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Interested in generating more ideas?  Here’s a great article from Bradley Hebdon from UXbyDesign

Good ideas are the foundation for all effective products, experiences and story-telling. And yet coming up with these gems can be one of the toughest parts of the creative process. These ten books will help put you in the right mindset to start generating original ideas.

There’s a list of 10 books, some focused on the tools and techniques of generating ideas, some look at how the brain deals with ideas, and others help you make the most of your ideas.

I have read a couple of these books. As for the rest – I’m off to Amazon.com right now….

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At Cisco Live last week the closing keynote speaker Guy Kawasaki boiled down the art of innovation into 10 easy and not so easy steps. Always an engaging speaker Guy gives some great insights.

1. Make meaning
2. Make a mantra (not a mission statement)
3. Jump to the next curve
4. Roll the dice
5. Don’t worry, be crappy
6. Let 100 flowers blossom
7. Polarize people
8. Churn, baby, churn
9. Follow the 10-20-30 rule
10. Don’t let the bozos get you down

via Guy Kawasaki Explains the Art of Innovation in 10 Steps – Channels.

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Here is a really great story of a low tech creative event open to and well supported by the public. Have a look at the video below to get an idea of the age of the people involved and a what a marvelous way for everyone to get a little creative. A new spin on crowd-sourcing?

What I particularly like about this is that its teaching children (and by default the adults too?) that everyone has a creative capacity. It’s also teaching that every idea has a place amongst everyone else’s. So simple.

Now tell me – wouldn’t you like to see Chrysler or GM’s executives out in the carpark their chalk working on their recovery plan. I would!!

Dozens of boxes of thick, pastel sidewalk chalk sticks were being cracked open, the contents, purchased with private donor funds, distributed free to all who came. By day’s end much of the stock of 30,000 sticks had been worn down to tiny chips and nubs.

by Chris Knape | The Grand Rapids Press

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