A small poster series giving readers tips and tricks to get ideas.

Description

Using the text written by Ellen Lupton, I created two posters (18 x 24 inches) that include and organize all the text. The posters are an attempt to reward the viewer when read up close as well as from a distance. I developed two different designs with the same text to play with very different solutions and ways of organizing and displaying the text.

40 Tips & Tricks for Getting in the Mood to Get Ideas

The content by Ellen is quite useful and I thought I would reprint it here.

1. Triangulate. Identify three sides of the problem, such as “audience,” “voice,” and “message.” Collect and organize ideas in these categories.
2. Make a cube. Take an idea or problem and describe, compare, analyze (break down), associate, apply, and argue for and against it.
3. If working in a team, assign a different side of the cube to each person.
4. Think like a journalist. Ask who, what, when, where, why.
5. Make a word salad. Write down every word you can think of that relates to the problem. Sort the words to discover patterns and ideas.
6. Do a Google check. Who else has solved your problem?
7. Go to the library. Books are packed with information and inspiration.
8. Rewrite the problem. If the problem is “X,” change it to “Why?” Then Imagine the obvious solution. Now, imagine its opposite.
9. Look for solutions you admire. Analyze why you admire them.
10. Think like an interior decorator. Create a mood board with magazine clippings, fabric samples, snapshots, key words, etc.
11. Find a place where you can pin up your ideas and look at them as a group.
12. Apply thinking from another field to your problem. (“How would a zoologist design a backpack?” “How would a chef choose a color palette?”)
13. If your problem is overwhelming (“end global warming” or “design a universal typeface”), break it down into smaller parts (“get people to walk more” or “design six letters”).
14. Make a word map. Write down the problem on the middle of a piece of paper. Diagram everything you can think of about the problem (context, history, similar problems, competing ideas, available resources, etc).
15. Write down every obvious solution you can think of in order to clear your mind for something new.
16. Think like a curator. Collect everything you know about the problem. Display your data and look for meaningful patterns.
17. Think like an anthropologist. Observe people doing an activity related to your problem (using a product, completing a task, taking the bus, etc.)
18. Ask people what they like and don’t like.
19. Ask people what they wish for.
20. Ask people about their personal experiences.
21. Find a place to think where you won’t be distracted by other tasks.
22. Take a walk or take a shower.
23. Go shopping.
24. Drink tea.
25. Eat less food. Digesting a big lunch consumes energy that your brain could be using to get ideas.
26. Chew more gum. Research shows that chewing gum not only cleans your teeth but loosens up your mind and makes you smarter.
27. Put all your ideas on index cards. Compare them. Sort them. Rank them.
28. Think about your idea while falling asleep or waking up.
29. Wear five hats. Evaluate an idea from five different perspectives. White=information (What are the facts?). Red=emotion (How does the idea make you feel?). Yellow=optimism (What’s great about the idea?). Black=pessimism (What’s wrong with the idea?). Green=growth (What are alternatives to the idea?). Blue=process (How is the evaluation process going?).
30. Sketch. Make quick, simple diagrams of different ideas.
31. Sketch in 3D. Make models with cardboard and tape instead of pencil and paper.
32. Visualize the competition. Make a map showing where your problem, product, client, or concept sits in relation to similar or competing problems or ideas.
33. Visualize the bigger picture. Make a diagram showing how your problem fits into larger systems. For example, a shopping bag relates to how people shop, how bags are manufactured and shipped, and what happens to bags when people are finished with them.
34. Design a system or tool instead of an object or artifact.
35. Compare and connect. Find metaphors for your problem.
36. Empathize. Imagine yourself as the user, reader, or client.
37. Simplify. Explain your idea in a single sentence.
38. Set constraints. Cut down on brain clutter by limiting yourself to a particular material, size, vocabulary, etc.
39. Recycle. A bad solution for one problem could be a good solution for another.
40. When you hit a dead end, try again later

Goals

The goal of this poster was to organize all of the text in a format that is related somehow to it’s content and to efficiently organize it all in a highly readable and legible way, much like the goal of any good poster. I organized my text mostly in individual modules so it was a matter of finding a method of presentation to fit this. The posters are supposed to draw a potential viewer in so that they can read the smaller body text.

Concept

My first concept for the poster was the mind as a claw game machine. The viewer is placed in the position of a person playing the clay game, searching their own mind for ideas and finally grasping one thanks to the helpful hints and suggestions inside of the balls. I originally had some sketches of an open skull with a similar claw motif but i scraped that in favor of this brightly colored solution.

My second poster relates to synapses in the brain and the neural connections we all make in order to formulate an idea or a thought. The tips are formatted as call outs, labeling places and connections in the brain that are crucial for the formulation of ideas. As sort of a neural diagram, the poster offers another non linear way to look at the content and lets you explore the poster with your eye using the line of the connections.

Solution

With a simple composition, an iconic shape, and vibrant colors, the claw game poster grabs the readers attention and draws them in to reading the more interesting tips and tricks on the balls of the claw game. The balls act as small pockets of advice and can each be read individually or read in order of most interesting shape and color.

The neural mapping poster features some images from generative scripting I rendered with the help of my friend Anthony to create the swirling neuron shapes. It’s generated with Processing and some simple code that generates fractals in specific shapes. I then imported this into illustrator and drew the labeling marks filling out the negative space of the poster. The complexity of lines and simplicity of colors draws a viewer into the poster

The two are not meant to really work together but the exemplify two very different ways of displaying the same information. Feel free to comment on this piece.

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