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Integrating fantasy into the creative process

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The purpose of this paper is to highlight factors that play a role in defining students' creativity, with a special emphasis on the relationship between fantasy and creativity. Fantasy plays a central role in construction of a creative idea, but this topic generally has received only limited attention and has not been embedded in theoretical studies as a research subject in relation to design. This paper believes that fantasy interacts simultaneously with creativity in the mind, and the main hypothesis is that the more we stimulate this fantasy the more we nurture creativity. In order to establish the theoretical framework of this study the concept of fantasy is defined in relation to creativity, when viewed from the standpoint of the design discipline. Finally the paper presents two case studies in which we have specifically worked with groups of two or three students to create projects from a fantasy story. In both cases, the " fantastical " approach facilitated the development of individual and group creativity. The students were given total freedom to make decisions with regard to the project.
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The 3rd International Conference for Design Education Researchers
DRS//CUMU 2015 Chicago, Illinois, USALUS//Design-ed
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
RaffaellaPERRONEa
aELISAVAEscolaSuperiordeDissenyiEnginyeriadeBarcelona|UniversitatPompeuFabra
*Correspondingauthoremail: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
2
Introduction
BetweentheproposedthemetracksbyLearnxDesignInternationalConference,this
paperfocusesontheDevelopingSystemsThinkingthatdesignschoolsshouldencourage,
motivateandinvestigateasmethodologicalstrategiestonurtureourstudents’mindand
creativity.
Ourstudents,asfuturedesigners,willbetheprofessionalswhowillshapethe"material
culture"ofourimmediateenvironment.Howcanweaskthemtobeinnovative,excellent
communicators,controlaestheticforms,understandthecomplexityofhumanandsocial
behaviour,mastertechnology,befamiliarwithmaterialsandunderstandbusinessifwe
firstdonotteachthemhowtothink?
AccordingtoFrenchphilosopherDescartes,humanbeingsaremadeupofaresextensa
thebodyandarescogitansthemind.Fromanearlyagewetrainthebodyto
learntowalk,developfinemotorskillsandexertcontroloverallourmovementstothe
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
thateducationatalllevelsfromelementarytoprofessional,graduateandpost
compulsoryeducationhasthecapacitytobreakoutoftheseartificialconstraints.
Itisafactthatstudentsusingthetermveryloosely,startingfromwhentheyenter
schoolasyoungchildrennolongerneedtogotoschooltolearn.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,industrialandinteriordesignandintheBachelor’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
developmentinpreschoolandschoolagechildren(Piaget,1967).Andtherearemany
otherauthorsthatfocusonstudyingandexplainingperception,memoryandlanguage
learningmechanismssincechildhood.
Amongthem,anauthorIfindespeciallyinterestingisLevVygotskij.Inhisstudieson
thedevelopmentofpsychologicalthought(1931)andtherelationshipbetweenthought
andlanguage(1934),heprovedthatlanguage,theparexcellencetoolofsocialrelations,
developsintotheinstrumentforinternalpsychologicalorganisationaschildrengrowand
progressivelymatureintoverbalthought.
RaffaellaPerrone
4
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;secondlybecausepsychosocialinteresthasfocusedonstrengtheningthe
relationshipbetweencreativityandexcellenceintheartisticandscientificfields,andfinally
duetothefunctionalistinterestthathasfocusedonapplyingcreativitytodecisionmaking,
especiallyattheorganizationallevelinmanagementandcommunication.
Inrecentyears,theoreticalapproachesto"creativity"andthecreativeprocesshave
beenproposedandhavestartedtobeimplementedinacademiccurricula,orasworking
methods(cocreation).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
imaginationorfantasyasafacultythatunderliestheconceptof“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.
Fromthemidtwentiethcentury,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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6
mapsrelyonprojectionsinordertoportrayathreedimensionalworldonthetwo
dimensionalflatsurfaceofpaper,whichhethenrelatestowhatwritersdoinprojectinga
literaryworkfromtheimaginationontothepage.
Forme,thisbookunderpinsthevalidityofMunari’sdefinitionofimaginationandthe
comparisonestablishedbyPeterTurchibetweenthewriterandcartographerit'svery
interestingtosearchingmethodologiestodevelop“fantasythinking”instudentsand
understandthedistinctionbetweenimaginationandfantasy.
Inordertoinvestigatetheseissues,whenexperimentingintheclassroomwith
students,IhavevalidatedandvisualisedtheMunari’sdefinitionsnotonlybetweenfantasy
andimagination,butalsobetweencreativityandinvention.
Munari’sdefinitions:Theelasticglass
Inmymassive80studentclasses,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.
ThisistheexercisethatIproposedtomystudentsintheirfirstyearatBachelor’sin
DesignandIndustrialDesignEngineeringinordertocompareresults.
