Humor and Design

Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009

IIT Institute of Design

Humor and Design

Shivani Mohan Abstract “Humor reveals a whole new universe of

IIT Institute of Design I would like to propose that humor has the same information processing.”
350 N. LaSalle St, intrinsic ingredients as modern notions of creative
4th floor thinking. In fact design thinking methods and - The Art of Looking Sideways
Chicago, IL 60654 frameworks can be developed by deconstructing
mohan@id.iit.edu the notion of humor and its techniques.
Introduction
Keywords
Design process, humor, creative thinking, concept There might be nothing new or interesting in saying
generation, metophor, hyperbole that creativity fuels both humor and design. But is
it possible to reverse this equation? Can humor or
Guide rather the thought structure and method of humor
Jeremy Alexis fuel creative thinking or more specifically design
thinking?

This paper attempts to study the innate structure

of humor, and the method used in its construction.
Some of these methods used to construct humor
will be explored further to create frameworks
that can be valuable in the design process as
an alternative system of structuring information
to create interesting insights and solutions. It is
important at this point to clarify that this paper is
not aimed at providing a method to infuse humor in
the final output of the design process. This study is
© Shivani Mohan 2009
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
aimed solely at understanding the thought process
used in the construction of humor and analyzing
how such a thought structure could be valuable Figure 1 - Pattern recognition in humor
as a creative stimulus in the design process. To
this point, this paper also examines the structure

Line of thought
of creative thought briefly as a bridge mechanism

Association 1

Association 2

Association 3
Incongruous

Incongruous

Incongruous
between humor and design thinking.

(premise)
Humor
How does humor work?

There are many arguments, but if there is one

generalization that can be agreed on, it is that
humor involves incongruity. This point has
Complexity of pattern recognition
been consistent across many authors (Keith-
Speigel 1972) Katz (1993) and Attardo (1997).
The humorous response is created by revealing Duh! (too obvious)

incongruous elements that create surprise by

deviating from the expected result. Thus humor Aha! (the happy median)

needs a context/premise to set an expectation, and

an incongruous element/s to create an unexpected Huh? (I don’t get it - too complex)

result. [Kant - Critique of Judgement]

