Beyond Brainstorming: Playful Innovation, Part 2

October 18, 2007

Playful Innovation, Part 2

Building on my last post, let’s explore some more complex examples of combining existing ideas to form new ideas. Again we will use example cards from the ThinkCube Idea Library. These examples use a mixture of words (red), ideas (blue), and action verbs (green). They are ordered by level of difficulty, with the most challenging type of combination, idea + idea, appearing last.

We tried to think of unique "new" ideas for our examples, but I'll give the caveat that we are not claiming these ideas to be original to us. I also don't claim these to be the best combinations for these particular cards/ideas/words. That's one of the great things about combinatory play. No 2 people will see exactly the same connection between 2 existing ideas. Our life experiences and backgrounds play a large role in how we form new ideas.

You can try an exercise like this on your own using a mix of 6 or so words and ideas. Pick a few words that relate to your industry or a topic you are currently interested in. Then add in a few action verbs like exaggerate, stretch, remove, etc. and then maybe a few random, totally unrelated words. Once you give it a go on your own, try the same exercise with a friend. It's usually worth a few good laughs and you might even come up with a great idea while you're at it!

Posted at 01:17 PM in Ideas, Innovation | Permalink

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Jacques Hadamard: The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field
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