10 Things You'll Learn About Yourself And About Creativity While Generating Ideas Using Ideasicle X
To generate ideas, I’ve been using some form of Ideasicle X for fourteen years now, including two with our new web application (as have our customers). What I have found, and customers I talk to corroborate, is my entire view of creativity itself has changed. I’ve learned so much about creativity dynamics, I’ve learned new skills, and sharpened old ones. All by using this idea generating platform. Here are ten.
things don’t have to be difficult to be powerful
The first thing you’ll notice when you’re running your first project is how ridiculously easy it is to set up a job on our web application. It wasn’t always that way, back before we built this platform. But you’ll feel like it’s just too easy to wield this much creative power. No gratuitous bells and whistles. No unnecessary complexity. It just works.
ideas don’t need buildings
In fact, ideas thrive here because when it’s virtual you can invite any four people in the world to work on your idea project. In. The. World. You aren’t stuck with those in the building for a brainstorm. Or a building at all.
people are more likely to stick their necks out when it’s virtual
It’s a thing called “online disinhibition,” or the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online in comparison to in-person. It’s why people are so bold (and sometimes mean) in social media because people feel more emboldened when people aren’t in front of them. But that same online dynamic is great for ideas because it removes the pressure between people. We want everyone to stick out their necks.
You’ll focus only on the ideas, not on the people proposing them
You will notice that your only focus when reviewing your team’s ideas is on the merit of the ideas and not who had them. Sometimes in the physical world big personalities can sell you lame ideas. Can’t do that here when everyone is quietly reduced to a typeface. It’s not about gravitas or personality, it’s all about the quality of the ideas.
You’ll see how ideas beget ideas.
You will very quickly see an energy between the team members that forces mental coincidences. Someone will post an idea or a build on another idea, and that will trigger a whole new idea in a teammate, who will then start a new idea thread. And on and on it goes. It’s quite a sight (site?).
creativity happens more naturally when it’s not forced
A typical in-person brainstorm may happen from 2:00-3:00 on a Tuesday afternoon. The team may as well have a gun to their heads. Creativity can’t be forced like that. The team needs to take in the brief, be inspired, breathe, interact with life, and then Boom! Ideas will happen. It’s called asynchronous collaboration, but it simply means ideas tend to happen in the in-between times of the day. Our platform not only allows for that, it plays into this insight into natural creativity.
creative ideas don’t come exclusively from the creative department
Of the 40+ Ideasicle Experts I’ve recruited, about half are classic “creative people” - writers, art directors, designers, etc. The other half are all kinds of people with all kinds of expertises and perspectives. PR people, social media, retail, etc. When there are four on a team, you can include one or two non-creatives to increase perspective diversity.
You will learn how to spot great ideas
We typically see anywhere from 35-55 ideas per one-week session. It’s a lot. And for some it’s overwhelming. However, after you do a few projects you start getting good at spotting the gems. For me, it’s visceral. I get excited, maybe even the chills, when I see a great idea. But spotting gems will become part of your skill set.
creativity becomes a “controlled-messy” process
Having four different people, people who likely don’t know each other, all working against the same brief, means four points of view, four levels of experience, four kinds of experience. Bad and/or half-baked ideas will get posted. But from chaos comes brilliance. I am always amazed at how one tiny thought can lead to a gigantic idea as the team posts their builds and riffs. And, again, the sheer number of ideas is crazy, but it’s all nicely organized for your review. There’s value in chaos and we provide a forum to allow it and then capture its spoils.
Ideasicle X strips away the anti-creativity bullshit
The team working on a virtual assignment through Ideasicle X love it. They find it fun. One called it an “idea video game.” They love that it’s all about generating ideas (something they love to do) and nothing else. No politics, no meetings, no posturing, no bullshit. Just pure, awesome idea generation. And that’s fun for idea people.
There are likely more. But that gives you a taste of how Ideasicle X not only helps you pump out ideas, but transforms and elevates how its users look at the creative process. If you’d like a demo of the web application, please schedule one here. And then maybe you’ll see for yourself.
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post.