Week 11: Forced Connection - Presentation

For the last lesson of Creative Thinking, we had a final presentation where we had to come up with a whole new product in our groups with products we already have. By using all the concepts learnt in Creative Thinking, my group came up with an edible solid perfume with the items we have.

We also came up with a few packaging designs and even a brand name, called "Sweet Spot".

Reflection:

    After these 11 weeks of Creative Thinking, I am able to incorporate See, Think & Wonder, 10x2, Breaking the Rules, Brainstorming, Mind Mapping, Analogical Thinking, Forced Connection and S.C.A.M.P.E.R. into my thought process. It has lead us to come up with this idea for people on the go. My ability to think out of the box has increased over these few weeks and I am glad that I am able to learn these concepts which would play a crucial role in my creative thought process and creations.

Week 11: A Picture A Day

I had cake at this cafe in Bugis. I was surprised when it arrived in a bird cage.

I really like this shoe display in this shop. It is spacious and the shoes can all be seen clearly.

I saw this building near school. It has a bunch of 4 lettered words on it and it looks very cool. It is something different from the typical buildings you see in Singapore.

This red building stands out from the rest of the old, plain, white buildings around it. I really like the graffiti at the top of the building, it adds character to the building. 

There has been a trend now for reversible sequins and I have finally managed to test one out on my own. This pouch in a stationary store has reversible sequins, white on one side and iridescent on the other. 

I saw this display at a korean beauty store. It's replaceable BB cushion cases that you can buy separately. The numerous colour combinations and designs are very eye catching and allows users to have their own sense of individuality when using the product.

Reflection:

   Innovation, creativity and individuality lets things stand out from the rest. Although some may seem gimmicky, they bring uniqueness to the scene and even bring business. These products are something different from the norm, and people would buy them because of that. In my very own works and creations, I should try to incorporate uniqueness and even find my own sense of individuality and unique style.

Week 10: A Picture A Day

This was on the ceiling of an elevator. The small shattered mirrors gives the illusion that it's falling from the top. It is very detailedly placed and is a nice installation that deserves attention.

Managed to see this along the hallways and it has inspired me to try something similar and paint on mirrors as I really like the effect it gives.

This marbling effect on the tile is elegantly painted on. I hope to do something similar to this in the future. 

I was shading with my pencil when I noticed that all the shading has caused multiple angular cuttings on the led. How the light reflects off it and the shadows sink in gives it an aesthetic look.

This art work can be found at ION gallery. There are multiple intended tears and rips across the canvas and the effect it gives is fascinating. It gives me inspiration to learn from it. 

This is my prep for another class where I have to form corrugation to form the sculpture. It was tiring but I'm amazed that I could make something like this.

I saw this in the display cabinets on the 4th floor of campus 1. So much work must have been put in it to design and sculpt this intricate model. The movement of the sculpture fascinates me.

Reflection:

   After seeing all these this week, it made me think and wonder "What is art?" 

   Art is subjective. Something that someone sees as an art, may not be seen as a form of art by another. It has also stuck me with awe with all the things a pair of hands can actually create. There are numerous mediums and inspirations that we can use to form art. I have only been exposed to a few and I aspire to widen my field and cultivate my skills in a variety of mediums. To learn and better myself.

Week 10: Forced Connection & Empathy - Reflection

Empathy:  the awareness of the feelings and emotions of other people, putting one in another's shoe. 
It is the key element of Emotional Intelligence and it is vital among the communication and understanding between one another.

We learnt in class that there were 3 main elements of empathy, understanding others, developing others and having a service orientation.
By understanding others, we show sensitivity and understand others' perspectives, which then enables us to help others from the knowledge of their needs and feelings.
Developing others is acting on their needs and concerns, which helps them develop to their full potential, such as mentoring and tutoring others.
Having a service orientation puts the needs of customers first and looking for ways to improve their satisfaction and loyalty.

Empathy is something we should hone when designing for customers and it would build stronger bonds with others.


This week, we also learnt the concept of SCAMPER

S.ubstitute
C.ombine
A.dapt
M.odify
P.ut to other use
E.liminate
R.earrange

Substitute

• Think how the rules can be changed
• Can you change the texture, colour or smell?
• Can I use other mediums?
• Trigger words: Alternate, Exchange, Rename, Switch

Combine

• What ideas or parts can be combined?
• What can be combined to maximise the number of uses?
• Can I merge it with other objects?
• Trigger words: Link, Bring together, Relate, Merge

Adapt

• Is there something similar to it, but in a different context?
• Whom could I emulate?
• What ideas outside my field can I incorporate?
• Trigger words: Incorporate, Transform, Contextualise

Modify/Eliminate

• How can I simplify it?
• Should I split it into different parts?
• What if i changed the size?
• Can the rules be eliminated?
• What's unnecessary?

