Creative Thinking

Prof. Dr. Eman Elbana

Faculty of Applied Arts
Fall Semester
October 2023
 Creative thinking Course
A journey to explore creativity using a
wide range of creativity tools.
Not all creative thinkers are artists. Indeed,
many jobs require a lot of creative thinking,
despite having nothing to do with the arts.

Assignment:
Differentiate between: Creativity – Innovation.
The aim of this course is..
to explore our innate abilities and enhance our
creative skills to become more creative and
imaginative.
No previous knowledge or background is
necessary, all that is required is an open mind.
Weekly Plan

Weeks 1 - 2 will introduce you to some basic principles of

creativity.
Weeks 3 - 7 will focus on the application of creativity tools.
During these weeks, you will be able to master many creativity
thinking techniques and boost your creativity through a range of
assignments throughout the course, as you share your
experience and learn from peers.
Weeks 8 -12 Final Project and Portfolio
Syllabus
Week 1 Introduction to Principle of Creativity
Week 2 Creativity Tools ( Brainstorming)
Week 3 Creativity Tools (Morphological Analysis)
Week 4 Creativity Tools (SCAMPER)
Week 5 Thinking Styles
Week 6 Revision
Week 7 Midterm exam
Week 8 Creativity Tools (5 Whys - Mind – map)
Week 9 Creativity Tools (WH Questions - 6 Thinking Hats )
Week 10 Using the Tools in Combination (Introduction to project )
Week 11 Final Project ( collecting data )
Week 12 Revision
week 13 Final Project and Portfolio submission
Each week we have ( 1 Hour ) theoretical lecture, and (2 Hours tutorial ) groups practices at studios.
 Full course syllabus

1-Introduction to Principle of Creativity

2- Creativity Tools
We will focus on the basic principles of creativity and highlight its importance
in tackling global challenges. Creativity is explored and applied at two
different levels, lower and higher-level creativity. Throughout, we're aiming to
provoke your thoughts and develop your creative mind through varied
activities and interactions.
 Thinking Styles
We will focus on the principles as well as application of a
variety of thinking styles both at an individual level and in a
group, under various professional and personal situations,
allowing you to develop competency and accelerate
proficiency on the use of different thinking styles.
Morphological Analysis
You will become familiar with the Principles of
Morphological Analysis and learn
how to apply it in various life scenarios, from design to
developing movie plotlines, whilst developing a more
systematic approach to idea generation
SCAMPER
This week, we will introduce you to the final creativity tool in
the course and its importance in generation of ideas and
improvement of the existing ones; SCAMPER. You will become
familiar with the concepts of SCAMPER and gain proficiency in
its application in various unusual, personal or professional
situations, whilst inspiring related ideas.
Using the Tools in Combination
Now that you have mastered a wide range of creativity tools and
developed competency in their application over a wide range of
situations and domains, we will wrap up by asking you to use these
tool in combinations and apply these in context and scenarios that
are also related to your own discipline or context.
This will help you reinforce the concepts that you have learnt so far
and enable you to use the creativity tools freely in problem solving
and idea generation.
Type of Assessments and Grading Policy

• Assignments (Work) 20%

• Midterm exam 10%
• Final project and portfolio 30%
• Final Exam 40% : will be in the form of either Multiple
Choice, Checkboxes, Text Input, Dropdown, and Drag
and Drop.
Glossary

• Brainstorming :An activity typically involving a multi-disciplinary group meeting

together to propose and generate ideas to solve a stated problem.
• Creative person : Someone who is able to choose high-quality ideas from a wider set
of ideas.
• Creativity : The ability to imagine or invent something new of value.
• Creativity Tools : A means to augment innate generative activity
• Idea :A formulated and considered thought.
• Morphological Analysis : A matrix-based tool in which a problem is broken-down
into component parts and a range of approaches suggested for each of these elements.
• SCAMPER : An acronym for substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to other uses,
eliminate, rearrange.
• Memory : The ability to store, retain and subsequently access information
• Problem : A situation that needs to be addressed.
 Helpful Resources
Below you will find a selection of additional material for you that may be helpful to keep alongside the course.

 Please note that this material is optional and not intended as integral part of the course. These readings also cover additional topics
not discussed within this course.

