Brainstorming
Everybody thinks brainstorming is easy, but did you know it has rules? From decades of industrial product design to designing for people on the internet, we've inherited a handful of simple rules that focus the creative chaos of a brainstorm into great results every time.
Brainstorm Rules
1. Defer judgment
This is the hardest rule to keep. Don't criticize any idea in a brainstorm at first. Encourage participation. The collective expertise of your group will trump the individual expertise of your most brilliant member every time if it's given a chance.
2. Encourage wild ideas
The more and the crazier, the better. If all you ever think of are sane things, you have no points to jump off from to create truly innovative ideas.
3. Build off the ideas of others
Never say "but," only use "and." Again, defer judgment and build on the ideas of others. Don't interrupt or dismiss what others say. Focus on **quantity of ideas**, not quality at first. We'll decide which ideas to build later.
4. Stay focused on topic
Keep one conversation going at a time and keep it focused on the topic at hand to get the most out of the collective brain power of your group. Timebox your brainstorm to keep it from drifting into other topics.
5. Quantity rules
One of the most important tricks of designing is exploration a large quantity of ideas first. The more, the better. Quantity rules in a brainstorm, not quality. Decisions and analytical thinking come after the brainstorm.
