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The 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers
DRS//CUMU 2015 Chicago, Illinois, USALUS//Design-ed
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
RaffaellaPERRONEa
aELISAVAEscolaSuperiordeDissenyiEnginyeriadeBarcelona|UniversitatPompeuFabra
*Correspondingauthore‐mail:rperrone@elisava.net
Abstract:Thepurposeofthispaperistohighlightfactorsthatplayarolein
definingstudents’creativity,withaspecialemphasisontherelationshipbetween
fantasyandcreativity.
Fantasyplaysacentralroleinconstructionofacreativeidea,butthistopic
generallyhasreceivedonlylimitedattentionandhasnotbeenembeddedin
theoreticalstudiesasaresearchsubjectinrelationtodesign.Thispaperbelieves
thatfantasyinteractssimultaneouslywithcreativityinthemind,andthemain
hypothesisisthatthemorewestimulatethisfantasythemorewenurture
creativity.
Inordertoestablishthetheoreticalframeworkofthisstudytheconceptof
fantasyisdefinedinrelationtocreativity,whenviewedfromthestandpointof
thedesigndiscipline.
Finallythepaperpresentstwocasestudiesinwhichwehavespecificallyworked
withgroupsoftwoorthreestudentstocreateprojectsfromafantasystory.In
bothcases,the“fantastical”approachfacilitatedthedevelopmentofindividual
andgroupcreativity.Thestudentsweregiventotalfreedomtomakedecisions
withregardtotheproject.
Keywords:Creativity,fantasy,designprocess.
RaffaellaPerrone
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Introduction
BetweentheproposedthemetracksbyLearnxDesignInternationalConference,this
paperfocusesontheDevelopingSystemsThinkingthatdesignschoolsshouldencourage,
motivateandinvestigateasmethodologicalstrategiestonurtureourstudents’mindand
creativity.
Ourstudents,asfuturedesigners,willbetheprofessionalswhowillshapethe"material
culture"ofourimmediateenvironment.Howcanweaskthemtobeinnovative,excellent
communicators,controlaestheticforms,understandthecomplexityofhumanandsocial
behaviour,mastertechnology,befamiliarwithmaterialsandunderstandbusinessifwe
firstdonotteachthemhowtothink?
AccordingtoFrenchphilosopherDescartes,humanbeingsaremadeupofaresextensa
—thebody—andarescogitans—themind.Fromanearlyagewetrainthebodyto
learntowalk,developfinemotorskillsandexertcontroloverallourmovements—tothe
pointthatwecanbecomeacrobats.However,veryfewpeopleworryabout“training”their
mindtobeflexibleandworkasanopensystem,beyondknowledgeacquisition,
memorisationandgoodbehaviour.
IwanttounderscoretheneedtoreflectonthistopicinthecontextoftheSpanish
educationalsystembecause,attheuniversitylevel,wearesufferingtheresultsofa
curriculumbasedonroteandbehaviourallearning.Currently,attentionspanandmemory
remaintwoprioritycapabilitiesforclassifyingstudents.Listeningpatientlyand
rememberingcarefullyeventodayconstitutethemainfeaturesofthemodelstudent!
Thecurrenteducationalsystemcontinuestoevaluatestudentsfortheirlearninglevel
andisbasedonevaluationsthatareexpressedinnumericalresults.Ithinkasuniversities
weshouldfocusonmorecollaborative,dynamicandexperientiallearning,aimedat
motivatingstudentsto“knowhowtolearn”andnot“gettingagrade”.
InPedagogiesoftheimagination(Leonard,Willis,2008)theauthorsspeakofagenuine
andpracticalalternativetooverlybureaucraticeducationalprocessesthatcancrush
learnersthroughaclosedsystemofarbitrarystandardsandmindlesstesting.Thereishope
thateducationatalllevels—fromelementarytoprofessional,graduateandpost‐
compulsoryeducation—hasthecapacitytobreakoutoftheseartificialconstraints.
