Creative Life Curation: Discover Thematic Spaces of Creative Life

A new method of using the Knowledge Discovery Canvas

Two weeks ago, I worked on the Activity Analysis & Intervention (AAI) program and ran an AAI project to help a knowledge creator reflect on his journey of knowledge engagement and discover potential creative themes for the future. I used the Knowledge Discovery Canvas to discover several thematic spaces and placed his creative thematic network around the canvas. I didn’t use the canvas in its official way but used its white space for exploring potential thematic spaces.

To keep the client’s privacy, I applied the diagram to my own Creative Life.

On Oct 5, 2023, I discovered 5 thematic spaces from my Creative Life. See the diagrams below. You can find more details in CALL: The Development of Creative Life Theory (2020–2023, Part 7).

By using the Knowledge Discovery Canvas, I discovered more thematic spaces from my Creative Life. See the diagram below.

Let’s start with the following basic unit of a thematic space. I designed the basic unit for the AAI project.

The above basic unit represents a thematic space in a three-layer structure:

• Creative Life Story
• Creative Theme
• Knowledge Model

Creative Life Story refers to an interesting real-life story from a person’s creative life.

Creative Theme refers to a theme behind a creative life story. Each story is associated with a theme that defines a thematic space.

Knowledge Model refers to a knowledge framework for understanding the thematic space.

This three-layer structure was designed for the Activity Analysis & Intervention (AAI) program.

I discovered 8 thematic spaces from my recent creative life and placed them around the Knowledge Discovery Canvas.

Enter:

• Situational Note-taking
• Early Discovery
• The Thematic Exploration Framework

Exit:

• Life Reflection
• Late Bloom
• The Creative Life Curation Framework

THEORY:

• Theoretical Integration
• Spirit of Unification
• The Knowledge Curation Framework

PRACTICE:

• Value Circle
• Knowledge Center
• The Project Engagement Framework

END:

• Frame for Work
• Applied Psychological Science
• The Meaning Matrix Framework

MEANS:

• Diagram Blending
• Thematic Spaces
• The Ecological Creative Cognition Framework

Individual:

• Mental Moves
• Self-awareness
• The Ecological Creative Cognition Framework

Collective:

• Social Moves
• Structured Social Support
• The Platform-for-Development Framework

A knowledge model can be assigned to more than one thematic space. For example, the Ecological Creative Cognition Framework was assigned to “Thematic Spaces” and “Self-awareness”.

I also use the AAI program and the Life Discovery Canvas to frame these 8 thematic spaces.

• The AAI program defines two types of analysis: First-order Analysis and Second-order Analysis.
• The Life Discovery Canvas defines four areas of life discovery: THINK, LEARN, SAY, and DO.

The primary themes of my Creative Life are Creative Work and Meta-knowledge about life and work.

First-order Activity Analysis (DO and SAY) is about Creative Work. I placed four thematic spaces into this category because they are all about Creative Work (DO and SAY).

• Value Circle
• Theoretical Integration
• Frame for Work
• Life Reflection

Second-order Activity Analysis (THINK and LEARN) is about Meta-knowledge about life and work. I placed the other four thematic spaces into this category.

• Mental Moves
• Social Moves
• Diagram Blending
• Situational Note-taking

This is the first round of exploring potential thematic spaces with the Knowledge Discovery Canvas.