Rearrange

• Can I rearrange my way of thinking?
• What about reversing the order?

Reflection:

    SCAMPER has allowed me to plan out my creative thoughts clearly by following the concepts and question that follows each concept. It has lead me to greater conclusions and creations. What else can I use SCAMPER for? 

Week 9: A Picture A Day

This beautiful display in a cafe around bugis captured my attention while I was having my meal. The plants really rejuvenated the room, with the sky light window allowing light to highlight the plants. It makes me feel calm and serene.

These diagonal lines bursting from the corner of the side walk interested me. The directions of the lines clash with one another and makes me feel distraught.

I bought this extra large squid snack on my way home from school and this packaging struck me with awe. Despite being made of plastic, the design of the bag gave the illusion that it was made of wood, giving it a very comfortable, homely feel inspired by the Japanese.

On my way to Little India, I noticed the design of the ceiling of this mall. Rarely do we ever notice such details but they add a certain ambience to the place.

Oversleeping on the bus, I missed my stop and had to walk back. I chanced upon this deserted looking area, despite being in town. It felt eerie and abandoned.

Little might notice this little detail, but this can be found near the graffiti wall in school. The amber-coloured plastic complimented the black frame and white wall while still being able to stand out.

I managed to get this shot on the 65th floor of IONsky. It was such an inspiring and stunning view, and it was a very different point of perspective from what we typically see from.

Reflection:

   Seeing things from a different point of perspective can really inspire one's creativity, be it seeing things from a much higher angle or a lower angle. Making mistakes and having a change of plan might also lead one to a better, more creative path. Decorative displays and innovative design packaging are able to influence the user's emotions and mood and should be appreciated more.

Week 9: Force Connection

Forced Connection: Combining 2 or more unrelated things together to express a new message.

It can also be called Cross Fertilisation, whereby the original idea is developed from the union of concepts or ideas previously regarded as unrelated.

The greatest example I can give of a product of Forced Connection is the smartphone. This modern technological device combines hundreds of ideas together to form it, such as the access to music, the internet, the calculator, calls from the phone, messaging, ect.

Other examples would be the luggage, which combines a bag and wheels, and the pencil, which combines wood with lead and a rubber.



Another activity we did in class was problem solving using random words and visuals. It allows us to break the boundaries we made for ourselves with ideas and allows us to create new ideas by the forced association of words and images.

We combined each adjective with each object.

Adjective:

• Passionate
• Sad
• Brave
• Creative
• Greedy
• Hardworking

Object:

• Pencil
• Clock 
• Computer Mouse
• Cup
• Plug
• Candle

Reflection:

   This activity as allowed me to tear down the general consensus and ideologies society has built on me and come up with abstract and innovative ideas. The things I came up with are mostly very unorthodox and would probably not leave this page and hit the market, but it was a fun activity for me to explore different ideas and generate these creations. 

Week 8: Analogy Quiz - Reflection

   On the 8th lesson, we did a few online quizzes on analogies online in class. There were a variety of quizzes, I have decided to give an example of each kind below.


Type 1:

  A good way to figure out the relationship in a given question is to make up a sentence that describes the relationship between the first two words. Then, try to use the same sentence to find out which of the answer choices completes the same relationship with the third word.

Type 2:

Choose the picture that would go in the empty box so that the two bottom pictures are related in the same way as the top two are related.

Type 3:

The words in the bottom row are related in the same way as the words in the top row. For each item, find the word that completes the bottom row of words.

Type 4:

Every one of the following questions consists of a related pair of words, followed by five pairs of words. Choose the pair that best represents a similar relationship to the one expressed in the original pair of words.

Type 5:

Choose the pair that best represents a similar relationship to the one expressed in the original pair of words.

credits: http://www.indiabix.com/logical-reasoning/analogies/

Reflection:

These analogy quizzes have widened my perspective of how things can be in relation to another. I should remind myself to reflect on analogies to bounce off ideas from them, who knows? I might even come up with a better idea than what I would have previously