Itisafactthatstudents—usingthetermveryloosely,startingfromwhentheyenter
schoolasyoungchildren—nolongerneedtogotoschooltolearn.Today,knowledgeis
globalandcanbeaccessedfromthousandsofchannelsthataremuchmoredynamicand
interestingthanthetraditional“encyclopaedicculture”.Soschoolsmustfocusontheways
peoplelearnandondevelopingskillsthathelptrainthemindtoprocessandsynthesise
informationandgenerateinnovativeideas.
Atadesignschool,theemphasisshouldbeon“lateralthinking”and/or“divergent
thinking”,whichconstantlystrivestobreakthemouldsofexperience.
Thispaperispreliminaryandspeculative,andstilllacksaconsolidatedtheoretical
corpustoscientificallyarticulatethereflectionsandthecasesstudiedsofar.Itis
structuredbasedonteachingexperiencesincollaborationwithotherteachers,undermy
direction,butIthinkwecandrawsomeinterestingconclusions,whichiswhyIthinkthere
isreasonenoughtosharethisteachingexperienceatthisCongress.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
3
Thecontext
InthelasttenyearsIhavetaughtinthefirstyearsoftheBachelor'sDegreeinDesign—
specialisedingraphic,industrialandinteriordesign—andintheBachelor’sDegreein
EngineeringinIndustrialDesign.TogetherwithmyteachingteamintheProjects
Department,wehavefocusedmoreonteachingandtrainingstudentsatthestageof
preliminarythought,thanthefinaloutcome.
Wehavetriedtoexperimentwithmanypossibleanswerstothesamequestionand
differentwaystoapproachthesameproblem.Wehaveespeciallystrivedtocultivate
student’sfantasyandimagination.Aprofessionthatclaimstofeaturecreativityand
“divergentthinking”amongitskeyattributesshouldnotforgetaboutfantasy.
Figure1.Sketchesinclass.
Beingamotherforthelastnineyearshasgivenmetheopportunitytoobserveand
experiencethestagesandprocessesofearlylearning,andthisexperiencehasawokenin
memuchcuriosityabouttheoriginofexpressiveandcreativethinking.Howdoesa
person’scognitiveabilitydevelop?Whydochildrenlosetheir“fantasy”astheygrow
older?Arechildrenmorecreativethanadults?
ReadingbooksbyGianniRodaritomychildrenIbegantowonderwhyfantasyplays
suchanimportantroleintheliteraryworldandnotintheworldofdesign.Rodaritookthe
timetodraftaGrammaticadellafantasia(1973)toexplainhowtoassociatewordsand
imagesinordertowriteastory.So,myquestionsare:Whyhasfantasybecomethe"poor
cousin"ofcreativityinthedesignworld?Whyhavemanyauthorsfailedtoaddressfantasy
whenresearchinglinkswithcreativityinthemindofthedesigner?
Thereisasignificantandhistoricaltheoreticalcorpusthatattemptstoexplaincognitive
developmentinpre‐schoolandschoolagechildren(Piaget,1967).Andtherearemany
otherauthorsthatfocusonstudyingandexplainingperception,memoryandlanguage
learningmechanismssincechildhood.
Amongthem,anauthorIfindespeciallyinterestingisLevVygotskij.Inhisstudieson
thedevelopmentofpsychologicalthought(1931)andtherelationshipbetweenthought
andlanguage(1934),heprovedthatlanguage,theparexcellencetoolofsocialrelations,
developsintotheinstrumentforinternalpsychologicalorganisationaschildrengrowand
progressivelymatureintoverbalthought.
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Therearealsomanystudiesfocusingonhowchildrendevelopcreativity,focusing
specificallyontherelationshipbetweenartexpressionsatvariousages(Parini2001,
Matthews1999).VygotskijhimselfinImaginationandcreativityinchildhood,first
publishedin1930,examinesthestartanddevelopmentofchildren'simagination.Thebook
centresontheideathatimaginationisavitalandnecessarycognitivefunction.Heexplores
howthisfunctionisdisplayedwhenchildrendraw,writeoractinplays.