CurrentlyIhavemorethan500drawingswhichIhaveclassifiedaccordingtorepeating
patterns,andhaveexpressedasapercentagefigure.
Students’drawingsclearlyillustratewhattypesofrelationshipstheyhaveformedin
theirmindbetweenordinaryelementstoexplain“elasticglass”.
However,beforecomparingthem,BrunoMunari’sdefinitionofcreativityandinventionis
worthnoting.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
7
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,shorttermorlongtermmemory.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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8
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.
Figure7Stereotypeofintellectualgrowthanddeclinewithage.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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10
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)providingahighlystructuredtheoreticalandmethodologicalapproach.
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
fromawordmeaningimage?Thisimageofthrowingastoneintoapondtriggeredthe
ideaof“throwing”a“wordobject”intothemindsofmystudents.Whynotprovidean
exercisein“purefantasy”tofirstyearstudents?
Theexerciseinvolvesgivingstudentsawordandaskingthemtocomeupwith
somethingthatdoesnotexist,evenifitisimpossibletorealiseandunreal.
Integratingfantasyintothecreativeprocess.
11
Theunderlyingapproachtothis"fantasy"exercisenegatesthestartingpointofa
standard"traditional"projectexercise,whichisusuallybasedonaneed,afunction,a
context,amaterial,ashapeoraparticularuser.Inthiscaseweonlyofferawordwhichwe
immediatelyassociatewithaparticularobject,whichinturngeneratesasemanticripple
effectofotherpossiblewordsandimages.Thetechniqueofsemanticnetworksprovides
anempiricalmeansofaccessingthecognitiveorganisationofknowledge.
Semanticnetworksalsocalledmeaningnetworksaretheconceptionsthatpeople
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,studentsbeginbyrelatingthebetterknowndatabutquickly,in10
minutes,cangenerateasemanticnetworkofover30words.
8a8c
8b8d
Figure8a,8b,8c,8dExamplesofsemanticnetworks.
Thentheyareaskedtoselectoneofthenewwordsandfromtheassociationbetween
thetwomakeupa"fantastic"storyandrepresentitinastoryboard.Tothinkaboutthis
fantasticstory,wesuggesttheyestablishaseriesofrelationshipsbetweenthewords
accordingtothestrategiesexplainedbyBrunoMunari(1977,p.34)
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12
Thepossiblerelationshipscanbebrokendowninto:
1.Theworldupsidedown.
Tothinkdifferently,theopposite,anupsidedownsituation.
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,
studentshavegeneratedatotallyunrealisticobjectprosthesiswhichfunctionsasa
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)forathreedayintensiveworkshop(7
hoursperday).ThethemeofthegeneralcoursewasILLEGALDesign.Wedecidedtowork
onUrbanWallstoprojectanephemeralinstallationthatwasillegalandwouldcontributea
newsocialuseforurbanwalls.
Thefirstdayweaskedstudentstowriteafantasystoryaboutthewallandillustrateit
withastoryboard.Everyoneworkedingroupsoftwoorthree.
RaffaellaPerrone
14

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.
Thisworkisonlythebeginningofourresearchandthisemotionalchallengeisevenmore
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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Article
Full-text available
This paper focuses on collective creativity in process design. The purpose of this contribution is to spotlight the factors that play a role in defining students' creativity, with a special emphasis on the relationship between creativity and imagination, studying collective models of creative collaboration. We present two case studies in which we have specifically worked with groups of students to create a collective project proposing methodologies of experimental work. In both cases, the collective creation favoured the development of individual creativity.
Article
Advisor: Martin Sharp. Paper (M. Ed.)--Pennsylvania State University, Great Valley, 1995.
Article
ABOUT THE TALK: Turchi compares an author’s ability to guide a reader through a fictional narrative to the way a mapmaker charts the physical world.ABOUT THE SERIES: Turchi spoke at Marquette’s Haggerty Museum of Art. The event was sponsored by the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Student Development, Department of English and Marquette Writing Society. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Peter Turchi is the award-winning author of Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, published in 2004. In addition to receiving the Outstanding Academic Titles 2005 award by Choice Magazine, Maps of the Imagination has won seven design awards for its unique illustrations, including a silver medal in the Stiftung Buchkunst International Design competition.
An approach to the problem of meaning
  • J G Figueroa
  • E González
  • V M Solís
Figueroa, J.G., González, E. y Solís, V.M. (1976). An approach to the problem of meaning. Journal of PhycholinguisticResearch, Vol.5, Issue 2, pp. 107-117.
Design. Storia, teoria e pratica del design del prodotto
  • Bernhard E Burdek
Burdek, Bernhard E. (2011). Design. Storia, teoria e pratica del design del prodotto. Rome: Gangemi Editore.
An imaginative approach to teaching
  • K Egan
Egan, K. (2005). An imaginative approach to teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.