Coming up with new product ideas requires more than just inspiration. It requires structure, methodology and a way of working that both encourages and collects creativity. Many workshops result in a number of post-it notes with more or less well-thought-out ideas that then fall into oblivion.
The process described here aims to take the idea work from an exploratory, creative beginning to a concrete, focused result. It is about thinking new, but also about collecting thoughts, building on them and selecting what can be the next step.
Warming up the lateral thinking
The creative process begins with inspiration. The goal is to awaken lateral thinking, that is, the type of thinking that breaks habitual patterns and moves sideways rather than logically forward. Instead of just asking “what good ideas are there?”, which often only empties the mind of existing thoughts, creative triggers or external monitoring are used to create energy for creative thinking and the courage to think “outside-the-box”.
Generate ideas with creative techniques
Once the brain is warmed up, the next step is activated: generating ideas using creative methods. This involves not just thinking freely, but consciously using techniques that move your thoughts in new directions and along new lines of thought.
These can be random words, images, metaphors or analogies. The important thing is that the brain starts thinking in a way that it is not used to. One method that supports this is the STC method, where you systematically move your focus through different creative categories.
“Moving properties” means taking a property from one product or situation and transferring it to another. This forces new combinations and perspectives.
Another method is the “Crazy 8“, where you draw eight ideas in eight minutes. The fast pace makes you let go of your inner critic and dare to go beyond what is expected. The important thing at this stage is quantity and variety, not perfection.
Collect and prioritize with creative height and realism
When a large number of ideas have been generated, you move on to collecting and sorting. Here, for example, you use the matrix “Creative height vs Feasibility“. It helps to assess the ideas not only based on what is realistic, but also on how innovative and exciting they are.
Ideas that have both high creative height and high feasibility are of course gold, but ideas that are creative but not yet realistic are also allowed to take their place. These are often the embryos of something new and should not be sorted out too early.
In this step, it becomes clear which ideas have the potential to be developed further.
Developing ideas into concepts
A common mistake in ideation processes is to stop when the ideas are at their most unfinished. In this process, the selected ideas are developed into concepts using a simple template. Here, the target group, needs, solution, value and what makes the idea unique are described.
In this way, even the “unrealistic” ideas can be raised to a level where they can be understood, evaluated and improved. It is in this step that the ideas go from thoughts to possible future products.
Choose ideas with the greatest potential
In the final stage of the process, three ideas are selected that have the greatest potential. It is not about choosing the best or most finished ones, but those that have the most potential for development, impact or innovation.
This creates an implementation focus that is often missing in regular brainstorming sessions. Instead of leaving with a list, you leave with a clear next step.
Creativity within limits, without limiting
The process is based on a structured way of thinking new things. It combines free, creative moments with clear frameworks for development and selection. It is common for different or unexpected ideas to be sorted out early on because they are perceived as unrealistic. In this model, on the contrary, they are given a chance to grow into something that can be worked on further. This means that you not only invent something new, but also give it a chance to become real.
From inspiration to action
Thinking new things is not always so easy, making something out of 100 unsorted ideas is also difficult. This process aims to maintain creativity all the way to action.
By starting with lateral thinking, moving through creative techniques, and then to prioritizing and conceptualizing, the work ends with a concrete selection of ideas to pursue.
It is a way of taking creativity seriously and actually creating innovation, not just talking about it or hoping that it will happen.
