Lecture 1 - Creative thinking

What is Creative thinking

 encourages to use of a variety of approaches to solve problems, analyze multiple
viewpoints, adapt ideas, and arrive at new solutions.
 “thinking outside the box.” involves what is called lateral thinking, or the ability to
perceive patterns that are not obvious.
 the ability to devise new ways to carry out tasks, solve problems, and meet
challenges.
 creative thinking can be strengthened with practice.
 You can develop creative thinking by solving riddles, being aware of (and letting go of)
your assumptions, and through play.
 Strategies can be introduced using direct instruction in creative problem solving
models and creative thinking processes.

Vertical thinking VS lateral thinking

 Vertical thinking is what De Bono describes as the type of thinking we engage in
most of the time
 based primarily on what we already know to be right, offering a high degree of
certainty or predictability. The objective is to get to the endpoint in the least amount of
steps.
 Lateral thinking (=creative thinking) is focused on generating more, and more
interesting routes to the endpoint
 In fact its primary aim is to generate new ideas or new ways of doing things, based far
more on probability than certainty.

Vertical thinking Lateral (Creative) thinking

Sequential: one “right” step leads to the Non- sequential – we may need or want to take “wrong” steps
next “right” step
Analytical Provocative
Relevant content Content is not necessarily relevant
Finite (absolute) Probabilistic ( based on probability)
Selective: once we make a choice we Generative: our aim is orten to generate multiple choices,
discount all other choices particulary those that didn`t exist before

How do you see your thinking(Vertical) or (lateral)?

Some people ask how they can be creative if they are following ‘rules’?
1- the creative thinking methods you will work with are not strictly ‘rules’ Most often they
are suggestions or very broad guiding principles that help us to generate new ideas.
2- if we applied creative thinking methods only, we would likely end up with a chaotic
collection of ideas that are never tested against their functional objectives
(usefulness).
So, both of them are required to achieve ‘original thinking ... with purpose

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Lecture 2 - Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking
Creative Thinking:
Involves calling into question the assumptions underlying our customary, habitual ways of
thinking and acting and then being ready to think and act differently based on the critical
questioning

Components of Critical Thinking

 Identifying and challenging assumptions.
 Recognizing the importance of context.
 Imagining and exploring alternatives.
 Developing reflective skepticism

Creative Thinkers
• Consider rejecting standardized formats for problem solving.
• Have an interest in a wide range of related and divergent fields.
• Take multiple perspectives on a problem.
• Use trial-and-error methods in their experimentation.
• Have a future orientation.
• Judgment

Characteristics of Creative Thinkers

Receptivity:
Creative people are open to new ideas and welcome new experiences.
Curiosity
Researching unfamiliar topics and analyzing unusual systems is a source of delight for most
creative people.
Wide Range of Interests
an artist who has a background in literature, geology, archery, music and history can make
more connections than a narrow-minded specialist. This assortment of knowledge enables us
to make more connections.
Attentiveness
creative people pay attention to seemingly minor details, they're how you get to a functional
big picture
Connection Seeking
once we are receptive to new ideas, we see how even opposites are connected.

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Conviction
Scientists build upon old ideas to extend their work, sometimes transforming those older
ideas and creating something new.
Complexity
you might abandon the project, you might need to follow certain steps to get the work done,
the project might require you to experiment. Either way you must continue to have focus,
determination or direction and consistency.

Lecture 3 Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking

Phases of Critical Thinking
o Trigger Event: An unexpected happening that prompts a sense
confusion
o Appraisal: A period of self scrutinizing to identify and clarify the concern.
o Exploration: Search for ways to explain discrepancy of to live with them
o Developing alternative perspectives: Select assumptions and activities.
o Integration: Becoming comfortable with, and acting, on new ideas assumption and new
ways of thinking

How the stages of intellectual development break down

Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker
they form opinions and make decisions based on prejudices and misconceptions while their
thinking doesn't improve. Unreflective thinkers lack crucial skills that would allow them to
parse their thought processes. They also do not apply standards like accuracy, relevance,
precision, and logic in a consistent fashion
Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker
People at this intellectual stage begin to understand that "high quality thinking requires
deliberate reflective thinking about thinking", and can acknowledge that their own mental
processes might have many flaws. They might not be able to identify all the flaws, however
Stage Three: The- Beginning Thinker
Beginning thinkers place more value in reason, becoming self-aware in their thoughts. They
may also be able to start looking at the concepts and biases underlying their ideas
Additionally, such thinkers develop higher internal standards of clarity, accuracy and logic,
realizing that their ego plays a key role in their decisions.
Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker
A thinker of this level will practice better thinking habits and will analyze their mental
processes with regularity.

