Personal Handbook of Creative Thinking Nov. 2013 | Page 9

HEURISTIC
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IDEATIONTECHNIQUE

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Over time, researchers have questioned the validity of ways in which groups approach the generation of ideas. An example of this is
brainstorming where a phenomenon known as groupthink means that people will simply conform to a dominant idea and stop thinking
of alternative solutions.1 Alternatively, a variety of new systems have been developed that are systematic in generating new ideas and
are based on the underlying definition of creativity.
The Heuristic Ideation Technique is an example of one of these systems. It is a technique aimed at assisting individuals to generate new
and innovative ideas. It works by comparative analysis of two items or concepts that are not directly related to one another in order to
stimulate a new idea. Once the two items are selected a list is generated of the components of each of the items. A table is then set up
where the rows list the components of the one product and the columns list the components of the other. The outcome is that each cell
corresponds to a combination of two components from different products. Existing products are crossed out, potential results are identified and thoughts are provoked from ideas that look like they could be creative. These are then developed into workable ideas and used
to generate new ideas and perspectives of developing products or concepts (see figure 7).2
This technique is relevant in design because the generation of ideas is just as important to success, as is the development, testing and
marketing. It appears to be a more sophisticated idea generation than brainstorming because studies have shown that individuals
working alone are more effective at generating new ideas and creating solutions than those working in groups, because people are
generally influenced by others’S opinions.3
Thus, the Heuristic Ideation Technique is a unique and interesting approach to product design and can be a fun and intuitive way for
groups to formulate ideas and develop them by looking at products with new perspectives.

THOUGHT

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APPLICATION

This technique was one that I was really excited about! It is unique tool that seemed to be a great way for generating new ideas and thus
of great interest to me. This is a procedure I will most definitely use, as I believe it could assist in architectural production by generating
design ideas and concepts as well as a useful and illustrative method of conveying these ideas to the client.

MUG
floral design
coloured
coffee sized
square shaped

CARD
mug, card
floral design,
card
coloured, card
coffee sized,
card
square shaped,
card

glitter deco
mug, glitter
deco
floral design,
glitter deco
coloured,
glitter deco
coffee sized,
glitter deco
square shaped,
glitter deco

poetic message
mug, poetic
message
floral design,
poetic message
coloured,
poetic message
coffee sized,
poetic message
square shaped,
poetic message

sent by post
mug, sent by
post
floral design,
sent by post
coloured, sent
by post
coffee sized,
sent by post
square shaped,
sent by post

Figure 7: An example of the Heuristic Ideation Technique.

CANDICE BURG | 3289728 | SDES0915 | CREATIVE THINKING CASE STUDIES | 2013

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