[MUXU]

i dont feel that guilty when i get inspired by designers. to be honest, lately im not satisfied with looking at designer collections. no collection makes me go 'yes! that is exactly what i feel im all about and it is the most fantastic collection, im so inspired!' i think im looking for something in their collections but it's not there. i admire them to a certain extent. what really impress me the most is looking at some of the designer garments in life, the techniques used and the material etc etc.
sometimes i find a certain technique or way of cutting used on a garment more profound and interesting than say this dress was inspired by my trip to an african zoo and than throw in some animal print on a dress and add a bit of fur here and there and maybe pin here and tuck there to make the dress a say...tiger shape or something. i find sometimes just purely exploring different ways to piece together different fabrics or way of cutting the fabric more...exclusive and fundamental to the design of the garment. not saying i dont like the styling part of the design, that is what make the design more flamboyant if flamboyant is your cup of tea, but too much of that and too little of fundamental exploration will just become gimicky. because when it comes down to actually buying a garment, the individual piece count, not the collection.

i asked the ethnic question because a couple seasons ago, matthew williamson had a couple dresses send down the runway that looks almost like a replica of Ethiopia's national dress and got harsh criticism for it. of course not only did he not consider or did enough extensive research into how him taking the design may affect another culture's religious/national values, but his dress is going to be selling at 10 times more than an authentic Ethiopian dress.
that's why i said i wouldn't bluntly use another culture as inspiration, or too obviously interperate it into my own design.
man, i babble too much, i think i should go make my okonomiyaki now

[gius]

for myself ^ i don't like it when the inspiration is obvious.. Sometimes it's nice in furniture and kitchenware design, it's amusing but maybe not fashion.. but you never know

i find i am more interested in ideas
and that my inspiration comes from anywhere
Usually getting the idea is the easiest for me. I often collect pictures I like and I will find they all have a similar theme.. The biggest thing for me is in interiors and architecture, random pictures, and then also old photos and designers' work, snippets of materials, but the point is they all have a similar theme and I can break down the picture and analyse it, get what I want from it.. So in the end the inspiration object/picture is probably not important anymore.

but the trick for me is what do I do with this design idea..
I can make a coat or shirt or whatever
The "form" is the hardest part for me.
i can have a design idea but i need MEANING.. i don't want to just say, decide to add a raglan sleeve with a cuff and then a flare and add it to ...an empire waist something (@_@);; i really need a reason to put the raglan sleeve with the flare, you know? and i don't want to do it because it's "pretty" XD

panda_e and dior_couture
it's totally true, design becomes easier when you have more information
after studying drafting and then next week i can sew a complete garment on my own.. it's become so much easier to play with ideas
pattern making and sewing knowledge just becomes another source.
so, when i do find a picture that inspires me, esp a work from another designer, that is only a starting point.. it's not enough to work from it.. i need to find for example colours and fabrics, but more importantly for me a reason to design

i don't know about everybody else in the thread
but i design mainly for myself (for now at least)
and the clothes i want have to fit certain rules i need..
i have to consider how a colour might not complement my skin tone and if the colour will change depending on the weather (white looks whiter in the sun for example)
and also if there is too much detail i feel just stuffy...

so i wonder if it can be easier if you design only for yourself because some of the "questions" are already answered. no, i can't wear baggy pants, can't wear red or dupioni, no i can't wear a raglan sleeve. lol and so on....

[gius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda_escurrido -How Designers Think, The Design Process Demystified, Lawson -Explaining creativity Oxford press R. Keith -Brainstorming principles, Rossiter -Scientific american, 16-1 how brilliance arises creativity for fashion specifically would be: -research and design simon seivewright -studio et produits olivier gerval

by the way another thank you for these
i had been searching for these kinds of discussions for some time,
often i like to record designers' own ideas on my blog, ie. their choices for using colour, etc
but i never thought of books and articles about it...


the ones i have highlighted there^ you can find online !!
i spent the morning reading both
i like "how brilliance arises creativity"
this article, the link is here but if you find the download, you get other articles and a few nice pictures.
it is about what happens when you get brain damage, the left brain in bad shape,... the right brain thrives. creativity thrives uninhibited. it doesn't really give you a prescription to solving design problems though, just interesting to read



How designers think has quite a lot of text, theory
I might try to find the book version of it.


here are the table of contents

What is design?
-changing role of designer
-route maps of design process

Problems and solutions
-components of design problems
-measurement,criteria & judgement in design
-model of design problems
-problems, solutions, design process

Design thinking
-types,styles of thinking
-creative thinking
-guiding principles
-design strategies
-design tactics
-design traps
-designing with others
-design as conversation and perception
-towards a model of designing

[panda_escurrido]

Hi Gius, hope you liked the books. Its weird but i dont design for myself.. but today i went to Zandra Rhodes conference and she said something about it, - if i dont wear my own clothes who else will gonna believe in my work?- and its kind of thruth, so i`ll have to make things that i would wear and like more. At the end of the day i think thats the most important thing, if you like or not what you`ve created and how much do you love the fashion. Im impressed how fast you looked for the books, heres some more:

