Version of a workshop I gave at ITP. Techniques for rapidly generating, exploring, and refining new concepts.

1. IDEA IMPROV:TECHNIQUES FOR RAPIDLY
GENERATING, EXPLORING, + REFINING
NEW CONCEPTS Song Hia, Variation On A Fall 2015 Workshop @ ITP

2. “Themaindifficultyofthinkingisconfusion.”
Edward de Bono

3. “Wetrytodotoomuchatonce.Emotions,
information,logic,hope,andcreativityall
crowdinonus.It’slikejugglingwithtoomany
balls.”
Edward de Bono

4. DESIGNTHINKING
* http://createdu.org/design-thinking/

5. 6THINKING HATS: FOCUSING GROUPS
(USEFUL IN BIZ)
*smarttinker.com

6. LATERALTHINKING: INDIRECTAND
CREATIVEAPPROACHESTO IDEAS
*http://www.andyeklund.com/is-linear-thinking-bad/

7. LATERALTHINKING METHODS
• brainstorming
• analogical thinking
• random stimulation
• challenging assumptions
• generating alternatives
• suspending judgement
*Edward de Bono

8. IMPROVISATIONAL COMEDY

9. FUZZY GOALS
“motivates the general direction of thework,without blinding
the team to opportunities along the journey.”
*from Gamestormg

10. FUZZY GOALS
“motivates the general direction of thework,without blinding
the team to opportunities along the journey.”
*from Gamestormg

11. SEPARATING BRAINSTORMING

12. OPEN
Let’s set the stage and develop prompts for ideas.
What are some elements of a [PCOMP] project?
Examples:
-Gesture
-User
-Emotional Response
Let’s write one example of each and collect them into
piles.

13. OPEN (90 seconds)
Let’s get some ideas out.
Grab a prompt from each of the piles of
elements.
You have pen, paper, and 90 seconds to
sketch or describe an idea.

14. OPEN (90 seconds)
Let’s share a few.

15. OPEN (90 seconds)
Let’s get some more ideas out and try this
again.
Grab a prompt from each of the piles of
elements.
You have pen, paper, and 90 seconds to
sketch or describe an idea.

16. EXPLORE (3 minutes)
Get in groups of 3.
Present ideas to each other.
DEFER judgement.

17. EXPERIMENT (3 minutes)
Now try building on these ideas.
“Yes, and…” each other.
Look at similarities, differences, and
connections.
Do any new ideas emerge?

18. CLOSE (3 minutes)
You’ve got 3 weeks to make this a reality.
What do you move forward with?

19. RINSE + REPEAT
*from Gamestormg
FURTHER RESEARCH + REFINEMENT

20. 3 STAGES

21. RESOURCES
Gamestorming:
http://gamestorming.com/
The Field GuideTo Human-Centered Design (IDEO):
http://www.designkit.org/resources/1
CollectiveActionToolkit (FROG):
http://www.frogdesign.com/work/frog-collective-action-toolkit.html
Design Sprint Methods (GOOGLE): https://developers.google.com/design-
sprint/downloads/DesignSprintMethods.pdf
The User ExperienceTeam Of One:
http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/the-user-experience-team-of-one/

22. RESOURCES