Ground rules for the
“Shit Ideas” method
The “Shit Ideas” process helps to generate possible and crazy design solutions after a research phase. While creating the “Shit ideas” you are forced to go back to your research to find possible improvements you can make. Making so you enhance your understanding of the subject.
This process can be defined as refining research knowledge through hand- work. Here are the steps of this process with their new refinements:
Define a numbered goal
The first step is to define the number of ideas you want to generate.
This number has to be huge.
Tips
- You need a huge number so that you can express all your already existing ideas and that then there is still space for new ideas.
- Having a big number is good for motivation, because when you succeed to produce such a large number you are really proud.
- Define the number of ideas with the average time (see below) needed for the production of these ideas.
Write the titles of the ideas
The second step is to write down the ideas with just a title or a small sentence.
For finding 100 ideas you usually need 1 to 2 hours.
Tips
- You should use a numbered list to see your progress. Write in a place where there is something happening (bar) around you or where there is movement (train). These distractions can help finding new ideas.
- Give yourself a goal for the day, for example: “today I want 30 ideas” and don’t stop searching before arriving to that number.
Sketch the ideas
The third step is to sketch every idea in a really simple style.
For sketching 10 ideas you usually need 1 hour.
Tips
Sketch the ideas on the same paper or document size. Use the tool your are more comfortable with: pen, pencil or even digital pen.
- Use two pen formats, a large and a thin one, so to have a better looking sketch that you then can present.
- If you are doing long sketching sessions do a little break after each creation of 10 new sketchs.
Describe the ideas
The last step is to describe every idea in a maximum of four sentences.
For 20 descriptions you usually need 1 to 2 hours.
Tips
- Begin the description with “We could…”
- Define a maximum size for the description.
- You could have a second column in your description for keywords like the category or the implementation complexity.
