Before I start asking this question, I think I need to justify it before I do so. I currently design toys/candy products for a novelty toy/candy manufacturer. In doing so, during some brainstorming sessions and rough sketching, I like to start out coming up with the worst ideas I can think of. I like to think to the most dangerous, politically incorrect, ludicrous toys I can. It sometimes sparks some ideas, and sometimes we have some really great sketches to hang up and laugh at down the road.
This being said, I have a question for the transportation designers of the world. Do you guys ever try to design the most awful, despicable, dangerous automobiles you can think of to try to spark ideas? If so, does anyone have any sketches of this? I would love to see some of this… I think that would be hilarious.
Sketches? How about concept cars? Far too many are among the following categories, if not all:
a) impossible to mass produce
b) impractical to drive
c) impossible to drive safely
d) so against the standards that have been wisely developed in the last 130+ years that they would be totally unacceptable (while, of course, leaving all of the functions which have been standardized, but shouldn’t be alone)
I would take a first glance at cardesignnews.com and spread out from there!
So I checked it out… maybe I was thinking of something different. I was thinking about sketching absurd designs for the simple fact that they they are absurd… like a car that runs on dead baby puppies or something…
There are often sketched in the back of Car and Driver of absurd auto concepts, you could go to your local library and have a look (last page). I do the same thing in Architecture, I often draw, well actually develop assanine ideas simply for my own entertainment and to push the envelope. How about the dormitory i designed that was a superstructure holding housing units which were to be pre-fab falices, witht he head of glass.
That is a great idea Pezzy. You should go to car design news, and put this idea on their boards as a new topic. They have a few of these in their portfolios section, and some of the members there could tell you about concept cars they believe are what you were asking about. If I knew how to attach an image to this post I could show you guys a deathmobile sketch I did.
It’s a great idea. By pushing the design in the extreme opposite, you create a larger conceptual area to work within, and you also expose opportunities to “break laws” of convention. It’s also a different way for your brain to work on the same problem… It’s like filling out two columns (bad & good) rather than just the “good” column we tend to focus on as designers.
I always like to put together 2-axis region maps that defines the category of whatever I’m working in. (One of the most common in the design world has emotional/rational on one and complex/simple on the other.)
One of my favorite books on creativity is “Jump Start Your Brain” by Doug Hall. He’s got about 40 creativity exercises and one’s called “Law Breaker.” It works this way: you list all the laws, truths, perceptions, myths and absolutes surrounding your task, and then next to each law, you list one or two ways to break it.