The Two Modes of Engineering Creativity

Engineering creativity involves a dynamic interplay between generating ideas and making judgements about them.  Getting the balance right is critical - - some individuals and organizations are more successful than others.  Apple is clearly an organization that excels at this interplay.  The engineering imaginative activity is the process of generating something original: providing an alternative to the conventional or routine.  It's a form of mental play that is essentially generative, in which the engineer attempts to expand the possibilities of a situation, to look at it from a new perspective.

Creative activity involves playing with ideas and trying out possibilities - - playing with ideas, concepts, and things that you love.  In any creative engineering process there are likely to be dead ends: ideas and designs that do not work.  There may be failures and changes before the best outcome is produced.  Evaluating which ideas do work and which don't involves judgement and critical thinking.  Understanding this in an important foundation for creative development.  It is an important foundation for the development of engineering talent.