Behind the coffee addiction is a girl who came from a school of graphic design whose’ ethos was all based around creative thinking and the idea. The book I have chosen for this week’s book in reception was a staple must have from the courses reading list. I graduated in 2004 and it is still a firm favourite of mine today.

I’ve chosen ‘A Smile in the Mind’ as it’s about something I feel is very important within design and that is the use of wit and ideas when coming up with solutions. It is also a good read that gives many examples without going into too much detail which makes it a very good book that you can just pick up, have a look through, put down and come back to. It’s accessible to people who don’t work in the creative industries, is a great starting point for anyone wanting to find out more and is a great source of inspiration for those already working within the industry.

Edward de Bono writes the forward to ‘A Smile in the Mind’. He is regarded as one of the most influential writers on creative thinking, and I would highly recommend reading any of his books on the subject. He treats creative thinking as an actual thought process and has developed many techniques that can be used for idea generation. He says” Too often we think of creativity just as ‘art’. But art is not in fact a very high expression of creativity because art can be wonderful without much change in ideas or perception”.

A Smile in the Mind explores witty thinking in graphic design and explains what witty thinking is. It isn’t necessarily creating something that is funny. It’s an intelligence to design, a way of looking at the subject, playing with it, turning it around, breaking it apart to reassemble it another way and coming up with a lateral solution. It talks of different ways in which you can use wit within design, for example, Pairs or Changes and gives examples of how each different form of wit has been used within design. At the back of the book 25 very influential designers each give a few examples of their work and answer the question that every creative wants to know the answer to – ‘How did you get the idea?”

One of these designers is Seymour Chwast, who along with Milton Glaser founded The Pushpin Studios in New York. On my last trip to New York, which admittedly was a few years ago, I had the great opportunity of meeting him and have him give me a tour around The Push Pin Studios. Seymour Chawst has a very illustrative approach to his work and Milton Glaser is best known for the incredibly famous I Love New York logo. Seymour Chwast still runs The Push Pin Studios whilst Milton Glaser went on to set up his own practice. I highly recommend that you look further into their work.

I feel that using wit in graphic design can be an excellent way to communicate with an audience. It creates rapport with them. The audience feels that they understand your brand when they understand the wit used in your promotional material or identity of what you are trying to sell them.

They make a connection with the idea and therefore make a connection with your brand or product. For me, wit in design keeps the brain ticking and raises some smiles for both the designer and for the audience. Surely that’s important.

If you’re not a designer I say look out for the wit used in design that’s all around you, you’ll be surprised how often it’s used and it’ll brighten your day a little with a smile in your mind. If you are a designer, the next time you’re concepting an idea – keep your ‘wits’ about you.

I hope that this book inspires you and gives you all few smiles in your minds.

Tags: A Smile in the Mind, Creative Thinking, Creativity, Design, Edward de Bono, Graphic Design, Intelligent Design

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