The Brief

I am no stranger to spider diagrams/mind maps/brain storming or mind mapping as I call it.. I work by lists and mind maps with all of my design projects that I do to help with the research into what I. am designing for and to mind map any ideas that might help me with the final design outcome.

This mind map was no different to any of the others I do, I started off with each word and then mapped out anything that came to mind from the original words – I worked off the most obvious things you think of and see in your mind when you think of the word and then worked off that to think of memories, colours, objects, smells that I would associate with the words.

I then asked my Husband to think of his answers for each of the words and they are listed in Pink, I also ticked in Pink next to my answers if we both thought of the same words. My Husband struggled with this more than I did! – particularly with Childhood; not that he had a bad childhood at all – far from it! but just that he recalls not going on many family holidays and that he just spent his time outside working with his Dad or playing with Lego!

I struggled most with Anger. Anger is an emotion that is very strong and there isn’t much else to it really! – if you are angry, you’re angry! It’s not a word that can be explored In great depth other than words around how it makes you feel, what may anger you and “seeing red”. Childhood for me was the next difficult word – they are both words that are very subjective, they can differ from person to person dependant on their experiences and how they grew up. I had a lot more ideas to mind map around family caravan holidays at the seaside whereas my Husband who never went on family holidays would not have put these ideas down as he never experienced them. All mind map ideas are subjective – there is no right or wrong answer, it is purely the ideas we have perceived in our own minds of places/objects/people and subjective of our own life experiences.