Creative Ideas!

1. Creative Ideas! Creative Visualization by Martin Meyers

Creative Visualization

by Martin Meyers

Here are a few things you can do to encourage creative visualization. All are simple. All are obvious. All are useful. None is original. You may be using some of them already, and if you are, try some others.

THE MAGAZINE SCAN Keep your problem firmly in mind and repeat it to yourself at intervals so it stays foremost in your thinking. Page slowly through a picture magazine looking at the pictures until a new image clicks. Resist the temptation to read in depth; just look and relax and let it happen--it will.

THE STRAY OBJECTS SEARCH Leave the office for half an hour and walk slowly around the block, scanning the sidewalks, curbs, lawns, whatever. Look for debris, detritus, and cast off bits and pieces of things that you can pick up and take with you. Examples: A nut or bolt that has dropped off a vehicle, a nail, a cigarette butt, a candy wrapper, a piece of glass, a stone, an odd piece of metal, a broken branch, and so on.

Return to your workplace with all this stuff. Spread it out before you and look at it item by item while rethinking your problem. Try to connect the junk to your problem by shape, color, size, usage, age, state of abuse and material. You will get some crazy ideas and some good ones.

SWIPES, TEARS AND RIPS By borrowing someone else's work, you can often springboard yourself into something that is innovative. Cut out or stat up pictures or illustrations. Paste them down in various configurations, juxtapositions, assemblages and montages. Videaotape dubs of still, film or tape footage and edit them to spirited music tracks or well-written narrations. Then push the borrowed composite product to the next step and make it your own. It's fun and it works.

Source: Step-by-Step Graphics

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