Michael Biskjaer

Dept of Information and Media Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

September 2011 – December 2011. Working with Larry Leifer, CDR

My research project studies the complex role of constraints in creative processes based on digital media. While ‘constraining’ literally means ‘impeding action’, expert practitioners in art and design have shown how hampering their workflow using freely chosen obstructions (such as irrational choices of material or technology) often leads to breakthroughs. In a cross-disciplinary perspective emphasizing conceptual clarification, my project investigates how and why such creative strategies in fact work. During my visit I am studying the presence and use of self-imposed constraints in collaborative creativity methods and decision-making and problem-solving techniques at the d.school.