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First, if this post isn’t a testamant to Windows Live Writer and how easy it makes WYWSIG blogging, then I don’t know what is. I never would have had the patience to compile this post, with embedded, formatted images, properly flowing text, and links galore without it

So the Richard’s Book Theme of the past few months has been “design and creativity”. To that end I’ve been looking to discover whether any design talent lays buried deep inside me (and trust me it must be wayyy deep… have you seen this site?). I’m also very curious to find whether a creative talent can be learned, given only a modicum of innate ability.

The first book on the list is “The Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink. In it, Pink explores the theory that, in an age of Abundance, Asian job market influence, and other factors, leading nations will need to begin to further cultivate the unique, creative talents of the workforce in order to compete effectively. His arguments are very compelling and relevant, but even moreso what I enjoyed is his self development “regime” that accompanies the main discourse. For example, after the chapter discussing Design, Pink provides a section called Portfolio that provides helpful links and exercises for someone who feels they need to work on their design skills to bring them up to par.

Next up is “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson.  Chris is the editor for Wired magazine, and always has an extremely intuitive way of looking at current and future technology. The Long Tail focuses on the proliferation of products and services available to consumers as a result of the Internet (”near infinite choice”) and how the availability of search and taxonomy tools create a viable market for even the most niche of products in a genre. His significant research utilizes real world data from Rhapsody, Google, and eBay among others.  I recommend it highly for anyone interested in the market dynamics of the new digital economy, or for anyway who wants to understand how the growth of choice in the marketplace is a good thing for both consumers and providers combined. (This technically isn’t design related, but it relates to the shaping of products and services to match current economic trends.)

This next book I actually read some time ago, but is so intrinsic to the topic that I have to mention it: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Betty Edwards explores the idea that the brain is “hardwired’ to see “objects” when we try to draw them, instead of simply letting us observe and draw the shapes and forms of things. A perfect example is how we tend to draw faces by first drawing eyes, then a nose, and so on, and they all end up looking like a drunken squirrel Edwards gives you tons of guidance and eye opening exercises, like recreating a famous drawing by turning it upside down and completing it by focusing on the lines instead of the chair and person in the picture. I guarantee you, if you do nothing else in the book and try just this one exercise, you’ll be a convert to her way of thinking.

I can’t say that I became an expert after finishing the book, but I did get a LOT better, and if I had the tie and conviction to practice I think I could get to a very passable point. One complaint that many people have, and it is true in a sense, is that it doesn’t teach you to “imagine” and “create” new scenes, instead focusing on what you can see. Edwards says that what you see in your mind is no different than what you see in the real world, and so the techniques should apply; unfortunately there isn’t a chapter on inspiring your own creativity

Up next in the queue are :

The Paradox of Choice - This is the antithesis of The Long Tail, and in fact is sharply criticized by Anderson. However, it is also one of the top rated business books of the year and delves deep into the topic of “too much choice” and as such applies to the topic of product design and delivery simillar to Anderson’s book.

Don’t Make Me Think - Subtitled as “A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability”, this book is cited as one of the best in the topic of interface design for “newbies” in any specialty.

Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices - Another highly regarded book on product design, from web sites to consumer devices.

That should keep me for a while Have any similar books you think I would benefit from? Drop a comment or mail me at site *at* richardgoodwin *dot* com!

tags: books, design, creativity, drawing, brain