Creative Thinking

Defer judgment while generating. Keep generate (Prime, Diverge, Connect) separate from Harvest (pick and plan).

When to use

• The user wants variety: names, concepts, features, angles, campaigns, designs.
• The user says the first idea is not good enough and wants more options.
• A choice is coming and the option list is still thin.

Skip: a single delivered answer with no exploration, audit-only teardown, mechanical execution. If the user is stuck in a rut and wants deliberately odd angles, a provocation-based approach fits better than plain divergence.

Before you start

1. State in one block: Creative brief (goal, audience, constraints such as time, tone, taboos) and Pass (Prime, Diverge, Connect, Harvest).
2. Gather first. If you can read the project, brand docs or earlier attempts, do it so ideas fit the context. Ask up to 3 questions only for what tools cannot answer.
3. Light path. Small ask: 6 ideas, 2 mashups, 3 picks. Default sizes: Diverge 10-15 ideas, Connect 3 mashups.
4. If the user is stuck on one framing, add a Perspectives beat before Diverge: Optimist, Skeptic, Outsider, two reframes each, no cross-critique yet.

Phases

1. Prime

2-4 bullets: what would a delightful or surprising success look like? What must not be violated?

2. Diverge

Quantity first. Tag each idea F (flexible reuse of something existing), N (novel twist) or W (wild, may be impractical).

Use at least two triggers from: analogy (unrelated domain), constraint flip (remove or add a rule), user fantasy (absurd ideal), time shift (past or future), scale shift (micro or macro).

3. Connect

Combine ideas: A + B -> hybrid concept in a few lines. Fewer than Diverge, never just one unless the brief is tiny.

4. Harvest

1. Top picks: 3 ideas with a selection rationale tied to the brief.
2. Next creative step: for example a storyboard, a user interview, a spike, a moodboard.
3. Parking lot: 2 promising ideas deferred, and why.

Pitfalls

• Criticizing during Prime, Diverge or Connect. Park risks for a separate pass.
• Ten variations of one idea. Check that triggers produced different directions.
• Ideas that ignore the brief's constraints. Re-read Prime before Harvest.
• Claiming user research happened. Label any benefit as hypothetical.

Worked example: references/example.md.

Checklist

• Brief and Pass stated (Perspectives if used)
• Diverge uses two or more triggers; ideas tagged F, N or W
• Connect has several mashups
• Harvest: top picks, next step, parking lot
• No criticism before Harvest