Ideation — the process of generating design ideas — is a core skill in VCD. It happens primarily in the Develop phase of the design process and requires the deliberate use of divergent thinking strategies to explore a wide range of possible directions before selecting and refining the most promising ones.
Strong ideation is not about drawing beautifully — it is about quantity, variety, and exploration. Professional designers generate many rough ideas quickly to ensure they don’t settle prematurely on the first concept that comes to mind.
KEY TAKEAWAY: The goal of ideation is not to produce a finished design — it is to explore as many different directions as possible before evaluating and selecting. Breadth and diversity of ideas early in the process lead to better final solutions.
Freehand sketching is the most fundamental ideation tool. It allows designers to:
- Externalise and develop ideas quickly without the constraint of digital tools
- Think visually alongside the hand — the act of drawing often generates new ideas
- Produce many variations rapidly (thumbnails, rough layouts, form explorations)
Effective ideation sketching:
- Is rough and exploratory — not polished
- Includes annotations explaining the thinking behind each concept
- Explores multiple distinct directions, not variations on one idea
- Is dated and documented in the folio
Brainstorming is the rapid generation of ideas, typically in response to a prompt or question. Rules of brainstorming:
- No judgement — capture everything, even impractical ideas
- Build on ideas (“yes, and…”)
- Quantity over quality at this stage
- Combine and extend ideas
Brainstorming can be done visually (sketching), verbally, or as a combination of text and image.
Mind-mapping is a visual brainstorming technique that explores associations from a central concept:
- Write the central concept in the middle
- Branch out with related words, images, concepts, and associations
- Follow unexpected chains of association to find unusual directions
- Look for surprising connections between different branches
Mood boards are curated collections of visual references that establish the aesthetic direction for a project:
- Colour palettes drawn from existing designs, photography, or nature
- Typographic references from publications, wayfinding, or historical sources
- Compositional references, texture samples, material swatches
- Cultural or contextual references relevant to the brief
Mood boards are a form of visual research that bridges the Discover and Develop phases.
Low-fidelity prototypes are quick physical or digital models used to test ideas early:
- Paper mock-ups testing layout and scale
- Cardboard models testing form and volume
- Digital wireframes testing navigation and hierarchy
Prototyping early allows testing before committing to time-consuming resolution.
Seeking visual inspiration from:
- Existing design examples in the same field
- Historical design movements (Bauhaus, International Style, Swiss typography)
- Other design fields (cross-disciplinary borrowing)
- Nature, texture, pattern, architecture, photography
- Cultural and contextual sources relevant to the brief
EXAM TIP: When describing ideation methods in exam responses, explain what you do with each method and why it serves the brief. “I used mind-mapping to explore different visual metaphors for ‘connection’ — this helped me move beyond the obvious (hands shaking, chains) to find more original concepts such as river tributaries and neural networks.”
Professional designers and VCE students often combine methods:
1. Start with brainstorming to generate a wide list of concepts
2. Use mind-mapping to explore the most promising concepts in depth
3. Gather inspiration references to establish visual tone and quality
4. Sketch multiple thumbnail concepts exploring different visual directions
5. Build a simple prototype to test the strongest idea at scale
Annotation is inseparable from ideation. Every sketch should include notes that:
- Describe the concept and design intent
- Identify which brief criteria the idea addresses
- Evaluate the idea’s strengths and weaknesses
- Record next steps or questions for further exploration
COMMON MISTAKE: Producing only variations of the same idea rather than genuinely diverse concepts. If all your sketches look similar, you have not truly engaged in divergent ideation. Push yourself to explore fundamentally different visual approaches — different typography styles, different compositions, different colour strategies, different format orientations.
APPLICATION: Aim to produce at least 10–15 distinct thumbnail sketches for each communication need before selecting directions for development. More ideas = more options = better final solution.
