Buongiorno Bella!
It's time for some new ideas, so let's play with an idea generation technique called the SCAMPER method.
The task of continually coming up with new ideas for your creative business can sometimes be daunting. The SCAMPER method is a good technique to use when you feel like you are out of creativity. It stimulates new ways to think about solutions to problems and gets you out of a business rut.
How to use this method:
SCAMPER is an acronym for a list of words that are used in a way to get you to think differently about a problem areas.
SCAMPER:
Substitute
What can you substitute in place of what you are doing now? What other elements can be used? Is there another material you can use, another process, place or thing?
Combine:
What two elements of your business can you combine to form a new product or process?
Adapt:
What can you adapt for a new solution to a problem? What other things are like this or similar in some way? Is there a method that can be adapted or tweaked to use in another area of your business or making your products? What other idea can you use a product for? What could be recycled for a new product?
Modify:
Is there an a change that you can make to an old product to make it into something new? Is there a change you can make in your mode of operation of your business? Can you change a color, form, shape, meaning of one thing to create something totally new?
Put to other uses:
How can you use your products in new ways? Can you use your business in new ways, help people in a different way that you haven't done before?
Eliminate:
What can you remove from a product or service that will turn it into a new product? What can you remove from your business that is not working so well? What have you been doing that is not very successful? Can you cut costs?
Rearrange:
Is there another way you can rearrange your product or system that will make it more streamlined? Rearrange patterns, ideas, layouts to create new products and services. You may want to rearrange your schedule to times that are more productive for yourself.
Each word in SCAMPER is an active verb. It causes you to think about a new idea as well as to take action on it. You associate a problem with active solutions to fix them. The beauty of the SCAMPER method is that instead of simply throwing out ideas, the ideas can be used immediately if you take the action it describes.
*** Think about going wild with the verbs. Go in completely opposite directions to get truly innovative results.
Let's have some fun and take the ideas above and make them more elaborate.
Example:
Say that we wanted to make a new type of art class.
Substitute art materials. Make marks with other types of material other than normal art supplies. Nail polish, home-made tempera paint, use natural pigments from herbs, tea bags, dirt, natural stones such as red paint pots.
Try alternative art making tools. Try instead of brushes, using sticks, rocks, leaves, your fingers and hands, cut vegetables and carve into them as stamps.
Combine art class and music class to create a new class filled with visuals and sound.
How do the two differ and how are they similar? Combine the great artists in history to the great composers in history, look at how they created in similar or different manners. How can their methods be applied today?
Adapt your teaching style to an old method of teaching. Design a class using the style of the Dutch masters.
The Dutch masters used a 7 layer technique of painting. Show students this style and adapt it to modern techniques.
Modify the way students interact with drawing and painting. Draw a drawing from an upside down reference.
Paint standing up holding arms outstretched. Stepping back from the canvas as much as possible. Paint to music. Have students switch paintings with classmates often to loosen up their need for perfectionism. Paint on the floor with bolts of canvas. Collaborate on paintings. When finished, cut up the canvas to create new paintings.
Put to other uses- Turn painting or drawings into animated short films.
Turn paintings into books. Have students write about their process. Turn paintings into sculpture, jewelry, paper mache' dolls, abstract art.
Eliminate the use of canvas. Only paint on cardboard, recycled newspapers, old books.
Rearrange the way you make art. Ask students to bring in finished works of art and deconstruct them. Start from an endpoint and simplify by making a series of new paintings eliminating the elements of the painting down to simple lines.
I really like these ideas. They've inspired me just by writing them down. I think I'll go create some art now!
How about you? If you liked any of these ideas, let me know in the comment section what ones you plan on doing. Are you going to try generating some new business or art with the SCAMPER method?
Ciao!
Naomi
It's time for some new ideas, so let's play with an idea generation technique called the SCAMPER method.
The task of continually coming up with new ideas for your creative business can sometimes be daunting. The SCAMPER method is a good technique to use when you feel like you are out of creativity. It stimulates new ways to think about solutions to problems and gets you out of a business rut.
How to use this method:
SCAMPER is an acronym for a list of words that are used in a way to get you to think differently about a problem areas.
SCAMPER:
Substitute
What can you substitute in place of what you are doing now? What other elements can be used? Is there another material you can use, another process, place or thing?
Combine:
What two elements of your business can you combine to form a new product or process?
Adapt:
What can you adapt for a new solution to a problem? What other things are like this or similar in some way? Is there a method that can be adapted or tweaked to use in another area of your business or making your products? What other idea can you use a product for? What could be recycled for a new product?
Modify:
Is there an a change that you can make to an old product to make it into something new? Is there a change you can make in your mode of operation of your business? Can you change a color, form, shape, meaning of one thing to create something totally new?
Put to other uses:
How can you use your products in new ways? Can you use your business in new ways, help people in a different way that you haven't done before?
Eliminate:
What can you remove from a product or service that will turn it into a new product? What can you remove from your business that is not working so well? What have you been doing that is not very successful? Can you cut costs?
Rearrange:
Is there another way you can rearrange your product or system that will make it more streamlined? Rearrange patterns, ideas, layouts to create new products and services. You may want to rearrange your schedule to times that are more productive for yourself.
Each word in SCAMPER is an active verb. It causes you to think about a new idea as well as to take action on it. You associate a problem with active solutions to fix them. The beauty of the SCAMPER method is that instead of simply throwing out ideas, the ideas can be used immediately if you take the action it describes.
*** Think about going wild with the verbs. Go in completely opposite directions to get truly innovative results.
Let's have some fun and take the ideas above and make them more elaborate.
Example:
Say that we wanted to make a new type of art class.
Substitute art materials. Make marks with other types of material other than normal art supplies. Nail polish, home-made tempera paint, use natural pigments from herbs, tea bags, dirt, natural stones such as red paint pots.
Try alternative art making tools. Try instead of brushes, using sticks, rocks, leaves, your fingers and hands, cut vegetables and carve into them as stamps.
Combine art class and music class to create a new class filled with visuals and sound.
How do the two differ and how are they similar? Combine the great artists in history to the great composers in history, look at how they created in similar or different manners. How can their methods be applied today?
Adapt your teaching style to an old method of teaching. Design a class using the style of the Dutch masters.
The Dutch masters used a 7 layer technique of painting. Show students this style and adapt it to modern techniques.
Modify the way students interact with drawing and painting. Draw a drawing from an upside down reference.
Paint standing up holding arms outstretched. Stepping back from the canvas as much as possible. Paint to music. Have students switch paintings with classmates often to loosen up their need for perfectionism. Paint on the floor with bolts of canvas. Collaborate on paintings. When finished, cut up the canvas to create new paintings.
Put to other uses- Turn painting or drawings into animated short films.
Turn paintings into books. Have students write about their process. Turn paintings into sculpture, jewelry, paper mache' dolls, abstract art.
Eliminate the use of canvas. Only paint on cardboard, recycled newspapers, old books.
Rearrange the way you make art. Ask students to bring in finished works of art and deconstruct them. Start from an endpoint and simplify by making a series of new paintings eliminating the elements of the painting down to simple lines.
I really like these ideas. They've inspired me just by writing them down. I think I'll go create some art now!
How about you? If you liked any of these ideas, let me know in the comment section what ones you plan on doing. Are you going to try generating some new business or art with the SCAMPER method?
Ciao!
Naomi
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