Author(s)

C. Dowlen

Abstract

The paper covers the development of a project aimed at first year design students starting out at university. This consists of a series of creative design techniques wrapped up in a managed project to design an animal. These techniques range from conventional processes such as specification writing and model making through to more off-the-wall techniques such as forced serendipity and genetic breeding processes. Students are also introduced to developmental processes such as structural design and systems design through the project. It is hoped to develop the project into an interactive tool for the development of creativity using the animal design project as an illustrative vehicle for the techniques. Keywords: creativity, animals, design methods, design projects, natural analogies, design education. 1 Introduction This project started out as a method of getting students on product design courses to think creatively from the start of their courses. The premise was that students need to be able not just to understand how the business of creativity works, but also need to put it into practice. This needed a vehicle for creative development skills; what was developed was the Design an Animal project. It was first used a decade ago and has been refined and developed, but the essential features have not changed significantly. It was recorded in a paper presented at ICED’05 . This paper looks in more detail at the specific exercises involved in the project and the connections between animals, creativity and methods.

Keywords

creativity, animals, design methods, design projects, natural analogies, design education.