Paint and write to find new ideas

This is a creative method on how to find an idea by painting and writing. Start painting or writing and let your subconscious create whatever is on your mind. Create something random and see what appears. A new idea may appear randomly as you paint or write if you keep going long enough.

You can also use this method if you want a solution to a problem. This is called Storyboarding and was created by Walt Disney as a way to keep track of drawings. Paint the different solutions to a problem.

Sunni Brown

Studies show that sketching and doodling improve our creative thinking.

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Example

  • You may paint a red fire truck - but did you know that a fire truck should be yellow because something yellow is more visible in traffic?

"Compared to the things I used to do on breaks, like surfing the web or secretly playing a iOS game, sketching has a defined end point. Once you put the pen down, nothing jumps up on my monitor or flashes on my desk to tempt me to resume. By doing something nontechnical, it's very unlikely the break will stretch on for too long because once I'm done doodling, I'm not thinking about it at all. The inverse is also true, once I'm doodling my mind couldn't be farther from my daily work, which is more therapeutic than getting caught up in any digital distraction."

- Glen Elkins