A collage involves sticking images or words on to a large piece of paper, in order to group ideas, personal experiences, feelings and associations around a specific theme or topic.
1. Set up a group session and a room.
2. Define the theme of the session and invite participants (minimum of 6-8).
3. Prepare the session, take care of magazines or other sources for images, scissors, markers, etc. Write down instructions for participants: what are they collaging and why?
4. Moderate the session, clearly communicating its purpose to participants. Create groups and start collaging.
5. Make sure explanations of why images and combinations are chosen are carefully documented. What is the story each collage is telling?
6. Collect and analyse the stories.
7. Create a summary with the most important findings. Include photos of the collages.
WHEN
Collages are generally focused on uncovering emotional/experience aspects of design.
WHY
This method uncovers connections and visual stories regarding a theme.
NOTE!
Have a selection of images that can be interpreted in different ways, among the materials.
OUTPUT
A collection of collages, that give insights on perception and emotional journeys.
Next
Try to sort the different collages and use them as input to gain insights.