We all know that great piece of advice: to “think outside the box.” So true ~ something as simple as a change of materials (like a pair of scissors instead of a pencil) can point you in the direction of creating something fresh and different. But there’s more to it than that. Sooner or later, you’ll probably get stuck again (like I’ve been for the past week!), and you can keep changing the things you use, but what really needs to happen is a change in how you think.

That’s where creative thinking comes in.

We’ve started going through De Bono’s Thinking Course, which seems like the nerdiest book ever (and it’s not exactly thrilling to read), but we’d heard about it because lots of designers swear by it and we decided to try going through it. The purpose of the book is to practice different exercises that get you thinking about things in nonconventional ways. The first exercise is called “Plus, Minus, Interesting.”

It’s similar to the idea of “pros and cons”, only this time around, you add an “interesting” column. That’s where you put all the tangents, questions, and other ideas you get. Most likely, you’ll find that there are things you hadn’t even considered, and possibly even more creative ways to deal with the issue at hand. Next time you’re musing over something, write it down, and give “plus, minus, interesting” a try. It’ll definitely be worth your time!

August 6th, 2007