Co-Creating Creative Rhythms

5-10min

Abstract: A workshop design that uses a rhythms approach to uncover design opportunities to a given prompt.

I recently had the chance to hold a workshop with two graduate students in design from the University of Texas at Austin. The purpose of the workshop was to introduce the students to a rhythms approach for design and how to uncover design opportunities following a prompt.

Actualising thoughts and ideas in physical low fidelity prototypes to provide a basis for conversation.

I prepared a bunch of low fidelity prototyping materials ranging from all kinds of paper and different thicknesses of cardboard to glue, wood sticks and other readily available things. In general, all kinds of materials and crafting supply can be used to facilitate this kind of work. What is important is that the workshop participants can manifest their ideas and thoughts as a physical object. This allows for a conversation about the intentions behind their decisions and provides a tangible object around which their assumptions can be analyzed discussed.

Workshop outline with approximate timing

The workshop was initially planned to last one hour and a half to about two hours. I provided some refreshments and the materials to work with.

We started the afternoon with a short break outside in the fresh air under the sun. It was 2:30pm and I didn’t know the students schedule before so I wanted to create a clear break from whatever happened before and allow for a short moment to loosen up before I would introduce the afternoon and the workshop in general.

I provided the students with an agenda and the different stages (like the graphic on the left side) to situate them in the structure of the hours that would follow. I started them of with quickly introducing my thesis topic and this website as a tool for future reference.
We then jumped right into the making process with the following prompt: Prototype your ideal creative space-time. For this exercise I allocated 15-20 minutes. I played some calm music and let them go to work. I was pleased that conversations, from general to specific started to occur.

The reason I started the students off without too much introduction was because I wanted to build on their current assumptions and knowledge around this topic. At this point I didn’t really care too much about the space they would design because its main purpose is to create a model to analyze and improve upon during the course of the workshop.

After the initial prototype prompt and short around the table discussion and presentation of their models I shared a short slide deck* about the different rhythms life and the human experience is made of.

The next section of the workshop was about looking inward and identifying rhythms and creative pattern in their own life. This included reflecting on the past weeks and highlighting when they felt most creative or had to engage in creative work even though they encountered a lot of friction. The resources here were adapted from Daniel H. Pink’s – When. The students were asked to roughly assess their chronotype and then reflect on how much they believe it actually applies to their work. To conclude this section we applied this new found knowledge to their prototypes. We engaged in conversation and discussion on what could be reinforced of their initial prototype to enhance creative work patterns and which of them they might need to revisit. After this we took another break outside and had some refreshments.

*The idea behind this approach is to have lectures and creative work combined to slowly build up a base knowledge and understanding around a rhythms approach to design.

Group conversations and discussion around design decision and their implications and reasoning.

Throughout the workshop we revisited the initial model, discussed the relevant new insights we learned about and made updates accordingly.

After the break I gave another short presentation and introduced circadian and ultradian rhythms to the students. With that new knowledge I asked them again to brainstorm relevant considerations for their models and gave them 20 more minutes to work on their prototypes. This last section of making was accompanied by conversations about the different rhythms and how this affected their thinking about this hypothetical space – but also about intentions for their real personal space.

When we concluded the making session each of them shared their updated model and I encouraged them to relate their decisions back to the knowledge I shared with them, but also the knowledge we workshopped around their personal experiences from the exercises about understanding their own chronotype and creative work pattern.

More prototypes with notes and sketches to help illustrate intentions.

In our last conversation and while sharing their final updates to their creative space we formulated a few design opportunities for each of their spaces. These design opportunities highlighted interesting points and thoughts. For example, a floor to ceiling window changed over the course of the workshop to a large door that would allow resting periods in the sunlight and fresh air. Another interesting insight came from the idea of creating a kettle that would ease them out of their 90 minute activity cycle into a resting period. Another was the need for some free play area to begin the creative work cycle and loosen up the fingers and brain cells. The last interesting point I want to highlight was how a compact space (less distractions) converted into a room with separation to allow activities depending on the temporary need. An open roof also received the addition of adjustable blinds to refuse unwanted details and distractions to move into the space when focus is needed.

The reason why I highlight some of these talking points is because all of them are low fidelity touchpoints of the larger rhythms acting on humans every day. These elements are physical interventions around which the individual can create routines and rituals (imagine a ultradian rhythms kettle! – possibilities are wide) and which also serve as design opportunities - as prototyped design briefs that invite further investigation and analysis.

The overall dynamic of the workshop was very energetic, and the students brought their most creative and open self. They had fun making and also enjoyed the short lectures. The conversations during the making sessions were free flowing. During our discussions and reflections, the topics ranged from personal stories to interesting insights of behaviors.

A very illustrative and successful model of one of the students creative space combining drawing, notes and cardboard.

At the end I invited students to share their thoughts regarding the workshop and asked what worked for them and what didn’t. I learned that for one of the students the initial materials where overwhelming because there was just “too much different stuff”. This will be an important consideration for future workshops. Restricting the selection to paper and cardboard to provide some additional constraints. In this way the students wont have to deal with “what material will I use for what”. I received positive feedback on the little lectures in between the different sections and comments that I could easily slow them down and dive deeper into the various topics. My reason for keeping these interludes short was because I wanted to keep the time of the workshop concise. What I learned from the students though was that they would have been happy to extend the workshop and keep making. This insight delighted me and gave me encouragement for future longer sessions.
This was a very fulfilling exercise and I learned a lot while doing it!

Thank you for reading (and thank you to the students for being great and enthusiastic participants) and I hope you gained something from this short summary of the workshop.

Permission to use the photos was granted to me by the students.