Serious CReativity Edward de Bono I kind of hate this guy cause hes a real douche who made money with the lateral thinking technichs but the book is usefull
101 activities for teaching creativity and problem solving its a little bit childish but if you use it for create your own cretivity methods is also usefull
Cross-Train Your Brain Stephen Eiffert

[gius]

so that's something interesting to see in female designers who design for men or male who design for female...
in my class i have to make women's clothes and i usually don't think about any person.. i just think of the shape and what i like. it's more for practice...


i really like de Bono's article, thank you
(for anyone interested, it is here http://www.debonogroup.com/serious_creativity.htm )
the method's/technique's straightforward and simple.. also kind of amusing! the different "colour hats" to represent different types of thinking. i totally understand now, i think i have been wearing the White Hat all this time and some Green

i was hoping to have learnt to finish a complete garment by this week's class but i will have to wait till next class (i only have to learn how to do the hem and set in the sleeve). i am going to use deBono's technique for design this weekend
i get so inspired just by doing
the act of working...
i get ideas by how things are stitched or faced, etc.

Quote:

Everything that is absorbed and registered in your mind adds to the collection of ideas stored in the memory: a sort of library that you can consult whenever a problem arises. So, essentially the more you have seen, experienced and absorbed, the more points of reference you will have to help you decide which direction to take: your frame of reference expands. by Herman Hertzberger book: Lessons for Students of Architecture

from How Designers Think

[gius]

I really like this book
It's called Architecture in detail: Elements

Like when I say I'm inspired by architecture it's not really what I see that I am inspired by, like looking at a the shape of a building or anything. It's more like this...

This section in the book is about DOORS

Quote:

"What should I turn to, lighting upon days like these? Every door is barr'd with gold, and opens but to golden keys," wrote Alfred Lord Tennyson. ❚ As an architecture element, the door suggests entry and opportunity, but also solidity and protection. ❚ Today's architects are intent on exploring varied ideas on ingress and egress. ❚ When or where is that gateway, that moment of entry or exit? ❚ Can or should the dichotomy between outside be blurred, even erased? ❚ Robert Frost: "From the door I shall set forth for somewhere. I shall make the reckless choice."

[prehuman]

It's hard to draw a clear line between inspiration and imitation.

A lot of thought, research and planning goes into art. It's very easy to skip all that, to not think, and just copy something you like. This could be based out of laziness, maybe, but I think more often the artist doubts his or her own ability to create... or, furthermore, he doubts his or her own self.

I think if you're brave enough to put a piece of yourself into your art, whatever you build out of that inspiration is your own and therefore transcends imitation.

I truly believe that the mixing of ideas--not copying someone else's--drastically progresses our minds and our art. With each experience, each new bit of information learned, we take what we need from it to further our own ideas, opinions, and understanding of the world we live in. And what is art but an interpretation of the world we live in from countless angles?

[ilaughead]

Thanks for the link to de Bono's article!

Sadly I don't quite get the whole 'hats' thing, but I love the concept of random words. The example of the cigarette and the traffic light seemed particularly inventive. Recently I've actually been trying a similar approach, if a little formulaic. (And it really only works for fashion design.) I would put together a list of materials, concepts, eras, adjectives, etc. and then a list of articles of clothing. Next, I would connect a few items out of the first category and a piece of clothing and see how they could work together. (Does that make any sense?)

I don't know if it works for others, but for me, at least, it gives me ideas. Some good, some bad.

Also, since I've been a lurker on here for the past couple of weeks, here's some of my other impressions from this thread.

Reading is really a great tool for getting visual inspiration. While novels with copious amounts of imagery are the most useful, even reviews of the latest collections work. (While not the most original, the reviews thing can at least get some ideas going.) For example, the camel coats with clear buttons dior_couture was talking about earlier in the thread could be interpreted in a zillion different ways. Just reading something makes the reader envision the subject, and unless the text is specific, several ideas could be drawn out of it.

And on the inspired-by-designers problem, I cannot, cannot, cannot draw until a week or so after Paris fashion week. Otherwise, all of my designs end up looking a little to Balenciaga, or the styling is way too Prada. Once I was drawing soon after the new collections were shown, and when I went back to the sketch to put it away an hour after, I started picking up on all of these little details I had taken from each show. So, me being me, I got out my markers and made little arrows and circles showing exactly where that sleeve length came from, the heel of the shoe, etc.

[panda_escurrido]

I found and interesting article in Digg. http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/WhyAntiInt.htm
cheers

[gius]

not really sure what the article was trying to say.. isn't tinkering a form of creativity? to even come up with ways to do variations of the same thing.

ilaughead the hats is for when you are designing.. you put on each hat. like in the beginning of a project you may put on the white hat to determine what your goals are. say if it is for clothing, where will it be worn, does it have to keep you warm, does it keep you cool, how do get inside the clothes, etc. and then after you move onto the next hat...

prehuman thanks for the earlier karma i agree that creating ideas is kind of like forming your own opinions and thoughts. art to me wouldn't necessarily be how i see the world but rather the kind of world i live in myself (or the world i want to live in)
gasolinerainbow posted this blog in another thread: thesnailandthecyclops.blogspot.com
i thought it was really amusing, she seems to live in her own little world and even her environment becomes a reflection of that, her fashion sense, etc. the old books and tapestry and lace fabrics adorning the walls... I had two classmates like this in my class. One wore green almost everyday and had these sort of foresty things growing out of her bag and scarf. It was made of felt.