Fromcreativitytofantasy.
Attentionandinteresttowardscreativityhavegrownexponentiallyoverthelast40
years,andtheveryterm"creativity"hasenteredoureverydaylanguagetodescribeany
field,takingonconnotationsthatsometimesmakeitsynonymouswithproductivity,
inventionorfantasy.AlbertoMelucci(1994)explainsthatintheboomofsocialdiscourse
oncreativity,threecircumstancesconvergethathaveprovidedtheculturalcontextfor
suchanextensiveassimilationoftheterm.Firstlyforthegrowinginterestfromcognitive
psychology;secondlybecausepsycho‐socialinteresthasfocusedonstrengtheningthe
relationshipbetweencreativityandexcellenceintheartisticandscientificfields,andfinally
duetothefunctionalistinterestthathasfocusedonapplyingcreativitytodecisionmaking,
especiallyattheorganizationallevelinmanagementandcommunication.
Inrecentyears,theoreticalapproachesto"creativity"andthecreativeprocesshave
beenproposedandhavestartedtobeimplementedinacademiccurricula,orasworking
methods(co‐creation).Creativity,thus,hasbecomeafocusareaforresearch,withmajor
implicationsforthedesigndiscipline.
Ibelievethatcreativityinteractssimultaneouslywithfantasy,imaginationorinvention
inthemind,butthistopicgenerallyhasreceivedonlylimitedattentionandhasnotbeen
embeddedintheoreticalstudiesasaresearchsubjectinrelationtodesign.
Inordertodelimitthetheoreticalframeworkofthisstudy,Iwilldefinetheconceptsof
fantasyandimaginationrelatedtothedesigndiscipline.
Definingfantasyandimagination
Foralongtimetheterm“imagination”hasoverlappedwith“fantasy”,andonly
recentlyinthehistoryofthoughthavethetwosynonymouswordsbeenusedindifferent
ways.ChristianWolff,inthePsychologiaempirica(1732)definesimagination,asthe
“facultyofproducingtheperceptionofwhatissensiblyabsent”,andfantasy,asafacultas
fingendiwhichconsistsof“producingtheimageofsomethingthathasneverbeen
perceivedbythesensesbydividingandcomposingimages.”
ThisdistinctionalsoappearsinKant’sCritiqueofPureReason(1781),whichdefinesa
cleardifferencebetweenreproductiveimagination,“subjectedtoempiricallawsof
association”andproductiveimagination,stemming“fromsimplespontaneity”as“an
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
5
effectoftheintellectonsensitivityandinitsfirstapplicationtoobjectsofpossible
intuition”thusgettingveryclosetotheideaoffantasy.
Butthedefinitivedistinctionbetweenreproductiveimaginationandcreative
imagination—orfantasy—asafacultythatunderliestheconceptof“genius”wasmade
byG.W.F.Hegel(PhenomenologyofSpirit,1807).Thusclearlyseparatedandprioritised,
thetwotermsservedtojustifythedifferencebetweenthepoet(theartist),capableof
"fantastic"andcreativethinking,andthecommonmancapableonlyofareproductive
imaginationusefulforpracticalissues.Whenthecommonmanishungryhecanonlythink
ofatableandwhenheistiredcanonlythinkofabed.
Inthe1900s,JeanPaulSartreusedananalysisoftheimagination(L'imagination,1936;
L'imaginaire,1940)tosupporttheontologicalperspectiveontheoppositionbetween
beingandnothingness,thoughtsandthings.Sartreemphasisesthattheimagination’s
contentremainsexclusivelyinthefieldofconsciousnesssothattheimagelosesthe
originalreferencetotherealobjecttotheextentthatitistransformedintoaction.
Fromthemid‐twentiethcentury,theliteraryworldtakesupthebatonofdealingwith
fantasy.Inhiswork,ElémireZolla(1964)distinguishesbetween“fantasy”asafacultythat
stemsfromtherealityaroundusand“fantasising”,whichisthepowerofevadingthe
realityaroundusandcreatingaworldremovedfromit.
