Winning by Design: The Methods of Gordon Murray A Research Paper by Nigel Cross & Anita Clayburn Cross A case study of the working methods of one particularly successful designer in a highly competitive design domain - Formula One racing car design. Gordon Murray was chief designer for the very successful Brabham and McLaren racing car teams in the 1970s and 1980s. His record of success is characterised by innovative breakthroughs, often arising as sudden illuminations, based on considering the task from first principles and from a systemic viewpoint. His working methods are highly personal, and include intensive use of drawings. Personality factors and team management abilities also appear to be relevant. There are some evident similarities with some other successful, innovative designers You need to make the step forwardDrawing the bitsLike designing things for the first timeWonder PlotsI never have engineers that aren't designers+7 More design
Co-Evolution of Problem and Solution Spaces in Creative Design An Essay by Nigel Cross & Kees Dorst www.researchgate.net Between the two spaces What the prototype tells youSolution to evaluation and back againIn terms which must be alteredPrimitive design
The still life effect A Fragment by Paul Graham paulgraham.com If you're going to spend years working on something, you'd think it might be wise to spend at least a couple days considering different ideas, instead of going with the first that comes into your head. You'd think. But people don't. In fact, this is a constant problem when you're painting still lifes. You plonk down a bunch of stuff on a table, and maybe spend five or ten minutes rearranging it to look interesting. But you're so impatient to get started painting that ten minutes of rearranging feels very long. So you start painting. Three days later, having spent twenty hours staring at it, you're kicking yourself for having set up such an awkward and boring composition, but by then it's too late. ideasart