Legibility

Above is an iPad clothing app. Do i think its legible? Yes i do. For users of iPhones, iPads etc looking for a clothing application, this is very legible for they're needs. The headings for different sections are very clear as they are much larger than the other text used in the app and the layout of the application is very easy to use with buttons to navigate all around the app. The colours are clear and simple, which makes it easy to read text, look at images and recognise different sections and buttons. Images of clothing are clearly spread apart from each other throughout the app and there is no text over the images of clothing. However, with the images at the beginning of the app there is text above the images but the text is a different colour and image scan still be seen clearly.

This is a random image off the internet, but this image shows what text over a background works and doesn't work. The top image shows which contrast of colours doesn't work, the green text over the blue background. This is because the colour of the text makes the text hard to read as the image behind is a dark image. The image below shows what contrast of colours does work, the brighter gold text over the black image. The lighter colour text makes the text easier to read over a darker image. 

Managing A Creative Environment

Creativity is not just influenced by the internal thinking process of an individual but it is also influenced by the environment an individual is working in, their interests and culture. The workplace can help an individual with the production of ideas and their development. A certain environment with stimulating space can help individuals interact and broaden their thoughts.

Collecting work in different kinds of forms can influence our work. Collecting sources can act as a stimulus or as reflections of our own interests as creative practitioners. 

The environment i work in doesn't really influence me that much, especially when I'm working at home, however, i do find being at home and working at my place of study helps me concentrate the most rather than working in any other environments. I do think working in a certain environment which includes aspects to do with your work could be influential towards a better collection of ideas. Being in that place may give someone a better picture of what their doing their work on, give them more ideas.

Over coming mindsets

This is a deliberate thinking strategy to free oneself from taking on everyday problems, by taking on the conventional approach of thinking or habitual mode of thinking. Habitual thinking is what leads to the most predictable results, these kind of results lack any element of suprise. To free yourself from habitual thinking, maybe breaking the rules is the answer, however this does not mean doing something illegal, this just removes habitual thinking, such as certain conventions and comfort zones.

The are three processes to remove habitual thinking:

• The rules that are needed or wanted to be broken think about them and study their characteristics
• Find a possible way to challenge or change those rules
• And be playful and free yourself

As a practitioner, i could relax my habitual thinking by breaking the rules which i think would help me challenge my mindsets. I have certain comfort zones which help me study or think about certain things, my comfort zones are studying at home or at my place of study, university for example, i feel i can only work my best at these places and concentrate the most at these places. What if i could find somewhere else to work my best, travel around to help my work develop. 

Another habit of mine is having ideas pop into my head but not immediately put them down on paper, i usually delay putting them down. Maybe if i put these ideas down immediately, maybe it will help my own work develop, improve my overall thoughts about my work and help use my left and right side of the brain the way their supposed to be used.

Principle 2/ Utilise the creative brain

The brain consists of two halves. The right side is the creative part of the brain and the left side is the thinking part of the brain. Soon as an idea comes into the head, the idea must be drawn down and then written about. It is critical to draw down an idea as soon as it comes into the head, doing this will help other ideas and developments emerge. Also, doing this, is showing thinking on a page, this could be exploring different possibilities or outcomes. 

Using the left and right side of the brain together will improve our ability to use them when we need to use them. The right side of the brain is used for exploring the idea which has just been drawn down and the left side is used to annotate what has just been drawn down, doing this is improving the ability to use both sides of the brain at the right times, instead of righting down an idea and then drawing it for example. This is using the different sides of the brain at the wrong times. For effective thinking and good ideas and designs we must learn to use the right side before the left side of the brain.

We should always allow our right side of the brain to work, we must let it play around and experiment with ideas as it will help develop them. 

The right and left side of the brain must be shown on a page, it will help organise a layout for work in a sketchbook. For example, a drawing/ idea could be drawn on the right side of a page and the text analysing an idea could be on the left side of a the page. 

Drawing/ Working by hand principle 1

Working by hand is a skill which involves using the creative side of the brain. Working by hand enables this to happen through a physical connection between our brains, eyes and hands. The connection between our brain (thinking) and hands (mark making) is what brings our creative side of the brain into the equation. Working by hand helps us get our ideas out of our heads and onto paper, lets us explore our work, explore the potential possibilities. Putting ideas onto paper helps us to develop our ideas further, allows us to take risks with our own work and possibly come up with a final solution or idea.

Above is one piece of work, of many, created by Leonardo. This exact piece of work is the invention of some weapons. You can clearly see the developments he has made from just drawing a few of ideas onto paper. At the top of the page you can see the ideas he has come up with and developments he has made from just drawing his first idea on the paper. At the bottom of the page you can see what his ideas from the top of page have developed into, looks like a crossbow. Around that idea you can see other intricate details which would help his device work, he hasn't just drew one idea for the little details either, he has drew a couple ideas and explored which idea will work and which idea that won't work.

From this piece of work you can also tell Leonardo was using his other side of the brain too. Next to his idea at the bottom he has written notes. This is just text explaining his ideas and explaining the development his work went through. He is evaluating his idea, what could work well, what might not work well and how he can improve that idea.

I believe from looking at this piece of work Leonardo was both drawing to explore his ideas and drawing to ask himself questions about his ideas. I think he was drawing to explore because he wants to see where his ideas could go, how they could develop, he’s exploring his ideas to see how they might develop, exploring the possible ways how his ideas could work.

Leonardo is drawing to ask himself questions because, In his head his ideas might seem that they work, where as drawing his ideas on paper will answer his questions whether his idea would work or not, by drawing his idea down he has able to draw and explore other ways to see how his idea might work. In his head he could have asked himself the questions, how could my idea be improved? How might I be able to make my idea better? How can I make my idea work? There is only one way he could answer these questions and that is by working by hand, seeing his idea through his eyes and hands to get a better image of what exactly he is thinking.