However it has been argued that incongruity
alone is not enough for humor to occur. The
Incongruity Resolution Theory argues that humor
is experienced in the resolution of the incongruity
[Schulz 1976]. Here resolution means the revealing
of an underlying pattern that ties the premise to the
incongruous element. (See Figure 1)
E.g.
Q -What did the agnostic, dyslexic insomniac do?
A - Stayed up the whole night wondering if there is
a dog.
This diagram illustrates the various associations
that can be made to a premise.
If the underlying pattern between the premise and
the parallel (association) is too simple/too close
then the surprise in the association is low, and thus
the quality of humor too is low.
Alternately if the underlying pattern between
the premise and the parallel is too diffcult to
understand then people might never reach the
moment of surprise, and thus again the quality of
humor will be compromised.
The ideal association will be somewhere around
the median.
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
In this example, the incongruous, surprising
element introduced was the ‘dog’. However, the
humor was in the resolution of this incongruity -
the realization that DOG as an anagram of GOD
(pattern recognition) and that while an agnostic
wonders about god, the dyslexic could spell god
as dog!
Thus pattern recognition is central to humor. In fact
it has been argued that laughter (the humorous
response) is a reward for having recognized a
pattern - pattern recognition is the very function of
humor. [Alastair Clarke 2008]
So far we have established three main parts to the
structure of humor: [figure 2]
1. The creation of a premise
2. The creation of an incongruous entity/association
3. The resolution of this incongruity by uncovering
an underlying pattern that ties the premise to the
incongruous entity (reverse reasoning).
PREMISE
Abstraction/
Incongruity
Exaggeration
resolution
[reverse
inding]
pattern
Incongruous
Associations
Linear thinking Lateral thinking
Figure 2 - Humor thinking structure model
Methods of humor
There are different methods of using pattern
recognition to create humor. The following are a
few of the most commonly used methods of treating
patterns to create humorous associations:
a. Metaphor
Citing a pattern that ties together two seemingly
unrelated entities with the final purpose of either
making the unfamiliar familiar or making the familiar
unfamiliar.
eg - When he philosophises, he casts an agreeable
moonlight over things, which pleases us overall,
but does not show a single thing clearly.
b. Hyperbole
Exaggerating and putting extra emphasis on a
specific pattern/defining attribute found in an entity.
eg - My sister uses so much makeup she leaves a
color trail behind her when she walks.
c. Reframing
Reframing refers to changing the meaning
of something in a situation. In the process of
reframing, the facts remain the same, but are
viewed in a different way. In the context of humor,
reframing often is played out by the use of punning,
homonyms, synonyms and other word play.
eg - A highway patrolman pulled alongside a
speeding car on the freeway. Glancing at the car,
he was astounded to see that the person behind
the wheel was knitting! The trooper cranked down
his window and yelled to the driver, “PULL OVER!”
“NO!” the driver yelled back, “SCARF!”
d. Absurdity
Proof by contradiction - proving the obvious lack
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
of any pattern between two entities. The resultant
absurdity can cause the humorous response.
eg - Why did the elephant sit on the marshmallow?
Because he didn’t want to fall into the hot
chocolate.
e. Timing
“Although the process of humor operates at the
level of the pattern, to this degree the delivery
of that pattern will affect how we receive it, and
consequently our tendency to be surprised by it.”
Clarke (2008)
Creative Thinking
What is the structure of creative thought?
The tying element of the creative thought process is
its aim for novelty.
A special class of problem solving characterized
by novelty.
- Newell, Simon, & Shaw
Understanding the structure of thought that induces
this newness, is a more challenging task. Given
the value of creative thinking, a lot of research
has gone into trying to uncover the structures and
patterns of thought that lead to new solutions.
Reaching this novelty in problem solving requires
the breaking/altering/shifting of the set known
pattern. It has been seen that some modes of
thought are more conducive to moving away from
the known pattern.
One of the earliest studies on creative thought
structure revealed that creativity is an associative
process [Maltzman 1960]. Maltzman also
concluded that the ability to produce an uncommon
response (originality) can be increased through
instructions and practice.
Edward de Bono’s work on Lateral Thinking
provides deeper and more comprehensive insights
on the workings of creative thinking:
•It฀is฀often฀Non-sequential฀
reversal of direction
skipping stages
•If฀functions฀by฀the฀use฀of฀multiple฀alternatives/
associations
•It฀is฀aided฀by฀focus฀shifting
The parallel
Thus there is a clear parallel between the thought
process behind creativity and humor: both are
aided by the ability to make novel incongruous
associations. Both are also structurally similar in
that they allow for non sequential progressions -
reversal of reasoning, lateral leaps of imagination,
shifting or reframing the focus of the problem etc.
Having said so, when does humor become creative
thought, and creative thought become humor? Is
there a line of distinction between the two?
The difference
Humor and creative thinking differ in time, and
impact/significance.
Humor is a creature of the moment. Humor does
not aim at being long lived. The value of humor
is in the quality of the surprise created though
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
Abstract
the incongruous connection. However, since the
significance of this new found pattern is low, it Analysis Synthesis
holds little value beyond the moment of resolution. Explore concepts
Frame insights
Creative thinking on the other hand, aims for
make plans
impact.
When comedy approaches a problem, it kids it but
it doesn’t resolve it. Drama works it through in a 2 3

Make
Know
more emotionally fulfilling way. - Woody Allen.
A creative thought will remain in the realm of a joke Research Implement
if its impact is not seen to be significant in a larger
time frame. Is there a way to harness the ___ of the Know users Realize offerings
humor process? Know context

The process of humor thinking in 1 4

design thinking Real

Diagram curtesy Prof Vijay Kumar

Creative thinking is an integral ingredient in the
design process. Thus using creative thinking as
the bridge one can be led to see an interrelation
between the humor thinking and design thinking.
However, while creative thinking and humor
thinking speak of a non linear/associative process;
design thinking is a combination of many modes/
structures of thought processes - design thinking is
both linear and non-linear depending on the stage
of the design process.
Broadly speaking the design thinking process
can be simplified into four main stages: Research,
Analysis, Synthesis and Implementation [Vijay
Kumar]. While the Research and Implementing
phases are rooted in the real world, the two middle
phases allow for abstraction and play with data.
These two phases are the ‘generative’ phases of
the design process, and are ideal for the humor
technique of thinking. Analysis and synthesis are
phases in which the data is deconstructed and
restructured to see patterns forming and insights
emerging. one that to produce surprising and
novel associations that could be missed through
linear techniques.
Certain forms of representation of data are more
conducive to the generation of associations than
others. Abstraction is a commonly used means
of representation of data that allows for multiple
interpretation.
In the following pages we will explore metaphors,
hyperbole, absurdity and timing with respect to the
role they can play in the design process.
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design Figure 4 - Abstraction aids in creating associations a. Metaphor:

Metaphors can be used for many reasons, but

in the context of design, metaphors are usually
used to make the unfamiliar familiar for the end

Number of associations
user. This means that a familiar form or function
is embedded into an unfamiliar object to ease the
process of adoption by the person using it. An
too few example for this could be the metaphor of the
Optimal Too many
associations
associations:
‘desktop’ on computers. The use of the desktop
associations
metaphor immediately familiarizes the user with the
too dificult
sifting process
many functions like ‘files’, ‘trash’ etc.

