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Think Week 13
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THINK
Week 13
Generating
multiple ideas
hello
“Sometimes an idea can be our worst enemy, especially if it blocks our thinking alternatives.” -Don Koberg and Jim Banagli (Lupton, 2015)
Balls
Balls
creative
process
During the early phases of the creative process, you cast a wide net and came up with dozens of potential concepts from the obvious to the totally outlandish.
With research, you have discarded many and zeroed in on a few that displayed true merit.
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Using these, you have defined the creative problem and you and your client have agreed on a creative brief.
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Now it is time to develop a single concept into a strong solution.
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You will now be entering the latter phases of the creative process namely develop and deliver.
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During the Develop phase, you will again use lateral thinking to generate and explore many variations on a single concept and to explore and expand on a core idea.
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In your Ideation and Visualisation and your Creative Development Modules, you will learn to select and apply many more techniques in different contexts.
Ideation
brainstorming
brainstorming
ideas
Consider the possible solutions
that they generate in their brainstorming session. Select any one of their possible solutions and think HOW you can develop that into a final solution. For example: One of their concepts is to publish an animal celebrity gossip magazine. How can you make this a reality? HINT: Plan in more detail and ask specific questions.
ideation
- Select and apply at least three different ideation techniques to quickly generate multiple ideas.
- Which technique yielded the most useful ideas?
- Which technique felt the most comfortable to use?
- Which technique generated ideas the fastest?
ideation
You will find that some ideation techniques work better for you than others. They all, however, have their merits, so employ as many techniques as you can, and you will find the overall creative process becomes easier the more you do it.
Mastering ideation is essential to perfecting your craft, be it as copywriter, graphic– or digital designer. Make these techniques second nature and they will serve you throughout your exciting creative journey.
ideation
Tool 1: The Big Six technique
The method entails the utilisation of six questions, namely ‘Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?’ as starting points to generate a vast repertoire of different questions and answers about the problem context.
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example
In the following example, the Big Six technique is used to establish a wide variety of information about scuba diving in order to create a fertile information base for idea generation.
Example:
WHO? Who are the potential clients of the scuba diving company?
Who needs diving lessons?
Who teaches diving skills?
WHERE? Where do the divers do scuba diving?
Where does the training take place?
Where are the diving company and the shop located?
WHAT? What skills are taught?
What gear is needed for diving?
What do the exterior and interior of the shop look like?
What do divers hear when they are under water?
What do divers see under the water?
What does it feel like to dive?
WHEN? When do people scuba dive?
When are you allowed to go on a diving excursion?
WHY? Why do people scuba dive?
Why do people buy new diving equipment?
HOW? How do people scuba dive?
Tool 2: The Random technique
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The technique entails a process where different words, images or objects
are randomly chosen and placed next to the creative problem, with the aim of forcing a connection
between the problem context and the unrelated element. This connection often triggers new and original
ideas by sensitising the mind to new possibilities that it would otherwise not have considered.
Example 2 – Using the word ‘silence’ as a random input: How does the concept of ‘silence’ relate to
scuba diving? When we dive into the water, we leave the noise of the outside world behind: could the
contrast between the noisy world and the strange calmness of the underwater world be utilised in any
way, possibly in an editorial advertisement?
Example 2 – Using the word ‘wings’ as a random input: Diving feels like flying under water: could we
use an image of a diver with wings? It would certainly be unusual …
example
Tool 3: The Mind-map technique
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The first step of the technique entails writing a key concept or a main theme of a problem in the centre of
a large sheet of paper (Figure 3). A number of significant components or dimensions of the key concept
are then written around the central word and connected by lines or ‘branches’. Each of these concepts is
then linked to a number of related associations, features or characteristics.
example
Tool 4: The Visual Thinking technique
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The technique entails substituting words with quick drawings
or symbols to find visual equivalents for the words. It implies that the thinker should start with a
predetermined set of words that has been generated by means of a creative thinking tool, such as a
mind-map. Individual words are then ‘translated’ into little thumbnail sketches or symbols to establish a
vast repertoire of visual images that could trigger creative ideas.
example
Tool 5: The Trigger technique
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This technique embraces a process where one uses a list of pre-determined creativity prompts (or
‘triggers’) as catalysts to transform existing ideas or to spark new ideas. A ‘trigger’ is a concept or
principle that is used consciously to turn one’s thinking away from established thinking patterns
Tool 6: The Metaphor technique
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The use of metaphors and analogies is one of the most common and effective creative problem-solving
techniques in existence. In analogical thinking, similarities between two different worlds of meaning are
explored and ideas from one context are transferred to the other in search of parallels and new
viewpoints. Ideas that are generated by means of metaphorical thinking are often characterised by an
element of unexpected surprise and fun.
example
Metaphor 1: Thinking about the activity of putting on diving gear to explore marine life could trigger the idea that scuba diving is like going on safari, where one wears a rucksack (analogical to oxygen bottles) and binoculars (analogical to a diving mask) to explore the wildlife. These analogies could also be used to
spark other creative ideas, such as considering the words Ocean Safaris as a name for the company.
Metaphor 2: The experience of swimming and feeling weightless in the water could be likened to being in outer space with oxygen supplies, where no gravity exists and movements are slow, like swimming. It could trigger an advertising slogan such as Don’t leave planet Earth to explore the unknown ...
Tool 7: The Five Senses technique
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Creative people tend to have a relatively greater sensory awareness of the world around them. Yet, by
means of the Five Senses technique, they could be purposefully trained to increase their sensitivity and
openness to sensory experiences. The Five Senses technique focuses on the five senses of sight, sound,
taste, touch and smell as starting points for the generation of ideas.
Tool 8: The Cross-connect technique
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At the heart of the Cross-connect technique is the process of connection and integration of concepts. It is
based on the notion that each problem context consists of key elements and sub-elements, and if these
elements are connected in various combinations, it could spark novel ideas.