Concept Notes

Preparing for the workshop, these are the questions i have: and my current thoughts

How do you develop a concept? - To develop a concept same as developing anything, process + time. Good concept meets the project goals, starting with strong project goals leads to a strong concept.

What makes a good concept? - still working on this answer. addresses the design brief, does more with less, unique, moral, redefine paradigms, solves problems, addresses cultural and societal values, contextual, basically a strong story...what story you want to tell and why you want to tell it? Is it a story we've heard already? There is value in originality, inventiveness, entrepreneurship, value innovation, decrease cost while increasing value to the user or client.

Why is it important? - Excellent design consists of two sides of the same coin, excellent content and excellent form. Another way to say this is good ideas and good communication of these ideas. Content is the message. Form is the expression of that message. Being strong in form or craft is only one side of the coin, excellent content is even more important. There are different philosophies regarding content and form. I usually default to Form as the expression of Content. I have also heard Content is form. Form is content.
Example GINA light from DesignworksBMW. GINA philosophy is the content, the message, the idea. The expression of this message, the form, is the changing fabrics, surfacing, alternate architecture, the physicality. Another example, from music, there is song and then there is the voice that sings the song, the song is the message, the singng is how that message is conveyed. Excellent music has excellent song or message and an excellent musician who can express the song through their voice or instrument. Same with writing. Good book has strong story and good writing to go with it.

Concept process? - The design process can also be applied to the concept development process. When developing a concept use the same process of research, evaluation, ideations, refinements, and final proposal. The specifics of process are constantly changing within this framework. Creativity applied to concept.

Time? - It takes time to develop anything. The idea of development implies a time characteristic.


05/21/09 Idea Quotes

“Everything begins with an idea.” Earl Nightingale

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.

“A single idea / the sudden flash of a thought / may be worth a million dollars.” Robert Collier

“A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” Victor Hugo

“You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea.” Pablo Picasso

"The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away." Linus Pauling

Define the problem, identify the constraints, understand the problem, identify the project goals, self, audience, identify the audience. knowing the audience helps to define the goals, defining the goals helps to arrive at solutions.

Research, explore, gather information relevant to your now defined problem.
Propose solutions. Refine solutions. Choose better solutions and develop further.

Concept definitions: is a cognitive unit of meaning— an abstract idea or a mental symbol sometimes defined as a "unit of knowledge," built from other units which act as a concept's characteristics. A concept is typically associated with a corresponding representation in a language or symbology such as a word. (wikipedia)