Smash ideas together to create original concepts.
Take some existing ideas that you’ve come up with for a project, and see if you can join them together to make something unique and original. How could the aspects of one idea merge with or be added to the aspects of another idea?
“Creativity is just connecting things.” - Steve Jobs
Take two or three ideas that you’ve come up with for a project. See if you can join them together. How could the aspects of one idea merge with or be added to the aspects of another idea? Try and force ideas that don’t look like they should go together. Put ideas together at random.
Here’s an interesting way to illustrate this idea. Consider the duck-billed platypus. It’s an unlikely mix of duck, beaver, and otter. It has a duck’s bill and webbed feet, a beaver’s tail, and an otter’s body and fur.
But these features work perfectly together. Duck-billed platypuses hunt underwater, where they swim gracefully by paddling with their front webbed feet and steering with their beaver-like tail. They use their bill to scoop up insects, shellfish, and worms.
The point, as with so many of the techniques we use, is to try things which might bring unexpected, unusual results. Results that come together to make something unique and original.
So be playful with this – see how hard you can try to get ideas to bolt on to each other. You might find you get some more original ideas as a result.
This technique always generates unique ideas, partly due to its random nature, and partly due to the necessary act of "colliding" several existing ideas together, something participants wouldn't normally do. The result is something new and original.
This technique often works best when you combine ideas that don’t look like they should go together. Use as part of an idea generation workshop when you need an extra boost of creativity.
Talk about the duck-billed platypus and its use as a perfect example of idea collisions.
You can also introduce this activity by quoting Steve Jobs, who said, "Creativity is just connecting things."
Take two or three ideas that you’ve come up with for a project. See if you can join them together. How could the aspects of one idea merge with or be added to the aspects of another idea?
You can use the worksheet or simply join post-it notes together from a previous exercise.
Try and force ideas that don’t look like they should go together. Put ideas together at random.
You can then follow this exercise with something like mapping and voting to help you categorise and select the best ideas.
This exercise works really well as part of an idea generation workshop.
Using this tool with a skilled facilitator means that discussions are focused, time is used efficiently, and the group moves toward consensus, making the session productive and impactful.