Identical Generic In that case, within the design process in the

cup cylinder Circle
Increasing Abstraction
This diagram aims to understand the interelation
between abstraction and the generation of
associations.
When the level of abstraction is near identical/very
similar to the premise, the number of associations
generated will be low. As the level of abstration
increases, it becomes easier to associate more
concepts to the now abstracted premise (as with
the diagram - more objects and similar to a cylinder
than to a cup). However if the premise is abstracted
beyond a point, too many concepts would fit the
abstracted model, and make the shifting process
more rigorous.
generative phase, way before the end user
sees the product/solution, is there still use for
metaphors? Yes. Metaphors are also be used to
make the familiar unfamiliar. This is a common
technique used in humor where the most mundane
routines are made surprising and funny by use of
metaphor. Even in the design process, it could be
very beneficial to create distance from what we
think we know by defamiliarization so that we might
remove our preconceived notions and get a fresh
new look at the problem. However, making the
familiar unfamiliar is very challenging. This process
can be aided by the use of abstraction.
Abstraction aids the process of metaphor
creation: [Figure 4]
Coming up with associations for the generation
of a metaphor is sometimes hard. For example,
if someone put a cup in front of you and asked
you to list the forms you associate with the cup,
depending on your ingenuity, you will come up with
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
a certain number of associations. However, if you
abstracted the form slightly, and removed a certain
level of detail, and looked for form associations
to a cylinder rather than a cup, you would end up
with a much longer list of associations. You could
further abstract the cylinder to just a circle, raising
the number of associations significantly, perhaps
too much.
This particular example used form abstraction,
the same exercise could be done by following
functional abstraction to get a completely different
set of associations for de familiarization. The
level of abstraction you choose will determine the
number of associations you will get, as well as
the complexity of pattern recognition that will be
needed to connect back to the original entity. A
weak pattern will create a weak metaphor.
This process of controlled abstraction to produce
associations can help in increasing the number
of lateral connections you reach, however, the
strength of the metaphor will depend on a re-
examination of the connections between the
selected association and the innitial premise.
A good metaphor will be one that has strong
unique similarities between the premise and the
association despite the large lateral jump required.
These metaphors aided by lateral associations
could help in bringing you a step closer to making
the familiar unfamiliar.
b. Hyperbole [Exaggeration]
The method of hyperbole involves exaggeration
and extra emphasis on a specific pattern/defining
attribute in an entity. In humor, often even a subtle
exchange/ body language is called out and
emphasized through the use of exaggeration.
Exaggeration as a means of representation of data
in the design process can open up an whole new
schema for finding novel associations. However
what is tricky is that exaggeration often involves a
point of view. Exaggeration requires the conscious
prioritization of certain selected attributes over
others.
Using the method of exaggeration in
design thinking:
In the context of the design process, exaggeration
could provide a new way to treat design research
data that would give the designers a different
perspective - one that isolates and emphasizes
on a single attribute of the problem at a time. This
approach begins with creation of a clear list of
defining attributes of a given problem (Fig 5).
Deining attribute A
(angular handle)
Deining attribute B
(rounded tapered)
Figure 5 - identifying defining attributes
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design Exaggerated attribute A
After having decided what these defining attributes
(emphasized handle) are, we can move to the next step of exaggerating
each attribute on at a time. The benefit of
exaggeration is in re-examining the associations,
Exaggerated attribute B and relationships that have formed as a result of
(rounded tapered) the hyperbole. Exaggeration differs greatly from
abstraction in the kind of associations it generates.
This can be made clearer through the following
example:
Looking at figure 6, the left-most diagram of a cup
is a pretty straightforward representation of a cup.
When asked to come up with associations to this
Create associations

cup, most people came up with few - mug, spoon,

vessel etc. The straightforward representation did
not aid in a lateral thought process. However, in
the right most diagram, the selected attributes ‘a’
and ‘b’ of the cup have been exaggerated. When
asked to come up with associations to this new
form developed by exaggeration, people began to
come up with a very different set of associations
like - “I see a nose - Pinnochio”, “a bird with a
beak”, “akimbo”, etc.

