Last week, as I was wandering through the new Digital Media Arts Center, something caught my eye (besides how fantastic the building looks, I mean).

You see, the walls were filled with doodles. Doodles as far as the eye could see!

It started innocently enough; the frosted glass on some of the offices was meant to write notes on with a dry erase marker.  Seeing this, some students asked if they could draw something outside a staff member’s office. He agreed, and they began to create. Soon, other students saw this happening, and joined in on the fun. Before they knew it, most of the frosted glass was covered in their doodles.

Some students drew caricatures of faculty members. Others drew classic cartoons they loved. Still others, their own creations. Just when you thought they were done, the students began to get really creative, and wrote backwards message that could only be viewed inside the offices and classrooms.

Brian Hamilton, Assistant to the Media Arts Division Chair, had this to say about it:

It reminded me of a study Dan Pink mentions in his book, Drive, called “The Candle Problem.” Participants were given a candle, a box of matches, and a set of thumbtacks. They were asked to attach the candle to the wall and light it. Some would try to pin the candle to the wall using the thumbtacks. Others would try to melt the candle and adhere it to the wall. Eventually, subjects would stumble onto the correct solution of dumping the matches out of the matchbox, pinning the box to the wall, setting the candle inside the box, and lighting it. The purpose of the study was to get participants to think critically about every day objects and to find new ways of using them beyond their intended purpose.

According to Pink, this type of thinking is a necessary component of innovation and creativity. That’s why I found what is happening in the Digital Media Arts Center so interesting. Here we are, barely one week into the first semester and already our students are thinking creatively and imaginatively about their environment. Granted, it’s just doodling on frosted glass. But every year, at our Animation Show of Shows, we screen award-winning shorts by filmmakers from all over the world who turn to surprising mediums to produce their films. Perhaps these doodles will provide our students with the inspiration they need to see the animation opportunities available in other mediums.

For now, keep on doodling, guys and gals!