During the idea generation step in the creativity process, several key actions are performed to produce new and innovative ideas:
- Gathering raw material and information: This involves collecting data, resources, inspiration, and knowledge relevant to the problem or project at hand. It can include research, exploring different perspectives, and accessing past experiences to fuel creativity
- Brainstorming and free thinking: Participants engage in open, judgment-free brainstorming sessions to generate as many ideas as possible. The focus is on quantity and diversity of ideas rather than immediate feasibility, encouraging divergent thinking and creative exploration
- Encouraging collaboration and diverse input: Bringing together people with different skills and backgrounds fosters a variety of viewpoints and sparks new combinations of ideas. Collaboration helps ideas evolve through shared discussion and feedback
- Using creative techniques: Methods like mind mapping, questioning assumptions, storyboarding, and idea challenges are used to stimulate fresh perspectives and organize thoughts visually or competitively
- Allowing subconscious processing: After active idea generation, the mind may incubate the ideas by stepping away from them. This incubation period lets unconscious connections form, often leading to sudden insights or "A-ha" moments
- Recording and refining ideas: Writing down ideas, even if half-formed, helps capture creative sparks that may later develop into fully realized concepts
In summary, idea generation is an active and open-ended phase where information is gathered, ideas are freely produced and shared, and creative techniques are applied to inspire innovation before moving on to evaluation and development stages
