The Stupid Design

Why?

The method challenges the students to take new perspectives of the problem space. This forces the idea generation in a new, radical direction.

How?

The teacher asks the students to draw, sketch or build the worst imaginable solution to the problem. The students have 5 minutes to design such a solution that rather than being desirable is worthless and non-functional. The resulting designs, which often tend to be quite comical, are then passed around among the students in class. Based on these bad designs, the students are to come up with new valuable ideas that can solve the problem.

Tips

The teacher asks the students to make a stupid design whenever they are stuck in a certain path, or trapped in a dead end. This will enable the students to break free and move their ideas in a new direction.

Literature

Seelig, T. (2009). What I wish I knew when I was 20: a crash course on making your place in the world (1. Ed.).

HarperCollins Publishers.