3.2.1 Generating Ideas

3.2.1 Generating ideas

Student Book

pp 82–85

Once you have been set the brief for the kind of artefacts you are to produce, you need to start thinking about how you might meet that brief.

Recording your thoughts in this process is very important.

Begin by making a mind map below of all of your ideas for ways to solve the problems that the brief brings with it.

CLAY POT

- How much clay I will need

- How to make it

- How big I want my pot to be

Selecting your idea

Weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of each of your ideas is an important part of beginning to select what you may eventually produce. For each of the ideas from your mind map, complete the evaluation chart below. When considering an idea, think about the following and decide if they are strengths or weaknesses:

Ÿ whether the materials you may need are available and affordable

Ÿ whether you have access to the equipment you may need to produce this artefact

Ÿ Whether you have the skills to create this artefact (or if you would need to ask someone with those skills to help you).

Idea	Strengths	Weaknesses
Clay pot	I have a rough idea of how big I want it to be.	It might not turn out perfect
How Much Clay I will need	There is plenty to use in my school and it is affordable	I don’t have many skills on clay.
How big or small, or round or circle I want my clay pot to be	Ask my teacher for help	No skills
pictures	I can find pictures I might want to use on my pot	They may not fit onto my pot

Once you have completed this activity, you should have a clearer idea about which is the most achievable and suitable one to choose to take forward.