Methods of Creativity
- Brainstorming: Probably one of the most popular creative methods
This is the most obvious creative techniques and endless whiteboard is just perfect for it. The basis of brainstorming is a generating ideas in a group situation based on the principle of suspending judgment a principle which scientific research has proved to be highly productive in individual effort as well as group effort.
State the problem you are trying to solve. Use post-its, images and videos anything that can help you generate ideas. Write down every idea even if it is odd, encourage people to build on the ideas of others
-
Negative Brainstorming
This is another example of creative techniques. It uses brainstorming to generate bad solutions to the problem and then see how those could be transformed into good solutions. The method is a two-step process, that consists of generating the worst ideas first and then transforming them into good solutions.
-
The Insights Game
Have you experienced one of those moments when you suddenly realize how the world works and the dots are connected? The Insights Game is about these moments. Every insight gives you one point. You need to have at least one point every day, if not the game is over.
Actually, it is a personal method, but you can do it with your friends or team on different boards simultaneously supporting each other.
The goal and the reward of this game is that you will improve your ability to see the big picture, process more complex problems and challenge your beliefs.
-
Mood boards
Mood board is a type of collage that may consist of images, text, videos and samples of objects in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator.
Designers and others use mood boards to develop their design concepts and to communicate to other members of the design team. They are used by artists and are based on a particular theme of their choice too. Here you can find some more useful information about mood boards.
You can use a blank template, add pictures and videos using Insert button, and screenshots using Chrome Extension.
Random Words creative technique encourages your imagination to create different perspectives and new angles on your idea or the problem you are facing. It is by far the simplest of all creative techniques and is widely used by people who need to create new ideas (for example, for new products).
-
Storyboarding
Storyboards go back to the very beginnings of cinema and animation. As it is known, Walt Disney and his staff developed a Story Board system in 1928. Disney wanted to achieve full animation and for this, he needed to produce an enormous number of drawings. Managing the thousands of drawings and the progress of a project was nearly impossible, so Disney had his artists pin up their drawings on the studio walls. This way, progress could be checked, and scenes added and discarded with ease.
Now Storyboarding is a popular creative technique and is widely spread in business. Storyboards are used today by industry for planning advertising campaigns, commercials, a proposal or other business presentations intended to convince or compel to action.
To implement a Storyboard solution you can use a blank template in Miro. The initial storyboard may be as simple as slide titles on Post-It notes, which are then replaced with draft presentation slides as they are created.
Another way to create Storyboard in Miro is to use Visual story map template which was originally taken from the awesome book ‘Stories that move mountains’.
A metaphor is a thinking method which connects two universes of meaning.
Examples: Food chain or flow of time. Metaphorical thinking is based on Similarity. Our mind tends to look for similarities. A road map is a model or metaphor of reality and useful for explaining things.
Imaging within another conceptual frame can help, eg. the visual images of spring which inspired Vivaldi’s “Prima Vera”, the dream that led to Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” the art exhibition which Mussorsgy illustrated in “Pictures at an Exhibition,” and so on.
Put everything that you may need on the board words, images, videos, icons, etc. to help you create something new and exciting.
-
Mind mapping
Mind Maps has been developed by Tony Buzan are an effective technique of structuring information and note-taking. They are also useful during the brainstorming sessions. To make a mind map, start in the center of the board with the main idea, invite your team and work in all directions, producing a growing and organized structure using key words/phrases and key images/videos.
Use colorful links, post-its, shapes, icons, images and videos anything that can help you build a visual map.
Get inspired with our example and start with the template in Miro.
-
Brain shifter
Brain shifter is one of creative techniques that is similar to mind mapping, but you should act as if you were someone else. The purpose is to create new ideas that you never thought about before.
Get in to character by changing your mindset and try to think like another person. e.g imagine that you are a doctor, a lawyer, a kid or why not a Batman? Start to write your ideas on post-its thinking as your ‘superhero’. If you use the method in group, you can give the roles to each other before the session.