This is an exercise with index cards. The goal is to figure out what
you’re interested in and start to understand how those interests might
be related to each other.
Here’s how to do it:
Get out a stack of index cards. Physical is better, but you can also
use sticky notes in (e.g.) Miro, Excalidraw or even just a Google doc
or whatever.
For me, the fact that you can arrange these cards spatially
is very important!
On each card, write down a word or phrase that describes an
interest, a technique, an aesthetic, etc. that is of interest to you.
Don’t edit, don’t worry about consistency. Just keep making cards.
Now, taxonomize. Spread the cards out in front of you. Do
the cards fall into categories? What’s missing from those categories? Is
there a category of interest that you missed entirely? Do any of the
cards suggest other interests that you didn’t include?
Now try generating new ideas. Pick the cards up, shuffle
them and re-arrange them. Put two cards together at random to create new
juxtapositions. What project ideas or areas of research suggest
themselves?
Mind mapping is a time-tested technique for exploring an idea. As
with the index card exercise, I find it’s better to do this with
physical media (i.e., pen and paper). There’s lots of mind-mapping
software out there that you can use too!
Steps:
Pick a topic to explore.
Write your topic idea in the middle of a sheet of paper.
Make a list of related topics and write them around the central
topic. (These topics might be related fields of research; research
directions phrased as questions; techniques and materials; subtopics;
free association; etc.) Connect to the original topic with a line.
For each of the new topics, repeat the process.
Try not to edit yourself too much. Use external resources (notes,
Wikipedia, whatever) but don’t get bogged down in specifics.
Group “trees” visually with different colors, etc.
When you’re done, evaluate. What’s missing? Do any of the
“subtopics” have relationships with each other? Where do you need to do
more research?