[gius]

old article i dug up while cleaning the house...


Design: What is it?

Quote:

Design could be called an orderly response to a question or need. It involves the organizing of formal elements (line, shape or form, texture, value, colour, etc.) and adapting means and materials to specific ends. Regardless of style or function, the goal of design is an arrangement, sometimes harmonious sometimes deliberately unharmonious, of integral parts. Individual approaches to design are as varied as the designers themselves. Some designers begin with an idea (motif or subject) while others first consider the end product or function before beginning. Some designer pre-plan everything and others design in a manipulative (just start doing) or intuitive (go with the feeling) manner. The desired result, the design, is an organized relationship that is both compositionally sound and in some way or other personally satisfying.

[gius]

a sample procedure...

Stages in the Design process:

Quote:

Choosing the materials Adapting to your materials-discovering your materials Creative thought, creative process -chaos Working critically -choosing a favourite "Shopping" -choosing a piece or an element to make your work soar (rise above the mundane) Getting perspective on your work -standing back, re-evaluating Making the necessary changes -simplifying Finishing/completing -the all-important "knowing when to stop." Showing your work -evaluation Building on what you have learned

[Crimson C.C]

Absolutely fantastic thread!

I think you process your creativity by just 'do-ing', and you become more aware and the more times you do it, the better you get at it. And the better you get at it, the more aware of your aesthetic you are. So i think creativity is more about exploration and experimentation.

And if you just copy designers as inspiration, you are not aware of other things the designers are aware of. (You will find out how far you will get...) So personnally Creativity is just being aware: Aware of yourself, aware of others, aware of your inspiration, aware of textiles, aware of innovation.

Thats the best i can explain it after 4 tries...

I dont think you can train yourself by reading these things. Its like driving a car, you might know how every function works but untill you get in there and learn/develop yourself you wont be able to drive the best way you can.

But its great how we can all attempt to try and explain it for other people to realise how they do it themselves.

[b9409]

I studied Industrial Design, and one would think that the possibilities for 'brand new' stuff , or I should say; inventions, are endless in that field. Unlike let's say some other branch like fashion design. You have two arms, two legs that must fit in clothes. But there are cars, iPods, furniture... so many product design opportunities.

But truth be told, it is not like that. 99.5% of all Industrial design today is re-designing what has already been designed before. The cellphone, the iPod, the TV, the computer, luxury goods, even a tooth brush... I mean all these things exist, and have existed for a long time now. Almost everything that can and should be designed, have been designed already.

But then what is creativity?

Creativity is having intuition to see what is needed within that given time/period and apply whatever thought process, design mentality, and perception to one new item that should be produced and manufactured that day. It is so hard to design something, when you think of it. But when you know what to design; a jacket, a pair of pants, a mp3 player, a room, a couch, TV, cellphone, necklace -something particular- then things are a little bit easier obviously to put something together in a sensible and innovative way.

Designers do have taste. Each, a particular one.

I am sure every fashion designer could design a room interior, or a table set if they had to, and I am sure it would reflect their taste. Maybe not as great as a seasoned interior designer or a decorator, but they would at least have the general idea to put something together. I think what a designer must do is to bring his own voice and sense of style to a particular object to be designed, and while doing it, maintaining a modern, or of-the-moment, look and attitude to it.

I mean, it is so hard not to be inspired by some well-known designer out there, because they are famous. And there is a reason for their fame: they are good designers, among millions. What they design makes sense in real world. Imitation is awful, but inspiration does bring out best results, because it is almost like carrying a torch on a specific idea that should be developed and kept alive for a little bit longer.

Especially in fashion.

From this day on, the only 'true' innovation in fashion, and design and architecture in particular, can come from engineering: new processes, new materials, new applications. Without those miracle inventions in science, particularly in materials, no innovation can be achieved. And new material and application possibilities ignite 'creativity' in a designer's head, and makes him/her see what actually can be done, NOW.

Among all this, I think creativity is choosing the best option among million of others to solve a specific design problem in the most elegant, articulate, and sensible manner.

[MUXU]

^i like your explanation.
im tired of people say, 'fashion is finished, everything is done' but obviously that is not true.

the 6 hat theory is interesting. i been doing it already, not all the hats, and of course i didnt have a fancy word for it. i just thought it as analytical skills.

was reading the 'brain defect' article yesterday, it's interesting.

though it states creativity is not a god given gift but a trained skill, like many skills in this world, there are still those who naturally find it easier than others.
i find the basis of this still depends on the amount of pre-conceived knowledge and experience. like karl lagerfeld said, be curious of everything!