Prof. Tina Seelig gave a talk at Stanford University in November 2012 on creativity. She discussed how to frame problems and reframe them to find creative solutions. Some key points she likely covered include the importance of looking at problems from different perspectives, thinking outside the box, and reframing constraints as opportunities. While the full details of her talk are not provided, the document gives a high-level overview of her discussion of creativity techniques.

1. Prof. Tina Seelig, Stanford University
A Crash Course on Creativity
Nov. 2012
Assignment: FRAMING & REFRAMING
Look at BREAD in a new way. Create as much “value”
as possible starting with one loaf of bread.
TEAM #: 25437
Christine Kohl-Zaugg; Daniel Michalski;
Zuzanna Ruszaj; Stephen Thomas

2. #1 – Bread for the ultimate Outdoor
Picnic Experience!
CHALLENGE: Food containers and plates/bowls/cups…
take space & are heavy to carry along. After picnic,
plates must be rinsed or if using paper or plastic plates
they become a burden for the environment.
SOLUTION: New, ecologically-responsible one-time cups
by taking off all insides of a baguette (or other type of
bread) and fill it with drink/food. After sipping/eating,
you can eat the bread container.

3. #2 – Bread on the Runway
CHALLENGE: Designers and entertainers alike (think
Lady Gaga!) are always on the lookout for the next
fashion statement! Since fashion’s lifespan is short
anyway, its costs are often high and an ecological
approach is more and more desired, how might this be
combined to create beautiful pieces that turn heads
and are accessible to the masses?
SOLUTION: Meet the bread dress! (Can be accessorized
with bread handbag and bread slippers/shoes, as well
as bread jewelry – even storm off the lingerie rayon
with bras/brassieres made out of hollowed out breads
like coconuts (good option for people allergic to certain
synthetic fibers for example)…and the list goes on and
on!)

4. #3 – Bread used in the Dark
Underworld (1/2)
CHALLENGE: Easy, cheap & safe way to escape from
prison?
NB - Variations on the same theme:
Easy, cheap & safe way to cheat at exams?
Easy, cheap & safe way to smuggle in/out something illegal (e.g. drugs,
classified information, etc.)
Easy, cheap & safe way to kill someone (e.g. add poison inside)
SOLUTION: Bake in a file for grand getaway done in
grand Arsene Lupin style!
OK we stop here. Don’t want to give too many crazy ideas around this
dark topic to run into trouble with the Feds! ;)
NB - Alternative for big romantics: hide love letters, etc.
(maybe the Romeo & Julia tragedy could have been
avoided after all…) OR (as shown in picture on the left)
for electronic geeks: encased electronic devices in
bread. These are workable clocks; flashlights; etc.!

5. #3 – Bread used in the Dark
Underworld (2/2)
CHALLENGE: Easy, cheap, elegant & safe way to get rid
of an opponent (with a somewhat clean conscience)?
SOLUTION: Moisten bread and let sit for a while…Et
voila! Mouldy bread! Huum… Yummy! Enjoy!...
NB – Might try to use as “natural” penicillin booster… though we do
NOT recommend! Seriously, while some mould might be beneficial, it’s
far too risky to try this! SO PLEASE DO NOT ATTEMPT!
Alternative: hardened french baguette to use as a club
to fend off mugger (also good as a night stick for police
trying to manage e.g. hooligans and large crowds gone
wild)

6. #4 – Bread for Play (1/2)
CHALLENGE: Lots of toys are made out of plastic, which
is bad for the environment and often doesn’t foster
creativity in young kids.
SOLUTION: Toys made out of bread!
For example, fun shooting gun with
ammunitions/pellets made out of the soft part of the
bread. Another possibility is to hollow out a loaf so that
you get a cavern-like structure that kids can then
transform into their own little house or barn to play
with their own bready creations (e.g. figurines/animals
made out of bread)

7. #4 – Bread for Play (2/2)
CHALLENGE: Lots of receptions for e.g. birthdays offer
an array of rather boring food. How can you bring back
the fun to the eating experience?
SOLUTION: Make little animal out of the bread. For
events for kids or adults;) alike. Value created by smiles
and positive atmosphere around. Also a great
conversation starter, thus fostering connections and
relationships.

