SolveYourProblem
Article Series: Brainstorming
Brainstorming, Where Do I Begin?
The
Top Brainstorming Tools & Products Available
A myriad of amazing products now exist to
help facilitate more prolific and profound brainstorming sessions
than ever before possible.
Brainstorming
Cards
One
popular form of brainstorming tool is cards, or rather decks
of cards, each designed to stimulate creative
thinking.
Brainstorming cards contain inspiring and thought-provoking
images and words that can be used in a number of different
ways to come up with ideas relevant to your specific challenges
and objectives. The text on brainstorming cards can be
anything from keywords to questions to stimulating scenarios
to exercises
and activities to inspiring messages and helpful principles.
Each deck has its own “rules”, really suggestions for ways
to best use the cards to maximize the creative output.
Popular
brands of brainstorming cards include:
- ThinkCube
- Creativity
a la Card
- Inner
Vision
- ‘Ask
Einstein’
- Free
the Genie
- MetaMemes
- Innovative
Whack Pack
Even once you become familiar with all of the cards in a brainstorming
cards deck, the value never diminishes, as you can always plug
new ideas into the process, and you never know which cards
will show up when to spur you into completely new modes of
creative thought. Just like tarot cards never lose their oomph
to those who use them, so do brainstorming cards retain an
undying sort of magic.
Brainstorming
Systems
An
example of a comprehensive brainstorming system is Michael
Bungay Stanier’s “Get Unstuck and Get Going…on
the Stuff
that Matters”. This package includes a perspective-generating
workbook, an action-accelerating process in a step-by-step
checklist, an instructional handbook, and an interactive
website. The great thing about brainstorming systems is the breadth
and wealth of material you get in a single package. There are
usually endless ways to utilize a brainstorming system, each
time with new and surprising results. Whereas with brainstorming
cards, there is the potential to eventually grow tired of the
same creative stimuli.
Brainstorming
Software Solutions
The
modern age has blessed us with a bevy of technological tools
to make every aspect of human life
easier, and that’s
no less so with brainstorming. A slew of fantastic brainstorming
software exists that can help breathe new life into old
challenges without you ever leaving your desk. There are software variants of the brainstorming cards idea-stimulating
motif, like ThoughtPath, ThoughtOffice and FlashBrainer. And
there are also Mind Mapping tools like the XMIND 2008 Pro,
OpenMind 2 Business, and NovaMind for Windows.
Then there are software tools designed to help with brainstorming
very specific projects, such as NameBuilder 10 which helps
companies to come up with brand names for new products, Visual
Concept which empowers you to create visual business models,
and Seiko InkLink which allows you to easily add handwritten
sketches to digital notes.
Free
Brainstorming Tools
Finally,
many of these creativity tools need not even be purchased.
Many are available for free on
the internet, among them:
Downloadable
text-based brainstorming tools, like:
- EyeWire
Creativity Cards
- IdeaMiner
Journal
- Pocket
Generator of Ideas
- CPS
Cheat Sheet
- Harvey
Cards
- The
100 What’s of Creativity
Web-based
brainstorming tools, like:
- Creative
Whack
- Jump
Start
- Idea
Lottery
- Job
Force
- Watizit
- Random
Word Technique
- Random
Picture
- The
Solution Machine
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
> Home > Brainstorming Articles:
Main Page
|
