Pre-christmas presents for everyone – By @christinems_
By Christine Smith
Pre-christmas presents for everyone
This is to my creative friends, network, family, boyfriend, facebook friends (all of you who I never talk to but are still friends with because… you’re funny to stalk), secret lovers, haters and others who might find this useful. So far I’ve walked my way to SCA from my townhouse in Brixton for almost 2 months. Time is flying – in two more months it’s christmas! Therefore I want to give all of you an early little pre-christmas present; Creative techniques, tools and tips I’ve learned so far FREE for you to use! Yaaay Merry Christmas!
12 quick ones:
- What’s the logical conclusion?
- What’s the illogical conclusion?
(Not much explanation needs for the two first) - Beat up the enemy
(Find out what the enemy does wrong and use this to make yourself better) - Use the medium
(Look for new ways of using the medium – or completely new mediums) - Remove all words
(Make an ad with no words) - Remove all the pictures
(Make an ad only with words) - Play with scale
(Zoom ind/out, turn upside down and see if there are new angles you can use) - Create a skewed world
(This is my favourite – be as crazy as you can!) - What’s it like?
(Find similarities and use them) - Tell the truth
(Find a true or maybe a secret true people and your self will believe in) - Put the audience in the idea
(Can you make the audience interact with the idea?) - Celebrate the problem
(Find a problem, weakness or a negative thing about the idea/brand and use this as a strength)
Playful Child State
Find out what puts you in a playful child state of mind where everything is possible and you can be as silly and honest as you were as a child. For me it’s watching/listening to Disney movies/songs and really weird black humor.
List of opposites
Find 4 words (or more) that are interesting/important/simple for your idea, product or service. Then write as many opposite words/ideas in 2 minutes for each of those. Pair them up/Connect them for further ideas and combinations.
Hold your breath
Hold your breath while you idea generate and se how many ideas you can write down and how far you can push yourself. Sometimes the good ideas come right before you can’t hold your breath any longer.
6 Thinking hats
Blue = Planning/Management
White = Facts, info, data, research
Red = Intuition, trust your gut, feelings
Green = Creative, new options
Yellow = Optimism, benefits
Black = Critical / “what can go wrong”
When you create new ideas, make sure to be all of those 6 hats 2-3 times each through the creative process! If you work in a team, make sure both of you wear the same hat at the same time. Always start and end with the blue!
Random
Find a lot of random words and use those. Open a book and pick one, make a list, Google and so on. Whatever is random can bring new ideas you never would have thought of.
Collecting dots
Without inspiration and knowledge it’s impossible to get new ideas. Go for exhibitions, events, try new things, experience the city, travel, have conversations, be interested in other people AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN ALL THE TIME.
Ask questions
What, why, when, how, who?
Push yourself harder!
Put your idea on the wall. Then beat it again. And then again!
Mess finding
Creating an idea is solving a problem. Be aware of everything that annoys you in your everyday, write it down and save it for later. Maybe it becomes useful one day? This could for example be: “It’s annoying when your phone dies and you have no charger.” Then you turn this into a question: “Wouldn’t it be great if you could charge your phone while walking?” Create a bank of problems/mess finding and find one every day.
Tadaaaa! I hope you find some of this useful. If not im sorry to tell you but this gift can’t be returned. Maybe you can give it to someone else who need it?