Giventhesepremises,BrunoMunari,inhisbookFantasia(1977),upholdsthat‘a
productoffantasyisbornfromtheconnectionsthatthoughtestablisheswithwhatis
known’(p.29).Hedistinguishesclearlybetweenfantasyandimagination,andIshalltake
thisclassificationasthefoundationofmystudy.Belowisadefinitionofterms,summarised
inTable1.
Table1 Munari’sdefinitions.
FANTASY
IMAGINATION
Everythingthatdidnotexistbefore,evenif
itisimpossibletorealiseandunreal.
Thisisthefacultythatenablesustothink
aboutsomethingthatdoesnotexist,andit
impliesnopracticalmaterialisation.Itisthe
freestfacultyofall.
Thisistheabilitytovisualiseideas.
Imaginationmakesvisiblewhatfantasy,
creativityandinventiondreamup.
Imaginationcanvisualisethingsthat
alreadyexistandisnotnecessarily
creative.
Betweenthe70sand80sextensiveliteratureiswrittendealingwiththefantasygenre
inliterature(Tzvetan,1975)andrelegatesthetermfantasytothatrealm.Grammatica
dellaFantasia(Rodari,1973)ispartlylumpedintothisniche,althoughnotasmuchwith
theintentionofdefiningagenreorofservingasatheoryofchildhoodimagination,but
ratherwiththeideaofseekingstrategiesandmechanismstopromote“fantasythinking”in
achild’smentalandlinguisticdevelopment,inthegrowthphase.
InMapsoftheImagination(2007),PeterTurchipositstheideathatmapshelppeople
understandwheretheyareintheworldinthesamewaythatliterature,whetherrealistic
orfantastic,attemptstoexplainhumanrealities.Theauthorexploreshowwritersand
cartographersusemanyofthesamedevicesforplottingandexecutingtheirwork,making
crucialdecisionsaboutwhattoincludeandwhattoleaveout,inordertogetfromhereto
there,withoutexcessbaggageoraconfusingsurplusofinformation.Turchidescribeshow
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mapsrelyonprojectionsinordertoportrayathree‐dimensionalworldonthetwo‐
dimensionalflatsurfaceofpaper,whichhethenrelatestowhatwritersdoinprojectinga
literaryworkfromtheimaginationontothepage.
Forme,thisbookunderpinsthevalidityofMunari’sdefinitionofimaginationandthe
comparisonestablishedbyPeterTurchibetweenthewriterandcartographerit'svery
interestingtosearchingmethodologiestodevelop“fantasythinking”instudentsand
understandthedistinctionbetweenimaginationandfantasy.
Inordertoinvestigatetheseissues,whenexperimentingintheclassroomwith
students,IhavevalidatedandvisualisedtheMunari’sdefinitionsnotonlybetweenfantasy
andimagination,butalsobetweencreativityandinvention.
Munari’sdefinitions:Theelasticglass
Inmymassive80‐studentclasses,overthepastfiveyears,Ihaveaskedstudentsto
anonymouslydraw“elasticglass”onablanksheetofpaper(itisimportanttomakeitan
anonymousactivitysotheyfeelfreeto“makemistakes”withoutanybodyknowingand
judgingthem).Igivethemfiveminutesforthisexercise.Theresultsaretrulyamazingand
followaclearpatternthatsupportsBrunoMunari’sdefinitions.
Theproductoffantasy,aswellascreativityandinvention,stemsfromthelinksour
mindsmakewithwhatitalreadyknows.Themoreyouknowandmemorise,themore
chancesyouhaveofestablishingrelationships,providedyoudon’tletyourselfbe
conditionedbystereotypesandrules,becausethenitwouldonlybeamatterof
memorising.Theserelationshipsmaybemoreorlessfreeandopen.
Divergentthinkingshouldbeabletocontinuouslybreakthemouldofexperienceand
provideanswers“outofthebox”ofwhatisencoded.
Dalíwasabletodreamupaliquidclock!
