NATURE'S HANDWRITING

Leonardo da Vinci taught himself to read nature's handwriting, which can be seen everywhere: in wings, eggshells, clouds, snow, ice, crystals, and other chance conjunctions. He used these insights in his quest for new ideas and solutions to problems. Leonardo could have coaxed ideas out of a salesman's shoe. Robert McKim's Experiences in Visual Thinking provides this illustrative excerpt from Leonardo's notebooks:

I cannot forbear to mention ... a new device for study which although it may seem trivial and almost ludicrous, is nevertheless extremely useful in arousing the mind to various inventions. And that is, when you look at a wall spotted with stains . . . you may discover a resemblance to various landscapes, beautiful with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees. Or again, you may see battles and figures in action, or strange faces and costumes, and an endless variety of objects which you could reduce to complete and well-drawn forms.

Leonardo also wrote an essay agreeing with Botticelli that you can throw a paint-soaked sponge at a wall and see a host of different images in the splashes (Do you ever lay on your back and look at the clouds in the sky? What do you see?). These images are starting points for ideas; your mind superimposes the possibility of meaning onto them.

A friend studied a given shape and saw:
• String.
• A spider's web.
• Coffee spill on a rug.
• McDonald's logo.

These images clustered into a new idea. He thought of fast food, liquids that spill, containers for liquids, and webbed objects. Then, bingo, he came up with an idea to replace cardboard trays at concession stands and fast-food outlets.

The idea: A cup carrier made out of plastic loops that hang from a web of strings that can tote four cups at once.
The design eliminates spilling—lids aren't even necessary. The carrier
costs less and takes up less space than most paper trays.

Da Vinci's Doodles
Leonardo Da Vinci's technique for getting ideas was to close his eyes, relax totally, and cover a sheet of paper with random lines and scribbles. He would then open his eyes and look for images, objects, face or events Many of his inventions came forth unbeckoned from this random scribbles. DaVinci used this technique to develop many of his inventions. Scribbling allows you to put your abstract ideas into tangible form. Sketching is a way of talking to yourself.