Scribd
Upload
173 views6 pages

Creative Thinking Methods

1. The document describes 9 creative thinking methods: brainstorming, negative brainstorming, the insights game, mood boards, random words, storyboarding, metaphorical thinking, mind mapping, and brain shifter. 2. Brainstorming involves generating ideas in a group setting without judgment, building on others' ideas. Negative brainstorming generates bad solutions to transform into good ones. 3. The insights game challenges players to find connections and see the big picture, improving complex problem-solving skills. Mood boards use images and samples to develop design concepts.

Uploaded by

idris
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
173 views6 pages

Creative Thinking Methods

1. The document describes 9 creative thinking methods: brainstorming, negative brainstorming, the insights game, mood boards, random words, storyboarding, metaphorical thinking, mind mapping, and brain shifter. 2. Brainstorming involves generating ideas in a group setting without judgment, building on others' ideas. Negative brainstorming generates bad solutions to transform into good ones. 3. The insights game challenges players to find connections and see the big picture, improving complex problem-solving skills. Mood boards use images and samples to develop design concepts.

Uploaded by

idris
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

MODULE 4 Sem: VIII SUB: Product Design and Development

Creative Thinking Methods


9 Creative Thinking Methods are as follows-
1. Brainstorming – probably one of the most popular creative techniques
This is the most obvious creative techniques and endless whiteboard is just perfect for it. The
basis of brainstorming is a generating idea in a group situation based on the principle of
suspending judgment – a principle which scientific research has proved to be highly productive
in individual effort as well as group effort.

State the problem you are trying to solve. Use post-its, images and videos – anything that can
help you generate ideas. Write down every idea even if it is odd, encourage people to build on
the ideas of others. After the session is over, vote for the best ideas.

2. Negative brainstorming
This is another example of creative techniques. It uses brainstorming to generate bad solutions
to the problem and then see how those could be transformed into good solutions. The method
is a two-step process, that consists of generating the worst ideas first and then transforming
them into good solutions.
The process is the same as described above.
For example, you are trying to solve the question ‘How to make teamwork more effective’.
These are examples of bad solutions:
– To build a wall between team members so they never meet each other.
– To put them in 5 different buildings.

Product Design and Development Sem-VIII Compiled by S.D. Bagg


MODULE 4 Sem: VIII SUB: Product Design and Development
A transformed bad solution can be:
– To move to another building/office with the common space where all the team can gather
together and discuss ideas.

3. The Insights Game


Have you experienced one of those moments when you suddenly realize how the world works
and the dots are connected? The Insights Game is about these moments. Every insight gives
you one point. You need to have at least one point every day, if not the game is over.

Actually, it is a personal method, but you can do it with your friends or team on different boards
simultaneously supporting each other.
The goal and the reward of this game is that you will improve your ability to see the big picture,
process more complex problems and challenge your beliefs.
Use images, videos, post-its and whatever you want to put your insights on the board. Back to
the board every day and look at the big picture.

4. Mood boards
Mood board is a type of collage that may consist of images, text, videos and samples of objects
in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator.

Product Design and Development Sem-VIII Compiled by S.D. Bagg


MODULE 4 Sem: VIII SUB: Product Design and Development

Designers and others use mood boards to develop their design concepts and to communicate to
other members of the design team. They are used by artists and are based on a particular theme
of their choice too.
5. Random Words (Random Input)
Random Words creative technique encourages your imagination to create different perspectives
and new angles on your idea or the problem you are facing. It is by far the simplest of all
creative techniques and is widely used by people who need to create new ideas (for example,
for new products).

Product Design and Development Sem-VIII Compiled by S.D. Bagg


MODULE 4 Sem: VIII SUB: Product Design and Development
Prepare with a lot of different random words, short stories or tweets, put them on the board and
start your brainstorming session!
Once you have chosen the word, list its attributions or associations with the word. Then apply
each of the items on your list and see how it applies to the problem at hand.
How does it work? Because the brain is a self-organising system, and very good at making
connections. Almost any random word will stimulate ideas on the subject. Follow the
associations and functions of the stimulus word, as well as using aspects of the word as a
metaphor.

6. Storyboarding
Storyboards go back to the very beginnings of cinema and animation. As it is known, Walt
Disney and his staff developed a Story Board system in 1928. Disney wanted to achieve full
animation and for this, he needed to produce an enormous number of drawings. Managing the
thousands of drawings and the progress of a project was nearly impossible, so Disney had his
artists pin up their drawings on the studio walls. This way, progress could be checked, and
scenes added and discarded with ease.

Product Design and Development Sem-VIII Compiled by S.D. Bagg


MODULE 4 Sem: VIII SUB: Product Design and Development
Now Storyboarding is a popular creative technique and is widely spread in business.
Storyboards are used today by industry for planning advertising campaigns, commercials, a
proposal or other business presentations intended to convince or compel to action.
To implement a Storyboard solution, you can use a blank template in Miro. The initial
storyboard may be as simple as slide titles on Post-It notes, which are then replaced with draft
presentation slides as they are created.

7. Metaphorical thinking
A metaphor is a thinking method which connects two universes of meaning. Examples: Food
chain or flow of time. Metaphorical thinking is based on Similarity. Our mind tends to look for
similarities. A road map is a model or metaphor of reality and useful for explaining things.
Imaging within another conceptual frame can help, eg. the visual images of spring which
inspired Vivaldi’s “Prima Vera”, the dream that led to Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” the
art exhibition which Mussorsgy illustrated in “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and so on.
Put everything that you may need on the board – words, images, videos, icons, etc. to help you
create something new and exciting.

8. Mind mapping
Mind Maps has been developed by Tony Buzan are an effective technique of structuring
information and note-taking. They are also useful during the brainstorming sessions. To make
a mind map, start in the center of the board with the main idea, invite your team and work in
all directions, producing a growing and organized structure using key words/phrases and key
images/videos.

Product Design and Development Sem-VIII Compiled by S.D. Bagg


MODULE 4 Sem: VIII SUB: Product Design and Development
Use colourful links, post-its, shapes, icons, images and videos – anything that can help you
build a visual map.

9. Brain shifter
Brain shifter is one of creative techniques that is similar to mind mapping, but you should act
as if you were someone else. The purpose is to create new ideas that you never thought about
before.

Instructions:
Get in to character by changing your mindset and try to think like another person. E.g imagine
that you are a doctor, a lawyer, a kid or why not a Batman? Start to write your ideas on post-its
thinking as your ‘superhero’. If you use the method in group, you can give the roles to each
other before the session.
After the session is finished, vote for the best ideas.

Product Design and Development Sem-VIII Compiled by S.D. Bagg

You might also like