3-12-3 Brainstorm
Force fast and unprompted thinking as participants collect, combine, and present
Run better workshops with Learning Loop card decks.
Every card deck includes workshop patterns, so your team can put the methods to work in your next session.
Running behavioral design workshops? The Persuasive Patterns Workshop Playbook (PDF) shows you how to design and run them.
Browse the card decks
Bad Idea Brainstorming
Produce the silliest, craziest, and most unethical ideas and turn them good
Competitor Demos
Find companies solving similar challenges to find new ways to solve your own
Crazy Eights
Sketch eight distinct ideas in eight minutes
Design Charrette
Collaboratively sketch designs to explore ideas across disciplines
Figure Storming
Imagine how a famous character, fictional or real, would tackle a problem
Forced Analogy
Compare your current situation to an unrelated one
How Might We
Reframe insights and pain points into a solvable question
Mash-up
Combine two or more items to explore fruitful and unexpected connections
Mind Mapping
Let ideas flow along the path of least resistance through free association
Perfection Game
Discover and recognize strengths and define effective improvement actions
Powers of Ten
Reframe a challenge through frames of greater magnitudes
Reverse Brainstorming
Prompt your group to think of problems rather than solutions
Round Robin
Pass an idea from person to person to grow and change it in unexpected ways
SCAMPER
Analyze current and existing problems through seven different lenses
Storyboarding
Expand an idea with context to better understand, communicate, and agree on it
The Anti-Problem
Solve the opposite of the real problem
Yes, And! Brainstorm
Disrupt negative thinking and build on each others' ideas
Bad-to-Brilliant
Create silly, impractical, and unethical ideas to turn them around for good
Behavioral How Might We
Reframe insights and pain points into a solvable question through a behavioral lense
Experiment Ideation
Use proven experiment patterns to reliably test ideas reliably and consistently
Flip it Over
Solve the opposite of the real problem behaviorally
Forced Fit
Spawn unconventional ideas using patterns not immediately relevant
Habit Change Modeling
Modify existing habits by adding new routines and keeping the cues and rewards
Habit Stacking
Integrate new user habits by associating them with existing ones
Hook Mapping
Incite habitual product use by constructing habit loops
Ideas first, Patterns later
Let creativity lead by prioritizing own ideas over psychological insights
Painkillers and Vitamins
Identify and develop behavioral approaches to counteract barriers and boost enablers
Reimagine Business Building Blocks
Reinvent and adapt key components of business models
Important for this playbook
The ideation exercises are designed to cultivate a flourishing flow of fresh ideas, and to refine and develop the best among them into actionable plans.
Ideation, the process of generating a wide range of ideas, is only effective when it revolves around a problem that truly demands a solution. These ideation exercises all assume that you’ve already unearthed such a problem, one that’s meaningful and worth solving.
Ideation exercises help bridge diverse perspectives and encouraging out-of-the-box thinking. By creating a collaborative environment that is safe and judgement-free, you can easier nurture creativity and allow for the exploration of every idea, no matter how outlandish it may initially seem. For optimal results, ensure focus on actual user problems rather than abstract concepts or business-driven objectives.
The energy and dynamism of ideation workshops make them an exciting and fun experience. Participants often leave these workshops invigorated, looking forward to the next one, and excited about the next steps. However, if used right, ideation workshop exercises can be the stepping stone toward viable, user-centric solutions that align with the needs, goals, and expectations of your users.
By generating a wealth of ideas, these workshops bring you one step closer to discovering innovative solutions.
These exercises will push your thinking to its limits and uncover the vast potential of your creative mind.
Run better workshops with Learning Loop card decks.
Every card deck includes workshop patterns, so your team can put the methods to work in your next session.
Running behavioral design workshops? The Persuasive Patterns Workshop Playbook (PDF) shows you how to design and run them.
Browse the card decks