IoT Ideation Expert Workshop
On the 24th and 25th of October we held our IoT Ideation Workshop. Ideation experts from all over Europe met in Chemnitz to try out and investigate the benefits and different approaches of their Ideation tools. In one and a half full packed days we explored seven unique Ideation tools.
Impressions of the Tools
The following tools were part of our workshop:
The Workshops
The workshops were tight packed and there was much input from all participants. We started with a short introduction of the tool by its inventor who also guided us through their session. Often the tools were used with a prepared scenario, e.g. designing an IoT enhanced bicycle helmet. Many tools, e.g. IoT Ideation Cards, U4IoT or IoT Design Deck, support more than one stage of the design process. Because of our tight schedule we only managed to try out a certain phase of most tools.
What we found out
Creativity is hard to pinpoint. Therefore, helping designers in their task is difficult without setting barriers designers might find annoying. Yet, these tools show that it is a possible task and they do support design in a manner of ways. This might be due to dividing the mess of design into particular steps. Or bringing the mind into a playful (playful as in exploring via rule-free play) state. Much of the material of the tools also highlight important aspects in the field of design or especially IoT.
Outreach
The event has shown us how important it is to get in touch with fellow researchers. We need to do more than become familiar with each others publications. Design can only benefit from really exposing us to the tools and methods of our colleagues in a hands-on approach. Using the tools proved to be a great difference than merely studying them from publications alone.