Page 20 from Linda Barry’s graphic novel What It Is

According to Graphic Design: The New Basics, Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips define formstorming as an act of visual thinking (13).  Formstorming is a way for designers to dig deep into their imagination and challenge their creativity. By reading and looking at the first fifty pages of What It Is by Lynda Barry, she explores and questions the way her mind works as a way of brainstorming and creates illustrations of her thoughts, memories, and past.

As an example of formstorming, on page 20, Barry creates different compositions of what she believes represents the word “imagination”. She simply questions, “What is your Imagination?”, “Where is your Imagination?” and thinks deeply into how far her imagination can go throughout her book. One question that stood out the most was, “When we imagine things we don’t want to imagine, why can’t we stop ourselves?”. I believe that question is a good example of formstorming, because our ability to imagine is limitless. One small imagination can lead us to deeper imaginations that allow us to think outside the box.

In addition, one hundred iterations is an example for a designer to dig deep into their thoughts and broaden their imagination. As a way of formstorming, Barry creates different font styles and different repetitions of certain compositions in each page of her book, such as the birds seen on page 20.  Overall, creating different styles of a composition will help designers exercise their creativity and discover new ideas.