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Divergent Thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions as possible no matter how weird or wacky.

Divergent Thinking leads to creativity.

• It is: The ability to see lots of different answers.
• The ability to see lots of ways to interpret a question.
• The ability to “think outside the box.”
• How can we do this when designing?
• Firstly we can look at the task or question and try to interpret it differently.
• Don’t set out to try and come up with the one obvious answer.

Sometimes to solve a problem we need to remove a mental (and unnecessary) constriction.

We need to remove the assumption we initially impose upon ourselves (the lines must be straight, a vacuum cleaner needs a bag etc.

In fact, mental constrictions always limit our creativity and stop us solving everyday problems. World famous designers often remove these mental barriers to solve problems using existing designs and a process known as divergent thinking to help them design new creative products. Can you see how James Dyson’s existing products influence his own and others designs and products in the time line shown below?

"You have to deeply understand the essence of a product in order to be able to get rid of the parts that are not essential."

Jonathan Ive

Divergent Thinking

Through product analysis James Dyson found a problem with old vacuum cleaners whose design had remained the same since the early 1900’s. He became frustrated with his vacuum cleaners diminishing performance: dust kept clogging the dust bag, reducing suction. Dyson had the idea of using cyclonic separation to create a vacuum cleaner that would not lose suction as it picked up dirt.  The cyclone idea came from the spray-finishing room's air filter in his Ballbarrow factory.

Dyson’s first original invention, the Ballbarrow, was a modified version of a wheelbarrow using a ball instead of a wheel. This was featured on the BBC's Tomorrow's World television programme.

Dyson continued product analysis on his own design and found a further problem. It was difficult to turn the cleaner because of its fixed wheels.

BRAIN GYM Lets get warmed up! The goal of the puzzle is to link all 9 dots using four straight lines or less, without lifting the pen and without tracing the same line more than once. First one wins!

Design and technology should be the subject where mathematical brainboxes and science whizzkids turn their bright ideas into useful products

James Dyson

In 2011 a competition was run to update the countries electricity pylons which have remained largely unchanged since the 1920’s.

Competitors came from a variety of fields from engineers, architects, students and a range of design professions.

Whilst conducting your own research, try and use these images as inspiration. Do wind turbines have to look the way that they do? Will your client like them on their house? Or can you re-design them to become more aesthetically pleasing and an integral part of the house not a separate structure on top of the roof or in the garden. Look at other features you can possibly redesign or improve.

Divergent (lateral) thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions. Do solar panels have to bolt onto the roof? Do solar panels have to have one function? Do solar panels have to be a rectangular shape?

What alternative ideas can you come up with for a new solar panel design to fit in with the aesthetics of your house? Use the Internet to research potential conceptual ideas. If you can’t find anything, then you may have just found a gap in the market. List your ideas on the page shown above next to the solar panel arrows. Produce sketches or stick images in to explain your thinking. Try and come up with at least 5 alternative ideas for solar panels. Look at images below for inspiration.

Divergent (lateral) thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions. Do wind turbines have to separate to the house? Do wind turbines have to have one function? Do wind turbines have to be a wind mill shape?

What alternative ideas can you come up with for a new wind turbine design to fit in with the aesthetics of your house? Use the Internet to research potential conceptual ideas. If you can’t find anything, then you may have just found a gap in the market. List your ideas on the page shown above next to the wind turbine arrows. Produce sketches or stick images in to explain your thinking. Try and come up with at least 5 alternative ideas for wind turbines. Look at images below for inspiration.

Divergent (lateral) thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions. Do rainwater collectors have to be outside? Do rainwater collectors have to have one function? Do rainwater collectors have to be a round barrel?

What alternative ideas can you come up with for a new rainwater collector design to fit in with the aesthetics of your house? Use the Internet to research potential conceptual ideas. If you can’t find anything, then you may have just found a gap in the market. List your ideas on the page shown above next to the rainwater collector arrows. Produce sketches or stick images in to explain your thinking. Try and come up with at least 5 alternative ideas for rainwater collectors. Look at images below for inspiration.

Divergent (lateral) thinking involves discarding the obvious, leaving behind traditional modes of thought, and throwing away preconceptions. Can you use water to generate electricity? Can you capture kinetic energy such as people stepping movement? Can you think of any other alternative ways of generating clean energy?

What alternative ideas can you come up with for a new method to generate clean energy to fit in with the aesthetics of your house? Use the Internet to research potential conceptual ideas. If you can’t find anything, then you may have just found a gap in the market. List your ideas on the page shown above next to the own choice section. Produce sketches or stick images in to explain your thinking. Try and come up with at least 5 alternative ideas for your own choice. Look at images below for inspiration.

Exemplar Work

Self  Assessed Criteria:

Below are modelled answers. These show the work that you should submit. Remember as you come to an assessment point to get your worked marked.

When you come to the image below this is a self assessed piece of work. You must STOP and mark your work. Give yourself a grade, a positive comment and a MAD (making a difference target). You should then act upon your targets set as part of your MAD activity (making a difference). These pieces of work should be then presented in a purple font to show what you have improved. Once you have completed this present your work to your teacher