The Act of Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Act of Design - Essay Example One fundamental concept mentioned in the first article is to use critical thinking in order to have a successful problem-solving process, using focused knowledge based on facts and ease in using these facts to the problem at hand. Another powerful concept is to see things differently, with a new perspective and to use innovation as a departure from prevailing standards. This is an essence of critical thinking, to think independently and boldly, not intimidated by constraints like universal truths, simple answers or easy solutions. The second article has two powerful concepts in it, which are that problems and their potential solutions are often interwoven or linked, and a second insight is successful designing very often requires a high level of tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, since many things in design are not straightforward at all. Drawings or sketches are often used to explore both problems and potential solutions (together), due to uncertainty. Using design to solve a problem requires the use of creative and critical thinking. This is to alternate between the two modes, first to think creatively for potential solutions and then later, critically evaluate its feasibility. This idea is echoed by de Bono in a six-thinking-hats approach to problem solving, lateral thinking using creativity. Ordinary thinking is linear and logical that puts limitation on creative thinking; most design problems are ambiguous and requires thinking â€Å"outside the box,† what intuition is all about.