Let’s cut to the chase!

I am sure all this fundamental stuff is exciting, but all you really want to do is find an idea. That’s cool, you probably have a million ideas already in your head right now, all you have to do is put them out there and see which one sticks. But how creative are they? Are they really good solutions? If you have a deadline, are you confident enough to come up with a great answer on demand?

The Short Version to finding an idea for beginners.

I prefer to draw everything so my ideas are clear. A deadline usually determines how long I will work to find a good idea, but a deadline should never be used as an excuse for a bad idea. I never present any idea unless I love it. Here are the basic steps.

1. What kind of an idea are you looking for- make the question very clear?
2. What is the method you are going to use to find it?
3. What are you going to use as a barometer to be sure it ‘s the right answer?

4. Without thinking, write down or draw as many ideas that come to your head as quickly as possible.
5. Measure those initial ideas against the problem.
6. Again, write down or draw as many more ideas after evaluating the first set.
7. Re-state the question in a different way.
8. Write down or draw as many ideas for the new version of the question.
9. Repeat steps 4 though 8 as many times as it takes to find good solutions.
10. Test at least 3 good ideas against your barometer and present them to somebody.

The answer should be very clear and understandable to anyone you show it to.

  The Longer Version for beginners

You need an idea.  An idea for what? And how are you going to find it?  Do you need an idea that will save your life? One that will make you a million dollars, excuse me, a billion dollars? How about just an average idea that will get you by? Maybe you just need a goofy idea. There are tons of ideas out there floating around and every one of them requires some sort of method for your brain to go to work. So decide how you are going to find that idea. I literally mean make a conscience decision of how you are going to do it.

 Try using this simple method to start.

You can just use your imagination and wander, but it won’t get you anywhere. Unless you focus that imagination, it will simply entertain you. The ideas you are looking for are the good ones that will solve your specific problem and possibly be arresting. Diagram or write down the question for your brain to start working. Your brain will respond by feeding you stuff instantly, so start writing down every crazy idea that comes to you. Many of them are destine to failure, but what the hell, they were there so why not express them. This is where the magic comes in. Without that freewheeling, have no fear attitude, you won’t find those great ideas. There could be an interesting solution in that mess. Each one you write down is a possibility for a new idea. Again, be fearless. You don’t have to show anyone those crazy ideas, but it’s a good practice to becoming defined as a creative and confident person. No guts no glory!

 The bad idea becomes a hero.

Many years ago, I was working for an advertising agency as an art director and we given the task of coming up with a new campaign for Goodyear Tires. Another creative group had been given the assignment but had failed. They had used up most of the time that we had been given to make the presentation, so we were under the gun. It was late at night and we decided to work in a hotel room without distractions. There were two writers, two art directors and the creative director, who had done award winning work for this client in the past. This guy was so famous that when he retired from the agency they gave him a white horse!

In the heat of it all, we were all shouting out ideas, trying to hit one when we abruptly came to a stall and looked to our leader for a direction. It was close to midnight, and this “famous” creative director says “ I know, a car goes through a train tunnel the wrong way with the pedal to the metal and the voice-over talks about how strong the tires are to take the punishment of those tracks!” He said it with much conviction, and announced that he was going home. He asked us to storyboard the commercial and be ready in the morning. The door shut behind him as we all looked at each other with distain. “What a bad idea! Nobody is going to believe that! we all said simultaneously. We didn’t want that idea to define us as creative people, so we worked all night and came up with what we thought were better ideas. Our fearless leader arrived the next morning and loved our new ideas. We asked him if he still wanted to present his “awful” idea. He smiled and said he knew it was a bad idea from the start and that we would not sleep till we had one that was a whole lot better. The client loved the work.

Good ideas are a result of great reference and insight.

It‘s all that stuff that I asked you to feed your brain that begins to assemble a reference library. It’s the combination of those unexpected references that come alive, catch fire and produce the good ideas. It’s during this process that connect to yet more ideas. This journey of discovery is very addictive.  This is the time to be free and fearless. Express your ideas openly without concern or being judged.  Take all the ideas that you think are good and measure them against the initial question you asked. The good ones usually answer the question no matter which way you ask it.  How do you tell if it’s a good or bad idea? You’ll know- It will be the truth and everyone else will see it too.  It may not be a great or innovative idea, but maybe the question didn’t deserve a great idea.

 Epilogue

I had a client on the east coast who contacted me because of the success of the Esprit branding. He said, “Can you do what you did for Esprit for us, we are in trouble and need a solution?” I said no. I told him that Esprit had trusted me with my branding approach and financed the marketing using up to 50% of their earned yearly profit. I tried to explain to this president that this was a rare combination and it worked. I didn’t expect it to happen again. My caller said “I will let you have creative freedom, but I am sure we aren’t going to give it that same kind of financing. I should of said no, but I agreed to try. By this time I had been working with Esprit for five years and my confidence level was really high. To make this long story short, it turned out to be a reasonable solution for a very conservative client. We did their store design, advertising and marketing. I began to contribute ideas to the business side as well. The success level for me was low, but the client was happy enough that he asked me to make a presentation to the parent company. During that presentation, I was asked if I knew anything about real estate and would I design a new business for them. Obviously, they were curious about my methodology and thought they would take a chance. From my end, it was a great opportunity to test myself, get out of my comfort zone, and maybe make some real money. To make this story even shorter, the new store idea was a design success and for me, personally, a business failure. This episode was extremely valuable for me , but the message for you is that creativity can broaden your value, hopefully with success.

Just so I am clear, I have been doing this a long time and my method is different than the one above but it was developed from practicing all those fundamentals. My career goal was to be the best in the beginning. Today, my mission is very different, but I never stop adding to my reference library.