Idea Generation Part Two
How Might We Statements
In my user research and interviews, I came up with several problem statements. Users seemed to be primarily concerned about timeliness, cost, and cleanliness of a toilet brush and the toilet brushing routine. Some of the problem statements I collected are as follows: Joey needs a way to save time while cleaning because he doesn’t like to clean and wants to spend his time in a more interesting way. Lila needs a way to know when to replace her toilet brush because her current brush is many years old. Andrew needs a way to save money on cleaning supplies because he’s on a budget and needs to clean the whole house. Many users need a way to bring media into the bathroom because they want a distraction from mindless cleaning tasks. Most users need a way to integrate cleaning the toilet into their routine because they usually do it as part of a larger cleaning task. From these problem statements I formed the following how might we statements:
How might we make a toilet cleaning method that doesn’t take as much time as current methods?
How might we inform the user of the appropriate time to buy a new toilet brush?
How might we integrate media into the bathroom cleaning experience?
Brainstorming Session Set-Up
I chose to hold my brainstorming session in my dorm room because it was closest to many of the people who elected to participate. It also has plenty of wall space and seating and seems like a comfortable environment in which to foster creativity.
Original Warm-up Activity
For my original warm-up activity, I invented a game that I call alliterhyme. The way this game works is all the players will stand in a circle and a direction will be chosen, either clockwise or counterclockwise. Then one person starts the game by saying any word. The next person in the order can either say a word that rhymes or starts with the same letter as the last word, and the process continues around the circle. I think this game will help people with their quick thinking ability because they will never know when the letter will be changed and it will also help people loosen up and worry less about words that matter. One key that works well about a rapid brainstorm like the one I am preparing to do is the idea that no idea is a bad idea and that some of the best product concepts come from “bad” ideas. This game which has no focus on making sense or any sort of narrative will disconnect people from the notion of needing to be completely logical and (hopefully) will allow my participants to think more freely.
After playing this game I noticed that my participants seemed to loosen up a lot. I chose participants that were available and wanted to help. This did mean that most of them were apprehensive about being creative and the general stigma of coming off as “cool” was getting in the way of free-flowing thought in the group. I played a few rounds of alliteryhm and a few rounds of one-word story and this seemed to get people much more in the mood to laugh. I quickly realized that in order to warm up the group I needed to be almost like a bad guy or a villain. This meant sacrificing my “coolness” for leadership. In the great words of Michael Scott from The Office, “Sometimes the thing that brings the kids together the most is ganging up on the lunch lady. But jokes on them because by the end of the third grade the lunch lady was my best friend.” In this case, I was the lunch lady and I let the other people in the brainstorm “gang up” on me by forcing them into my improv games. This way no one was opting into playing and they were all allowed to preserve their egos while I led the session and let them loosen up in the meantime.
Key Elements of the Session








I started the session with a warmup of the idea generation process to get my group into the creative spirit. I used the “Breakfast on the go” prompt or this. These pictures were taken towards the end of the session after one of my members had to leave. During the majority of the brainstorm, the team consisted of myself, Dan, Isaac, Ryan, and Ben.
IPM: About 1&2/3
Some of the ideas that we came up with during our progressive revelation were:
nonstick toilet bowl, electronic brush, and a Swiffer wet jet style brush.
After hitting all of my problem statements, the group organized the ideas into a few interesting categories. The large ones that my participants noticed were ideas that omitted the brush entirely, ideas that interact directly with the user to prevent staining (These ideas often seemed to be jokes or less feasible products), and a fair amount of social media interactivity designs.
One interesting category that had many more ideas than I would have thought were supplemental ideas. For my group, this meant literal supplements, taken in pill form by the user to negate the need to clean the toilet. Whether this is — as one participant so gently put it, “Shit pills” — or a less direct solution, I was surprised nonetheless by these ideas.
The ideas that had the most votes were:
High-Pressure Flush- Essentially cleaning the toilet with the flush rather than a brush after the fact.
Toilet Tide Pod- A dissolvable packet that is dropped into the toilet after flushing but before the next user.
Microwave Brush- A holder that uses ultrasonic technology to clean the brush between uses.
Vibrush- A brush that vibrates to help scrub the bowl.
“ShitGram”- A social media solution that weaponizes peer pressure and social awareness to force users to clean their toilets more often.
Colored Cleaner- A dense colored toilet cleaner that coats the bowl as the brush applies it to show users what spots they have already cleaned.
Some of the groups' ideas were more novel or feasible than others but the process of collecting ideas from potential future users was informative and fun.
Top Ten Ideas
Mag-Lev: This brush uses existing magnetic levitation technology found in some East Asian train systems and in high end living decor to float the head of the brush above the pedestal. This makes for a visually stunning and different design as well as a cleaner idea that streamlines the process of docking and undocking the brush. This magnetic system would use no electricity and would rely solely on the opposing forces of the magnets set in the base and in the head of the brush. The only issue in this design is that the head of the brush would have to be heavier than the handle in order to keep it from flipping over.
Handicap Rail: This design integrates the brush into a fixture that is already commonly found in most public restrooms. This would eliminate the need to buy multiple fixtures and would cut down on used footprint of elements in the bathroom. This design would appeal to either an older or disabled user or a user looking to stock public restrooms.
Disposable Heads: This design uses the idea of replaceable parts to make a brush that lasts longer and stays cleaner. When a brush gets old the user replaces only the dirt head and not the whole brush. This also makes sales of brush heads easier because users need to restock to maintain the product they already own.
Combo Brush: The combo brush is a simple idea that combines the utility of a toilet brush and a toilet paper dispenser. One issue that brushes face is placement. People generally don't want a brush out in the open or have nowhere to put it. This solves the problem by integrating the brush into a fixture that is more acceptable to be in sight like the toilet paper. It also increases the accessibility of both and essentially coat tails off of the success and utility of the toilet paper dispenser.
Blade Head: This design is a modification of an existing model of brush. The draw to a bladed design over a bristled design is that of cleanliness. Throughout the regular cycle of use of a toilet brush the bristles tend to collect matter that would not be absorbed by a rubber blade.
Ultrasonic Cleaner: The ultrasonic cleaner uses methods fo cleaning known in the computer repair business that is typically used to remove corrosion and rust from boards. This application would do essentially the same thing.
Toilet Pod: Another simple idea, the toilet pod would be thrown into the bowl after use and flushing to chemically clean the bowl between uses. This would be a slower acting solution that would not clean the bowl immediately but would provide a clean bowl for the next user. This would cut down on time and effort and would require little interaction between the user and the toilet.
Spray Bidet: This product would come in an aerosol can and would be applied to the toilet before flushing. The compound inside the can would be made of both a detergent and a sanding agent. The grit in the foam would corrode the material on the toilet while the detergent would chemically clean the bowl. This addresses both needs in the standard “Spray and scrub” routine of most brush users now but with far less effort and interaction.
Squeeze Handle: This idea is adapted from a dish soap dispenser that holds soap in the handle of a wand with a sponge on the end. The idea here is that as pressure is applied by the user, a small amount of cleaning solution would be dispensed into the bristles of the brush hence eliminating the need for a separate bottle of cleaner. This method also cuts the amount of time that a user will spend at the toilet by combining actions observed in my user research.
Roto-Brush: This is a design molded from the electric toothbrush family. The idea here is that a Swiffer like rear of the brush provides control and houses batteries and electronics such as a motor while the business end does the dirty work. Ideally the head of the brush in this case would also be swappable. The design cuts down on time and effort while also providing a satisfying near-gamified solution. The only downside to this product that I can see would potentially be price.