cup
The above example illustrates a form exaggration
premise exaggerating exaggerating exaggerating and the implications of such a manipulation on the
attribute B attribute A attribute A+B quality associations it can generate. This same
method can be carried out by choosing functions to
Figure 6 - Exaggeration as a means for generating associations exagerate. This method of exaggeration could also
be used in understanding given scenarios better
by first identifying the defining characteristics
and them systematically exagerating them to see
Bottom: create a matrix by skewing the problem step by step by the effects on the other entities and change in
exagerating one attribute at a time. After creating a number of
exagerated concepts/scenarios, build the list of associations and
relationships.
parallels to each exaggeration.
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
c. Reframing
Reframing is a commonly used method to generate
humor in which the facts remain the same, but by
changing the vantage point/context, the meaning
and perceptions related to the same facts is
altered.
E.g. Fortune-teller, gazing into crystal ball, to Frog:
“You are going to meet a beautiful young woman.
From the moment she sets eyes on you she will
have an insatiable desire to know all about you.
She will be compelled to get close to you - you
will fascinate her.” Frog: “Where am I? At a singles
club?” Fortune-teller: “Biology class.”
Flipping the context
In the context of the design thinking, reframing can
play a great role in the process of defamiliarization
with the current context to gain new insight and
innovative solutions.
In the generative phase, after user observation data
has been gathered and analyzed to understand
the current context and its relations with the user, it
would be valuable to take a step back and examine
whether it is possible to reframe the problem
presented/scenario by ‘flipping the context’. This
experiment can be done by:
i. ‘Fish out of water’ - Inserting a new and unlikely
user into the current ‘set up’/context to see what are
the hidden assumptions that the system presumes.
ii. Examining the current user with an eye to see
what could be the unexpected context that would
be the perfect fit for them.
iii. Speculating a scenario in which the current user
and their current surroundings could be ‘normal’.
Reframing as a method can help build new
scenarios that challenge preconceived notions,
and allow for a new and fresh perspective.
d. Absurdity
Absurdity as a method of generating humor
operates by proving obvious contradictions/lack
of logic. Paradoxes and oxymorons fall into this
category of humor.
Understanding the value of absurdity as a
generative method in the design process seems
counter intuitive since the aim of this method is
proving the obvious lack of connection between
any two entities. One might argue that its often the
‘absurd’ ideas that help break out of the usual lot of
associations to an entity, however, using absurdity
as a technique leaves ideation very open-ended.
The number of ideas and concepts that have no
logical connection with an entity far exceed those
that do have some connection - and thus this would
be a very hit and miss method.
Some methods have been explored where
absurdity is inserted in small amounts to help in
ideation. IDEO sometimes employs a method
where they create a short list of actions and nouns
by brainstorming on a topic. Having made this list
they randomly try to connect actions with nouns,
and attempt to illustrate this marriage.
E.g. : Consume + lamp-post = a lamp post with a
food vending machine.
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design
e. Timing
Timing is use of rhythm and tempo to enhance
comedy and humor.
eg - A pregnant pause is a technique of comic
timing used to accentuate a comedy element,
where the comic pauses at the end of a phrase to
build up suspense.
For the purposes of the design process, ‘timing’
can be interpreted in a very broad sense: To control
the rhythm and tempo of the thought process
during ideation.
tweak existing structures in order to end up with
something new and startling out of the old familiar
raw ingredients.
Having said this, this paper can serve as a starting
block in the journey towards understanding the
close relationship between humor and design.
This paper touches upon the main methods of
generating humor and their structure and working.
It may be interesting to get into the smaller and
more nuanced techniques of humor and examine if
those can work together to form interesting ways of
viewing data and gathering insight.

Short ‘Episodes’
Keep the time cap on the generative cycles short.
The shortage of time forces leaps of imagination,
while providing ample time allows the mind to slip
into the normal ‘one-step-after-the-other’ linear
process of thinking that makes it hard to make
leaps of imagination, lateral connections etc.

e.g. - the result of fast paced design workshops Vs

a long drawn out design process. ( in the context of
inconguous/exagerated/absurd ideas)

Conclusion

What emerges from this comparison of humor

and creativity is the extent to which design
thinking has, from the very start, instinctively
been drawn towards humor thinking methods.
We find the same leaps, the same non-linearity,
the same holistic perspective, the same need to
Humor and Design
Shivani Mohan :: Spring 2009
IIT Institute of Design Bibliography

1. Alastair Clarke, 2008. The Pattern Recongnition
Theory of Humor
2. Edward De Bono, 1970. Lateral Thinking
3. Maltzman, I. 1960. On the trainging of originality.
Psychological Review
10. Joseph O’Connor, NLP: A Practical Guide to
Achieving the Results You Want Workbook
Harper Collins 2001
11. Graeme Ritchie, Developing the Incongruity-
Resolution Theory

4. Prof Vijay Kumar, Institute of Design IIT Chicago

5. Metaphor and Meaning, an article by William

Grey, a Reader in Philosophy at the University of
Queensland

6. Patricia Keith-Speigel. Early conceptions of

humor: Varieties
and issues. In Goldstein and McGhee (1972),
pages 3–39.

7. Salvatore Attardo. The semantic foundations of

cognitive theories of humor.
HUMOR, 4(10):395–420, 1997.

8. Bruce Katz. A neural resolution of the incongruity

and incongruity-resolution theories of humour.
Connection Science, 5:59–75, 1993.

9. Thomas R. Shultz. A Cognitive-Developmental

Analysis of Humour. In Chapman and Foot (1976),
chapter 1, pages 11–36.