 +1100, davidsless wrote:
>In the meantime, is there anyone else on the list who would like to answer
>my question?
and the question was: "How will the idea of 'creativity' enable me to become a
better designer?"
Hi David,
Most of the theoretical abstractions need to be operationalized at several
levels in order to affect practice. And actually, even their
operationalizations can not affect practice directly. The concept of
creativity is so abstract that it is of use only to philosophers and
theorists. The roles of different definitions of creativity are to chart
viewpoints, directions for research, theoretical perspectives, etc. They
will lead to less abstract notions and so on until we enter the level of
practice guidelines and thinking skills.
No one should expect that indulging in design research will make him/her a
better designer. He/she will become a better theorist -- that's it. The
influence of abstract categories on practical skills is mediated so many
times by various sources that at the end it is difficult to estimate what
is the impact. Generally, a proper definition will direct a designer in the
right theoretical direction and way of seeing things, which in turn will
contribute to a more appropriate solution. However, things don't work
exactly this way and very often good theorists are just theorists and good
designers are good designers without theorizing.
We know all kinds of courses on creative writing. Last year, when we
discussed TRIZ, I asked the discussion list to send me useful methods for
writing a novel. It was my way to say that there are none. Otherwise, I
would have become a bestselling writter.
Also, the mechanisms of appropriating scholarly skills and developing
design capabilities are quite different. A philosopher of science is much
better than any designer in discussing issues of creativity. However, the
philosopher might not and surely is not able to design. We are talking
about proficiency in different classes of activities.
So much for now ...
Regards,
Lubomir
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