Art Thinking. Creative Thinking.Design Thinking. Critical Thinking.

Hi, this article is a part of a series of articles I am writing while studying Design Led Innovation at Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology. They are meant to be reflections on things I learn or read about during this time.I look forward to any feedback or crit that you can provide. :)

Did you think there was only one way of thinking ? Well I did too. It is quite interesting because we all are thinking in these different ways all the time, it is just that we might not be doing it consciously or know the “definition” of it. Therefore I took the job of writing down what I think of these various kinds of ways of thinking and how they differ from each other or are similar to each other.

ART Thinking

Art thinking for me is thinking about your ideas and thoughts in images,feelings, and even musical architectures. Art is a vision of an artist inspired by self i.e. an artist looks within to find inspiration.It is based on intuition/ gut feelings. Therefore art is introvert. As a result when presented, its interpretation might be different for individuals.

Even Einstein believed in similar ideas about art thinking.

“If what is seen and experienced is portrayed in the language of logic, then it is science. If it is communicated through forms whose constructions are not accessible to the conscious mind but are recognized intuitively, then it is art” (Calaprice, 2000, 271).

Art Thinking is a predecessor to Creative thinking.

CREATIVE Thinking

It is about not limiting your thinking. When one starts ideation, creative thinking is the best process to follow since it allows us to create something new or original. The aim of creative thinking is to stimulate curiosity and promote divergence. The what if’s need not be based on logical ground at this point of time.

It involves looking at the issue at hand from multiple perspectives and thinking about the future possibilities.

DESIGN Thinking

Design Thinking is about adopting the cognitive processes used by the designers. Design Thinking is lateral since it considers different parameters which are not defined. Parameters can constantly change on the basis of what you discover. Unlike science thinking in which a person has to think within certain set parameters. It is a problem solving way of looking at things. This kind of thinking is also iterative in process ,meaning you go back and forth. It is done in order to look for a solution to a problem which is better than existing ones.

Design thinking can be applied to anything, whether a medical problem, a business problem or even while making the best travel plans. It is based on observations and learnings from the users which lead to insights and creating solutions which the users would really want to use.

CRITICAL Thinking

This is the process we use to reflect on, access and judge the assumptions underlying our own and others. When we critically analyse our beliefs, we can logically explain them to other parties. This process of thinking is useful in scrutinizing arguments as it helps us in being rational in our judgments. Critically thinking allows us to see the connections between different ideas as well.

Overall if you were to think of it, Creative thinking and critical thinking can be both part of Design Thinking. Whilst Art thinking is a way of thinking that can be adopted to be better designers. It helps in keeping your mind open to ideas.