Ideation Techniques

Innovate like Google.

The folks at Google and GV (previously Google Ventures) famously developed some ideation techniques that are now used by many UX professionals daily. They called these techniques the ‘Comparable Problem’ and the ‘Crazy 8s’.

Comparable Problem

Comparable problem; “Some of the best ideas already exist, they just need to be repurposed” (Google Sprint Kit, 2018). Look at a different industry and see how they solve a problem. If you sell cars, look at people that sell boats. If you work in a consultancy look at doctors. If you work with ice cream, look at the alcohol industry.

Crazy 8’s

Crazy 8’s; This is a method that challenges you to think of 8 distinct ideas in just 5 minutes. Fold a blank piece of paper in half 3 times and you’ll have 8 squares. Now set the timer for 5 minutes and as quickly as you can sketch away. You’ll be surprised on how many ideas you get.

Decide what to build.

At this stage, you may be full of different ideas. It’s now time to organise these ideas into a cohesive experience for your users. Here you can use ‘user journey mapping’ to come up with an ideal future state journey. Imagine your personas interacting with the ideas you just had in a way that is usable, accessible, and delightful.