IfIaskyoutothinkofacarmadeofwoodorglass,youcouldimagineiteasily,butifI
askyoutothinkofa“liquid”carwhatwouldyoucomeupwith?
AndifIaskyoutodrawelasticglass?
Atdesignuniversitieswetendtousedrawingasanexpressivetooltorenderanalytical
drawingsbasedonobservationortoenvisionthedesignofa“future”object/space/
message.Butweseldomaskstudentstodrawsomethingthattheycannotseeorthat
cannotexist.
ThisistheexercisethatIproposedtomystudentsintheirfirstyearatBachelor’sin
DesignandIndustrialDesignEngineeringinordertocompareresults.
CurrentlyIhavemorethan500drawingswhichIhaveclassifiedaccordingtorepeating
patterns,andhaveexpressedasapercentagefigure.
Students’drawingsclearlyillustratewhattypesofrelationshipstheyhaveformedin
theirmindbetweenordinaryelementstoexplain“elasticglass”.
However,beforecomparingthem,BrunoMunari’sdefinitionofcreativityandinventionis
worthnoting.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
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Table2. Munari’sdefinitionsofCreativityandInvention
CREATIVITYINVENTION
Everythingthatdidnotexistbeforebutcan
beproducedglobally.Inthefieldofdesign,
creativityservesanaestheticpurposeand
meetssocial,economic,humanand
psychologicalneeds.
Everythingthatdidnotexistbeforebut
canbeproducedbysolvingaproblem
fromaneminentlypracticalstandpoint.
Inventionenablesustoenvision
somethingnewyetwithnoaesthetic
considerations.Whenanewinstrument
orartefactisdesigned,nothoughtis
giventoitshavingtobe“beautiful”;
rather,itmustmerelywork.
BrunoMunariexplainsthattheoutsideworld,perceivedthroughthesensesofsight,
hearing,taste,smellandtaste,isexploredbytheintelligence,interpretedandthenstored
inthegeneric,short‐termorlong‐termmemory.Fromthatpointon,thebrainbeginsto
forgenewrelationshipsandtriggerfantasy,creativityandinvention,whichMunaridefines
genericallyas“faculties”.
TherelationshipbetweenthesefacultiescanbesummarisedinFigure2,which
highlightshowtheimaginationis“themeansforvisualisingwhatthefantasy,invention
andcreativitythink”(Munari,1977,p.22).
Figure2.Diagramexplainingtherelationshipbetweenfantasy,invention,creativityandimagination
byBrunoMunari.
TherelationshipbetweenthesefacultiescanbesummarisedinFigure2,which
highlightshowtheimaginationis“themeansforvisualisingwhatthefantasy,invention
andcreativitythink”(Munari,1977,p.22).
Havingclarifiedthedifferencesindefiningterms,wedetectedfourpatternsin
students’responses:
Fiftypercentofstudentsdepictedonlypartoftheinformationanddidnotexplainthe
conceptclearly(i.e.,thereisanimbalancebetweenlogicalthinkingandimagination).They
donotseektoapplytheconceptandconfuseelasticitywithdeformation.
Fig.3a,3b.
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Figure3a,3b.Examplesofelasticglassdrawing.
Fortypercentofstudentssoughtanapplicationoftheproposedmaterial(i.e.,creativity
wasactivated).Fig.4a,4b.
Figure4a,4b.Examplesofelasticglassdrawing.
Ninepercentofstudentstriedtodepictwhatelasticglasswouldbelikeandhowit
wouldbehavescientifically,accordingtoitsphysicalandchemicalproperties(i.e.,
inventionwasactivated).Fig.5a,5b.
Figure5a,5b.Examplesofelasticglassdrawing.
Onepercentofstudentsinventedastoryoracharacteraboutelasticglass(i.e.fantasy
wasactivated).Fig.6a,6b.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
9
Figure6a,6b.Examplesofelasticglassdrawing.
BelowIwillpresentmymainhypothesesthatunderlietheexercisesthatIhave
implementedoverthelastyearsinordertotesthowtostimulatethestudent'sfantasy.
