Even the best ideas aren’t always materialized when you’re left to your own devices, so it’s time to expand your thinking. Better ideas are born from collaboration. (It’s proven by science!)
With an innovative partner or an entire team, your creativity can’t be stopped. And that’s the goal of today’s exercise.
This practical exercise is called…
Group Sketching
Through the power of collaboration, you can revamp your creative juices and create a winning idea. With two…or three or four (or more!) colleagues, decide the topic for what product you want to design and ideate for, like a shoe or a building or a piece of furniture for example. One person begins their vision and another completes it. With each participant bringing a different perspective, you have the power to create a fresh design.
Example:
Each person gets a pencil and one sheet of paper. Have everyone write their name on the sheet and begin to sketch an idea for the chosen topic that you are designing for. Set a timer for a specific amount of time, but nothing too long. Start with 60 or 90 seconds and modify as needed.
When the timer “dings,” each participant will switch papers with the person sitting next to them. When your original paper gets back to you, round one of the sketching exercise is over.
Look at your sheet. It’s likely you won’t even recognize the sketch you started to create. And that is the good part! By collaborating with creatives around you, everyone is able to contribute to the end product and create whole new perspectives and ideas that you might have not thought of on your own.
Take a moment for everyone to review each final sketch. Then, discuss your perspectives and how each design differs from the others, or how it could be the base for a second round of sketching.
Be open to everyone’s ideas. What you may have never considered could be the improvement your sketch needed to create a uniquely innovative product.
We did this fun exercise a lot when I was working for different companies. Whether it was footwear or tech, the principles of how to generate new ideas apply to everyone and every industry.
The Innovator's Handbook
Feeling inspired to find new ways to create or improve your ideas? The Innovator’s Handbook has inspiring stories and practical exercises you can complete to take your innovative skills to a new level.
