Temporal Dedication

Spending considerable time on a project is generally not thought of as a "process" since procedural approaches are generally intended to minimise the time spent on a project. Spending periods of time exploring a project gives the creator a chance to fully appreciate the nuances and specifics of the project. By playing with a large number of solutions, the creator is able to construct in their mind a fairly complete picture of the extents of the problem and the possible solutions. Because they are rejecting possible solutions and continuing to search beyond the obvious, the designer will often find approaches that would not normally have a chance to surface, and details hidden in the more subtle folds of implication. All of these can be described as "increased depth of understanding," the development of a full field of ideas from which the final design may spring.

The development of multiple solutions creates an "intellectual residue" that is carried forward through later solutions. Traces of ideas and multivalent meanings tend to arise as the solutions pile up and interact with each other, as the creator pulls ideas from one to feed another. A similar process can be seen when multiple designers work together on a piece, feeding off each other's solutions, incorporating shadows of each solution in the final project.

Unfortunately, temporal dedication can have considerable negative effects as well. As solutions and ideas pile up, the design can lose freshness and clarity and becomes "overworked." The designer has difficulty organising the volumes of information they have generated. The user has difficulty detecting any order. There is no clear idea running through the project to which they can cleave as a support.

Gothic Cathedrals -- Both collaborative and long consideration,[] Antonio Gaudi