Hypotheses
Myfirsthypothesisisthatwithagestudentstendtoacquirementalstereotypesthat
restrictthecreativitymodel.
Cropley(2001)investigatescreativityinadultsandchildren,concludingthatthereare
differencesbetweentypically“juvenile”andtypically“adult”noveltyproduction(Fig.3)
butadultscantakestepstopreservetheircreativity.
Figure7Stereotypeofintellectualgrowthanddeclinewithage.Source:Cropley(2001,p.76).
However,accordingtotheMunaritheory,fantasyispresentinthemindsofstudents,
justlikecreativity.Therefore,ourpedagogicalgoalshouldbetoprovidelearning
experiencestorecoverthisfantasyandabstractthinking,inafun,playfulway.Inthese
typesofactivities,studentsshouldnotworryaboutacomparative“evaluation”andshould
feelfreetothinkabout"thingsthatdonotexist".
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Mysecondhypothesisisthatthemorewestimulateindividualfantasy,themorewe
nurtureindividualcreativeenergy.Thus,ourpedagogicalgoalshouldbetochangeour
approachtoteaching.Theessenceofteachingisnotsimplytoteachdata,factsandskills
thatcanbereproducedwhenrequired,buttorelatethisdata,factsandskillstotheir
deepermeaninginhumanexperience.
KieranEgansaidthat“tobringknowledgetolifeinstudents’minds,wemustintroduce
ittostudentsinthecontextofhumanhopes,fearsandpassionsinwhichitfindsitsfullest
meaning.Thebesttoolforthisistheimagination”(Egan,2005).Iwouldventureto
completehisassertionbyaddingfantasybecause,asIwillexplaininthefollowingsection,
mydefinitionoffantasyincludesmanyofthetechniqueswhichEganattributestothe
imagination.“Thebesttoolforthisisfantasyandimagination!”
Finally,mythirdhypothesisistostartonthepathtofigureouthowtotransferliterary
andvisualideasandstrategiestotheworldofdesign.
Inmanycases,thetheoreticalfoundationsinthefieldofdesignandvisual
communicationhaveresulteddirectlyfromdisciplinessuchashermeneutics,semioticsand
semanticsdeductedfromstructuralistlinguistics(DeFusco,2005).Andthecommunicative
functionsoflanguagehavebeentransferreddirectlytotheworldofindustrialproducts
(Burdek,2011)providingahighly‐structuredtheoreticalandmethodologicalapproach.
Morethansubstantiatingagivenmethod,myaimistoopenanewperspectiveamong
themanytheoriesthathaveproliferatedinrecentyears.
CaseStudies
BelowIpresenttwointerestingcasestudiesthatareworthsharinginordertovalidate
thishypotheses.
Casestudy1:Astonethrown
“Astonethrownintoasmalllakecausesripplesthatspreadoverthesurface,
triggeringmovementovervaryingdistances,producingdifferenteffectsandreaching
differentdepths.Itmovesobjectsthatwerepreviouslystandingstill...Notunlikeaword,
randomlythrownintothemind,whichproducessurfacewavesanddepth,causingan
endlessseriesofchainreactionswhichincludesoundsandimages,analogiesand
memories,meaningsanddreams.Itisanactionthataffectsexperienceandmemory,
imaginationandthesubconscious,andonewhichiscomplicatedbythefactthatthemind
itselfdoesnotmerelyassistpassivelyinthisprocess,Itispermanentlyonhandtoaccept
orreject,censureandconnect,buildanddestroy”.(Rodari,1973,p.11)
IfforGianniRodariitispossibletocreateastoryfromaword,whynotcreateaproject
fromaword‐meaning‐image?Thisimageofthrowingastoneintoapondtriggeredthe
ideaof“throwing”a“word‐object”intothemindsofmystudents.Whynotprovidean
exercisein“purefantasy”tofirst‐yearstudents?
