Ideation is the

creative Creative may refer to: *Creativity, phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created * "Creative" (song), a 2008 song by Leon Jackson * Creative class, a proposed socioeconomic class * Creative destruction, an economic term * Creative dir ...

process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract. Ideation comprises all stages of a thought cycle, from innovation, to development, to actualization. Ideation can be conducted by individuals, organizations, or crowds. As such, it is an essential part of the design process, both in education and practice.

Criticism

The word "ideation" has come under informal criticism as being a term of meaningless jargon, as well as being inappropriately similar to the psychiatric term for

suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, means having thoughts, ideas, or ruminations about the possibility of ending one's own life.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal ideatio ...

Methods and approaches

There are many methods and approaches for ideation. A list of common ideation techniques is as follows: * Brainstorming: A popular technique, where the basic premise is to get a group together and have them share their ideas freely, without judgement. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible, regardless of whether they are good or bad. Once the brainstorming session is over, the group can evaluate the ideas and narrow them down to the best ones. Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate new ideas, especially when the group has a diverse range of perspectives. However, creating a safe and welcoming environment where all voices are heard is essential. Otherwise, the brainstorming session may not be very productive. *

Idea mapping A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated r ...

: This process begins with brainstorming a central idea and then developing said idea by adding related concepts and details. The result is a map or diagram that visually captures the relationships between ideas. This technique can be used individually and in groups, and it is an effective way to generate a large volume of ideas quickly. Idea mapping is often used in business, engineering, and design, where creativity is essential for success. * Reverse brainstorming: A contrasting alternative to other, better-known ideation methods, reverse brainstorming takes advantage of a person or group's ability to better recognize problems than practical solutions by, as its name suggests, reversing the question that a brainstorming session revolves around. For example, instead of asking how a hurdle could be overcome, one could ask what could jeopardize that goal. *

SCAMPER SCAMPER is an acronym that provides a structured way of assisting students to think out of the box and enhance their knowledge. It is thought to protect students' creativity as they mature. History SCAMPER was proposed by Alex Faickney Osbor ...

: SCAMPER is an acronym for the seven different aspects of ideation around which this idea revolves: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, and Reverse. By considering each of these elements, in turn, it is possible to develop new ways to approach a problem or challenge and obtain a wide range of ideas suitable for further development. * The 5 Whys technique: The 5 Whys technique is a simple yet powerful tool for driving to the root cause of a problem. The basis of the technique is to ask "why" five times to identify the primary causal factor behind a particular issue. It is suitable for a range of problem complexities and is often used in conjunction with other root cause analysis tools, such as fishbone diagrams and cause-and-effect tables. Although it may seem simplistic, the 5 Whys can be an invaluable tool for uncovering hidden problems and generating new ideas. * Pugh matrix: * Morphological analysis *

6 thinking hats ''Six Thinking Hats'' was written by Dr. Edward de Bono. "Six Thinking Hats" and the associated idea parallel thinking provide a means for groups to plan thinking processes in a detailed and cohesive way, and in doing so to think together more ef ...

* The method of loci *

Bodystorming Bodystorming is a technique sometimes used in interaction design or as a creativity technique. It has also been cited as catalyzing scientific research when used as a modeling tool. The idea is to imagine what it would be like if the product existe ...

: Bodystorming is a creative process that involves using the body to simulate various actions and explore different solutions to a problem. The term was coined by

Gijs van Wulfen Gijs is a Dutch masculine given name, which is a variant of Gijsbert, derived from the German name Gisbert. The ''Gis'' element is derived from ''gisil'', meaning "pledge" or "hostage".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Gisbert" Retrieved on 24 Januar ...

, who developed the process as a way to overcome the limits of traditional brainstorming. With bodystorming, participants are encouraged to physically act out possible solutions to a problem, allowing for a more immersive and realistic exploration of potential solutions. The process can be used alone or in groups, and is often used in conjunction with other ideation techniques such as role-playing and mind mapping. Bodystorming is an effective way to generate new ideas, and has been used in a variety of fields including

product design Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is a major aspect of n ...

, architecture, and marketing. * Brainwriting

Criticism

Methods and approaches

See also

References

Further reading