8. #5 – Bread for safe Community
CHALLENGE: How to engage at-risk youth on fun,
community-building and -benefiting projects with a
minimal budget?
SOLUTION: Wait until e.g. baguette dries out. Use tip of
the bread to dip into can of paint and use as alternative
paint brush(economical!) to create a mural in your
community. Value created by fighting blight and
embellishing the community, while giving a sense of
purpose and steering adolescents away from
delinquency by enlisting them to paint.

9. #6 – Bread as the universal McGyver
Tool
CHALLENGE: Swiss knives are good but expensive (and
can get bulky!). And, even with all their smart tools you
end up often stuck with not having the right tool
handy…
Let me save the world!
Just give me some bread
to plug the lethal gas leak!
That will do! SOLUTION: Very easy! Just moisten and stuff into cracks
to prevent leakage of air or water! Here, in our
example, toxic gas but value depends on what you are
preventing (e.g. energy savings – good to combat
climate change, etc.)

10. #7 – Bread as Branding Tool
CHALLENGE: It’s all about leaving a strong, first
impression. Customers are tired of the same good, old
generic business cards. How can you stick out?
SOLUTION: Use bread to promote a strong brand
identity. Especially great for bakers and people in the
food/restaurant industry.
Alternative: can be used to prompt emotional response
to hunger-related causes like e.g. awareness for Food
Bank by sticking a couple of googly eyes on it and watch
the money pour in!

11. #8 – Bread as alternative Fuel
CHALLENGE: Increasingly sparse fossil fuels;
dependence on foreign oil; climate change….
SOLUTION: alternative fuel source for vehicles...replace
oil/gas industry and helps in fighting global warming!

12. #9 – Bread to advance the Sciences
CHALLENGE: There is always more lessons to be learned
from science. Also, we need more hands-on, practical
experiments that could also be used in the classroom to
give students a real taste of what it means to be
working as a researcher/scientist. Hint: it’s not just
about the theory!
SOLUTION: leave the bread in different environments
(moist, damp, vacuum) and study the degradation of it
(nature matter-cycle studies). This will be fun, involving
and stimulate students and scientists alike to come up
with their own hypothesis and conclusions, pushing
knowledge further up.

13. #10 – Bread for GPS-Technology averse
People
CHALLENGE: How to find your way back home if you do
not have GPS technology or simply are technology
averse?
SOLUTION: Simple!... Remember what Haensel and
Gretel did?
Take out your loaf of bread and start leaving traces
thanks to the breadcrumbs… (well, we wish you more
success than they had!;)

14. #11 – Bread as Bait
CHALLENGE: How to keep birds and other small animals
like e.g. squirrels at bay when you are eating your
sandwich and don’t want to be disturbed by them
trying to steal your food?
SOLUTION: use small pieces of the bread as a bait to
capture them so that you can enjoy the rest of your
lunch without being disturbed by them anymore!

15. #12 – Bread as trial Pet
CHALLENGE: So you think you might want to own a pet
but you are not sure? Too much work? Too much
involvement? Is a cat (or a dog, or a parrot or,…) the
right pet for me?
SOLUTION: Fear no more! Try this easy, simple, cost-
effective and non long-term commitment solution: raise
some mould on the bread and get started to have our
new own pet! Added bonus? Doesn’t require much
care…

16. #13 – Last but not least…Bread as…
Bread!
CHALLENGE: Undernourished and malnourished
people. Homeless, war or natural catastrophe victims,
etc.
SOLUTION: Fresh bread. Nutritious, easy to make and
store, easy to distribute, cheap.

17. Thanks for watching 