Theexerciseinvolvesgivingstudentsawordandaskingthemtocomeupwith
somethingthatdoesnotexist,evenifitisimpossibletorealiseandunreal.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
11
Theunderlyingapproachtothis"fantasy"exercisenegatesthestartingpointofa
standard"traditional"projectexercise,whichisusuallybasedonaneed,afunction,a
context,amaterial,ashapeoraparticularuser.Inthiscaseweonlyofferawordwhichwe
immediatelyassociatewithaparticularobject,whichinturngeneratesasemanticripple
effectofotherpossiblewordsandimages.Thetechniqueofsemanticnetworksprovides
anempiricalmeansofaccessingthecognitiveorganisationofknowledge.
Semanticnetworks—alsocalledmeaningnetworks—aretheconceptionsthatpeople
makeofanyobjectintheirenvironment,accordingtoFigueroa(1976).Astheseare
understood,wecanhopetounderstandtherangeofmeanings,expressedthrough
everydaylanguage,inallknownsocialobjects.Inthesemanticnetworks,eventsor
representationsformrelationshipsthattogetherproducemeanings.Thesemeaningsdo
notremainstaticbutratherstaydynamicandsusceptibletochange.
Inthefirstphaseoftheexercise,studentsareaskedtowritethewordassigned(key,
door,cageclamp,handle,etc.—wegenerallyselectsmallobjects)inthecentreofasheet
ofpaperandgeneratepossiblerelationshipswithallotherconceptstheirmindsuggests.
Workinginpairs,studentsbeginbyrelatingthebetter‐knowndatabutquickly,in10
minutes,cangenerateasemanticnetworkofover30words.
8a8c
8b8d
Figure8a,8b,8c,8dExamplesofsemanticnetworks.
Thentheyareaskedtoselectoneofthenewwordsandfromtheassociationbetween
thetwomakeupa"fantastic"storyandrepresentitinastoryboard.Tothinkaboutthis
fantasticstory,wesuggesttheyestablishaseriesofrelationshipsbetweenthewords
accordingtothestrategiesexplainedbyBrunoMunari(1977,p.34)
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Thepossiblerelationshipscanbebrokendowninto:
1.Theworldupsidedown.
Tothinkdifferently,theopposite,anupside‐downsituation.
2.Repeatedelements.
Withoutchangesorwithchanges.
3.Affinities.
Visualorfunctional.
4.Mutation.Changeofdimension,changeofcolour.Changeofweight,changeof
material,changeofplace,changeoffunction,changeofmovement
5.Fusionofdifferentelementsintoasinglebody.
Aftercreatingthestory,theyareaskedtothinkabouthowtoformaliseitand
representitinasuitableformat.Theresultsareverydifferent.Theycanevenbe
"impossible"productsornarrativesystems(books,audiovisualelementsandletters),
gamesorphotographiccompositions.
CurrentlyIhavemorethanonehundredexerciseexamples.
Wedetectedseveraldifferentpatternsinstudents’responses:
Fig.8a/9aThegrouphasrelatedvisualaffinitiesbetweenthebulbandthelightcone.A
bulbisalsosynonymouswiththegenerationofanidea.Byincorporatingthispremise,
studentshavegeneratedatotallyunrealisticobject‐prosthesiswhichfunctionsasa
projectorofideas.Inthiscasefantasywasactivated.
9a 9b
Figure9Exampleofstoryboard.
Thestoryboard9adevelopthesemanticnetwork8a,andthestoryboard9bdevelopthe
semanticnetwork8b.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
13
Fig.8b/9b.Thegrouphasliterallyanalysedtheassignedobjectandfromthere
comeupwithfunctionalordimensionalvariations.AnIkeawateringcanbecomesahood
hairdryer–similartothoseseeninhairsalons‐toencourageinnovativeideas,positive
energyandrelaxation.Studentshavetakenoneutilityobject‐wateringcan‐andchanged
thefunctionofanotherexistingobject‐hoodhairdryer.Inthiscasefantasyandcreativity
wasactivated.
