HUMAN CENTERED DESIGN | IDEATION

First Idea + Crazy Idea

15 Min

A good warm up to more intensive brainstorming, this tool helps people voice their top of mind ideas — both logical and crazy. The tool is helpful to get people involved, to get them excited, and to clear their minds so that they are ready to problem solve further.

USE CASES

Warm up before more intensive ideation sessions.
Document ideas that are simple and obvious.
Set the tone for creative, fun brainstorming.

LIMITATIONS

This activity is meant to be short and fun. Consider other ideation formats for longer brainstorming sessions.

Brainstorming Techniques | Sprouts

UNDERSTANDING THE TOOL

‘First Ideas’ should be about ideas that might feel obvious or simplistic but reflect the team's top of mind thoughts on how to proceed on the solution.
‘Crazy Ideas’ are playful, big bold, or just wacky ideas that get people excited, and set the tone in terms of what a team considers as radical steps.

STEP BY STEP

Brainstorm: Each individual should ideally come up with 1-2 ideas under each category.
Discuss ideas: Review ideas and see if there are some clear themes emerging, or if any ideas stand out even at this stage, park them aside to take into account later.

HOW TO FOR FACILITATORS

At the start: Set the context for the activity, ask teams to organise two sections on a surface where ideas can be parked.
During the exercise: Get participants to think big and encourage playful and practical ideas alike. Contribute ideas that you may have.
At the close: Have participants walk through their ideas, and discuss interesting themes emerging.

FACILITATORS QUESTION BANK

What problem are you solving for and for whom?
Who has the most number of crazy ideas?
What are your top 1-2 ideas as individuals?
What are some themes emerging from the ideas?

The FinLab Toolkit