A methodology for creating new ideas
This is a post is intended to give people a methodology for creating new ideas. A lot of the time when I create an editorial illustration an idea just pops into my head ... but sometimes this does not happen, so I have this little methodology for creating new ideas that has helped me time and time again.
The idea behind this methodology is similar to writing a song. There are only a few musical notes, but by rearranging their order, length and speed you can create an infinite amount of songs.
Step 1 - Important Words
Try and think of the most important words related to your project ... usually 2 to 4 words.
So for this project the creative brief was rather easy because it basically spelled it out:
"Empowering Teachers with Technology"
... but from experience it's usually not too hard to think of 2 or 3 words.
So we now have our words: Empower, Teacher, Technology
Step 2 - Word Association
Next, for each of these 3 words .. think of other things associated with them ... if you need help with this you can consult a Thesaurus or see what images are associated by searching Google Images or Flickr. These are the "notes" you will rearrange into "songs" ... or ideas.
Empower
Bridge
Helping Hand
Ladder
Crane
Super Hero/Cape
Power
Electricity
Motor
Spark
Ignite
Teachers/Education
Teacher
Desk
Books
Brain
Chalk Board
World Map
Apple
Class room
Graduation Cap
Diploma
Technology
Computer
Computer Chip
Satellite
Space Travel
Math Formulas
Schematics
Rockets
Molecules
DNA
Petri Dishes
Telescopes
Microscopes
Light Bulb
Step 3 - "make a song"
Now that you have your "notes" think of ways you can rearrange them to convey meaning. Pick a word from each column and see if you can create an interesting idea. There are a number of ways to do this ... change their size, their physical relationship to one another, their properties/material (metal=strong, ice=cold), etc.
Let's see ... what can we do? Maybe ...
A crane driven by a teacher lowering a light-bulb into a student's head.
A student climbing a DNA ladder to draw a light-bulb on a chalkboard
Students and a teacher crossing a bridge of computers to the moon
etc
"A Bridge to places out of this world"Students and a teacher crossing a bridge of computers to the moon
"Ride The Brain Train" The teacher's brain is a vehicle that takes students to new places via technology/computer
"Knowledge Explosion" leveraging the window/portal metaphor
"Super Teacher" Teacher in a heroric position (foot on computer) a cape inspiring students
Here is the idea the client decided to go with ...
I would love to hear if you have any methods for creating ideas??? Please post in comments below :)
Thanks for reading! More articles here.
Nate Williams