As a designer, I use a lot of inspiration from around me to come up with new ideas, patterns and designs. However, when I learned about Design Fixation, I started to look at inspiration really differently.
Design Fixation is a term that refers to the idea that our implicit memory of previous ideas can cause a conformity in idea generation.
Conformity in Idea Generation
A study by Jansson& Smith in 1991 identified that when people were asked to draw a picture of an alien, if they were given an example, they would unintentionally create an alien with features more similar to the example than if they were given no example at all. This conformity is involuntary and cannot be avoided. It can happen to novices and experts alike!
In the case of experts, this might be useful if experts are given a similar situation over and over again, their conformity in thinking might provide them an accurate solution over and over again.
Incubation to Break Free
However, all is not lost!
There’s a concept called incubation that can help you break free from Design Fixation when you need to. Incubation is the concept of incremental and unconscious work during a break or delay from trying to solve a problem.
In simpler terms, incubation allows you to see the problem outside of the box of fixation. It could be anything like, taking a bath, going for a walk or taking a nap.
Archimedes' Eureka!
Supposedly, Archimedes was in the bath when he had a ‘eureka’ moment about the displacement of mass, the Archimedes Principle, based on some water splashing out of the tub when he got into the bath. The natural world helped to trigger the answer to his problem.
“Neurons that fire together, wire together.” The more you think of something a certain way, the more you will think that way. So it is important to consider that you might be in a rut with your thinking, and it might be valuable to get yourself out!
Embrace Incubation
Next time you encounter a creative roadblock, consider taking a step back and giving your brain some breathing room. Allow yourself the luxury of incubation, and you’ll be amazed at the fresh perspectives and ideas that emerge. Research suggests that taking a break can actually help your brain forget your previous fixations and come up with your eureka moment!
Tell that to your manager the next time that you are dealing with a particularly tough problem! 😉