1. Boden, M.A. (2004) The creative mind, myths and mechanisms, 2nd ed. London and New York: Routledge.
2. Cook, J., Oreskes, N., Doran, P., Anderegg, W., Verheggen, B., Maibach, E., Carlton, J., Lewandowsky, S., Skuce,
A., Green, S., Nuccitelli, D., Jacobs, P., Richardson, M., Winkler, B., Painting, R. and Rice, K. (2016). Consensus on
consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming. Environmental Research
Letters, 11(4), p.048002.
3. IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A.
Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, 151 pp.
4. Jones, M. (1995). The thinker's toolkit. New York: Three Rivers Press (edition? Page number - students do not have
access to all pages).
5. MacKay, D. (2008). Sustainable Energy-without the hot air. UIT Cambridge Ltd.
6. Michalko, M. (2011). Cracking creativity. New York: Random House US.
7. Nordhaus, W. (2008). A question of balance. New Haven: Yale University Press.
8. Osborn, A.F. Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative problem solving. 3rd ed. Scribner’s,
1963.
9. Treffinger, D.J., Isaksen, S.G., and Stead-Dorval, K.B. Creative problem solving: An introduction. 4th ed.
Prufrock Press, 2006.
10. Brain Pickings. (2018).The Art of Thought: A Pioneering 1926 Model of the Four Stages of Creativity.
11. Wang, P., Peng, D., Li, L., Chen, L., Wu, C., Wang, X., . . . Guo, Y. (2019). Human-in-the-Loop Design with
Machine Learning. Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design,
1(1), 2577-2586. doi:10.1017/dsi.2019.26
12. Childs, P. (2018) Mechanical design engineering handbook. 2nd ed. Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.
13. Childs, P. and Fountain, R. (2011). Commercivity. In: 13th International Conference on Engineering and
Product Design Education. London: Design Society, pp.3-8.
14. Childs, P. and Garvey, B. (2015). Using Morphological Analysis to Tackle Uncertainty at the Design Phase
for a Safety Critical Application. Propulsion and Power Research, 4(1), pp.1-8.
Creative Thinking
“Necessity.. is the mother of Inventions”

‫ ُأم االختراع‬.. ‫الحاجة‬

who is the father?

Opportunity
“Creativity - Innovation – Invention”
‫ االختراع‬- ‫ االبتكار‬- ‫اإلبداع‬

DIFFRENCES ?
What is Creativity to You?
Creativity is not bound by a single definition. We can each express our
own meaning of creativity as we describe what we experience when new
ideas are formed.

Can you please share with us What is your definition of creativity?

 Definitions of Creativity
Creativity can be found in your simple daily tasks through to ground-breaking scientific discoveries.
There have been many definitions of creativity in literature and academia to define sudden bursts of
brilliance. Here is a list of well-respected definitions:

• "Creativity is the process of change, of development, of evolution, in the organisation of subjective

life (Ghiselin,1952)"

• "Creativity is the forming of associative elements into new combinations which either meet
requirements or are in some way useful (Mednick, 1962)"

• "Creativity denotes a person’s capacity to produce new or original ideas, insights, inventions, or
artistic products, which are accepted by experts as being of scientific, aesthetic, social or technical
value (Vernon, 1989)"

• "Creativity is imagination with responsibility (Sae Ra Kung, 2009)"

Assignment:

From the list, which is your favourite definition of creativity and why?
 When are you Creative?

Have you recognized that there are particular moments when you feel more
creative than others?
Or in contrast, is your creativity suffocated when you are forcing yourself to be or
place the expectation upon yourself to be creative on demand?
Your mental focus (or lack of focus) and environment can have a significant
influence on your ability to be more creative. Recognizing these factors generates
more time in your day for creative thoughts to flow.

List five factors that you think may influence your creativity. Is it a place, an
object or a time of day?
Typical responses are :
in the bar, in the bath, in boring meeting or lectures, on the bus, in
bed, on the beach.
Things are known as the B's of creativity.
The common feature of these is that you are relaxed. And your
subconscious is highly active.
This aides communication between your consciousness and
subconscious. And hence the production and realizations of ideas.
 Inspirational Reading

The B's of creativity are examples of places and

spaces where your mind is at ease and free
creative thought can flow. Fiction books with stories
and tales could be considered as a B of creativity
too. Books are tools which transport you to a new
place in your imagination where you animate the
story in your mind.

Take 10 minutes to read an extract from Lewis

Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865).
Enjoy a time to reflect on a beloved childhood story
that has inspired creative thoughts over generations
 Assignment

Recycled plastic will soon be the only choice..

It has been said that the parents of an invention are "Necessity" and "Opportunity".
Our planet faces incredible challenges that will influence generations to come. There is a necessity for
intervention and change in almost every sector. In order to tackle these challenges or opportunities,
creativity can be used as the tool for transformation.
To provide further enrichment on the topic, follow the link and read the article featured on Dezeen
titled "Recycled plastic will soon be the only choice".
Take a moment to reflect on how you could tackle more challenges around you when given the right tools to
invent the solution.
https://www.dezeen.com/2018/02/02/recycled-plastic-only-choice-say-designers/

- Main information Summary

- Discuss your favorite idea/ ideas ( search more )
- Take a moment to reflect on how you could tackle more challenges around you when given the
right tools to invent the solution.
Thank you..