[T]he exhibits in the Traits of Life collection focus on four defining features: all life is made of cells and DNA; life makes more of its own kind; life evolves over time; and life uses energy.

While the Exploratorium tends to skew toward individual exhibits, with only loose connections between individual installations, this exhibit stood out in that it had a consistent message and various innovative methods of integrating living organisms into the exhibits themselves. Visitors can find out for themselves how different bacteria had thrived or not under different lighting conditions, control the oxygen-CO2 balance in jars of living materials to see firsthand how exchanges in life-giving gases create systems of exchange between plants and animals, and view live chicken embryos as they develop. Just as the classic perception-bending experiences at the Exploratorium allow you to experiment with your own senses and discover new things about yourself, Traits of Life allows you to discover and demonstrate and view for yourself basic natural systems of life.

All of the exhibits integrated some kind of living organism with well-written, accessible yet thought-provoking descriptions and a use of kiosks, touchscreens and other interactive tech that complemented rather than supplanted the real content, which was the living organisms.

Traits of Life Exploratorium Site

However, rather than continuing to split hairs over methodology, his new article expands on some of these ideas and stands as a support of brainstorming itself. Both Sandberg and Sutton believe that brainstorming is a skill that takes time to develop, requires discipline to manage, and must be integrated into the culture of an organization, not just exist as panaceas to design process problems. The meat of the article is 8 tips for improving (or even deciding whether to bother with) brainstorming.

Link to Sutton Article

See Also:
Does Brainstorming Not Suck?

“G]reat brainstorming sessions are possible, but they require the planning of a state dinner, plenty of rules, and the suspension of ego, ingratiation and political railroading. Hosts have to hope that people won’t expend creative energy trying to tell others their ideas are bad without actually telling them that — admittedly a real business skill. And they have to cross their fingers that the session won’t deteriorate into what some people call “blamestorming” or “coblabberation,” where you get nowhere or settle on something mediocre to be done with it….

My reaction to reading this is “So how DO you tell people that their ideas are bad?” It may seem flip, but often the difference between good and bad idea generation is how well the people involved know each other. I can tell my best friend that his shoes are ugly, but I couldn’t necessarily tell an employee of a client during a group facilitation the same thing.

Sutton says that because the sessions took place in an experimental environment rather than in a workplace with established culture and processes, that they can make no definitive claim on the efficacy of brainstorming.

Sutton:

if these were studies of sexual performance, it would be like drawing inferences about what happens with experienced couples on the basis of research done only with virgins during the first time they had sex.

This has little to do with sketching per se, but it has everything to do with creative thinking. I would agree with Sutton on this topic– I have been a part of both productive and unproductive brainstorming sessions and it seems that group dynamics and culture have more to do with its success or failure than any other factor.

One of the most creative times in my life was when I was taking an improv class while at school. The mental flexibility that was exercised regularly during that class spilled over into other aspects of my work. I would encourage any creative person to take 10% of their day and devote it to purely creative pursuits. We’d all be happier and more creative if 40 minutes a day was spend arranging flowers, building lamps out ot popsicle sticks or noodling on a piano.

If you’re interested in learning how to give effective feedback in a creative environment, check out Liz Lerman’s Method of Critical Response for a primer on civilized creative critique. Apparently she has an entire book on the subject, but I haven’t been able to track it down.