Figure10Finalprojectabout“glasses”wordwithafunctionalapplication.Theseglassesteleport
wheretheuserprefers
Fig.8.Thegroupthinksofafunctionalapplication.Theseglassesmaintaintheirvisual
filterfunction,howevertheseglassesteleporttheusertowheretheywanttogo.Inthis
casetheinventionwasactivatedandtheproductcouldbetechnologicallydeveloped,as
therearesimilarprecedentsinthemarket(i.e.GoogleGlass).
Casestudy2:Fantasyforprojecting?
InOctober2014,forthefirsttime,Ifocusedonworkingwith“fantasythinking”ina
planningworkshopcentredonaspecifictopic,toseeifIcouldintegratethistypeof
approachintotheprojectmethodology.
Thegoalwastostartaprojectwithoutbrainstorming,withoutreferencesorhistorical
antecedents,andtoaskstudentstodevelopafantasystoryabouttheprojectinquestion.
IwasinvitedtotheBolzanoUniversity(inItaly)forathree‐dayintensiveworkshop(7
hoursperday).ThethemeofthegeneralcoursewasILLEGALDesign.Wedecidedtowork
onUrbanWallstoprojectanephemeralinstallationthatwasillegalandwouldcontributea
newsocialuseforurbanwalls.
Thefirstdayweaskedstudentstowriteafantasystoryaboutthewallandillustrateit
withastoryboard.Everyoneworkedingroupsoftwoorthree.
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Figure9Studentsinwork.Writingandillustratingthefantasystory.
Thesecondday,studentsdevelopedtheirideas,lookingforpossiblesemantic
relationshipsbetweenelementsandillustratingsomeoftheideassupportedbyManual
Thinkingsystem(http://manualthinking.com/).Attheendofthedayweaskedthemto
carryoutanillegalactionduringthatevening/nightandrecorditonvideo.
Figure10Studentsinwork.BrainstormingdevelopedwiththeManualThinkingsystem.
Onthethirddaywewatchedthevideostogether,definingthestrongconceptsofeach
wall/storyandweaskedstudentstolookforpointsofreferencefortheirprojectandshare
themwiththegroup.Oncethemainelementsforeachprojectweredefined,weasked
themtonarratetheproject,usingastoryboard,andpresentitorallyforjointcritique.
Figure11Comparisonbetweenthefantasystoryandstoryboardprojectdevelopment.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
15
ThegroupofstudentsthencontinuedanddevelopedtheprojectwiththeBolzano
facultyduringthreemoreweeks.Thefinalresultsinsomecasescouldbetracedback
directlytosomeelementsofthefirstfantasystory.Consistentlydisplayingtheideas
throughsketches,storyboardsandvideosduringthefirstthreedayswereusefulto
translatetheideasintoimages.
Conclusions
Ithasbeenestablishedthatthereiscurrentlya"grammaroffantasy"appliedtodesign.
Thisworkisonlythebeginningofourresearchandthisemotionalchallengeisevenmore
interesting.Forthisreasonwearestillsearchingforpotentialdisciplinaryfieldsand
institutionswhomaybeabletoassistandsupportourstudies.
Atpresent,ingeneralterms,weareabletodrawthreemainconclusions:
1.Throughoutthewholeofthelastcentury,designhastakenonboardmethodologies
andstrategiesfromotherdisciplinaryfields.Ibelievethatinordertoencourage“fantastic
thinking”,weshoulddigdeeperandestablishstronglinksbetweennarrativetechniquesof
fantasyliteratureandteachingmethodsindesign.
2.Itisimportantthatstudentsthinkandprojectfarbeyondmentalstereotypes.In
ordertoapplyfantasyandimagination,weneedtoencouragethinkingoutsidethebox.
3.Whenwespeakandexplaintostudentsthattheycanusefantasytothinkabout
thingsandthatdonotexisttangiblesboundarythestudentsrespondveryfavourablyto
thechallenge.NormallyMunari’sdefinitionsarepartofthesyllabustheylikemost.
Acknowledgements:aspecialacknowledgementformycolleaguesandmystudents
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