Thinking about design

To what extent does this slumped plate by Liz Lowe (at the V&A) start out as a meticulous design and how much does it grow organically? I have been thinking all week about designing as you make something rather than knowing beforehand what you are going to do. I feel there is room for both approaches. I tend to adapt all the time as I go along -- rather like a musician does in interpreting a score. The college ethic seems to be to be able to show and document all your thinking processes. It's not so linear for me. Sometimes you go in seemingly aimless spirals, and arrive at a place you might not get to with step-by-step thinking.