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While they might be able to express their mind's strengths and weaknesses, as a negative,
practicing thinkers might still not have a systematic way of gaining insight into their thoughts
and can fall prey to egocentric and self-deceptive reasoning
Stage Five: The Advanced Thinker
This higher-level thinker would have strong habits that would allow them to analyze their
thinking with insight about different areas of life. They would be fair-minded and able to spot
the prejudicial aspects in the points of view of others and their own understanding.
While they'd have a good handle on the role of their ego in the idea flow, such thinkers might
still not be able to grasp all the influences that affect their mentality.The advanced thinker is
at ease with self-critique and does so systematically, looking to improve.
Stage Six: The Master Thinker
This is the super-thinker, the one who is totally in control of how they process information and
make decisions. Such people constantly seek to improve their thought skills, and through
experience "regularly raise their thinking to the level of conscious realization."
A master thinker achieves great insights into deep mental levels, strongly committed to being
fair and gaining control over their own egocentrism
Such a high-level thinker also exhibits superior practical knowledge and insight, always re-
examining their assumptions for weaknesses, logic, and biases.
And, of course, a master thinker wouldn't get upset with being intellectually confronted and
spends a considerable amount of time analyzing their own responses.

Lecture 4- Planning of Creative Thinking

How to organize the creative process
We describe this process by 4 components: the psychological attitude or mood that is
involved and how this relates to planning, the way action-creativity might take a place in
innovative organizations, the social character of the creative process, and the meaning of
“orality
1. The creative mood
The core of how to preserve creativity in life (including organizational life) lies in balance. To
provide conditions that allow the first, creative mood to flourish we should separate it from
rational, analytical activities. Similarly also in alternative approaches to planning, novel ideas
must be made explicit, open for external, critical judgment and debate.
Ideas come to the fore in a random manner steered by a hidden entity that makes certain
associations possible. The rational-analytic mood is characterized by the opposite:
• Elements of deliberation are separate .
• There is no sense of distance from the environment; and .
• The conscious parts of decision making (e.g. arguments) are dominating.

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the creative part (writing) is separate from the rational-analytic parts (planning,
revising),Therefore, we have to keep in mind the differences in mood in order to preserve
their specific qualities.have to keep in mind the differences in mood in order to preserve their
specific qualities.

2. Cognitive and conative creativity

The inspiration for grasping this difference comes once again from the study of creativity in
artistic domains. Some composers worked in intense contact with their instrument, usually
the piano "like:Beethoven " Others worked “freely” without experimentation through
something like producing music "like: Mozart".
The conclusion could be that some people are more cognitive creative, while others need
action. But most people are not so extreme: they are both.
3. The social dimension of creativity and planning
the creative process should be a social affair. But, we face a potential problem For instance,
Seitz defines “creative temperament” as a “problem solving attitude, perseverance in the face
of social opprobrium ...” Really creative people can bare such criticism
Often, we find a false distinction between a dynamic, experimentally-minded individual and a
passive, conformity-minded social environment that coerces the individual “back to normal
This distinction underrates the importance of a lively, dynamic social environment for
nourishing individual creativity that we also see in the artistic domain. Of course, the social
can be considered dy-namic and experimental as well, and this is what we would like to
maintain as both possible and necessary, However, we cannot neglect danger of a social
anti-creative attitude.

Lecture 5 - Basics of Creative Planning

1- Identify communications process elements
 Communication may be defined as a process concerning the exchange of facts or ideas
between persons holding different positions in an organization to achieve mutual
harmony.
 Seven major elements of communication process are: (1) sender (2) ideas (3) encoding
(4) communication channel (5) receiver (6) decoding and (7) feedback.

2- Distinguish between client & agenct responsibilities in creative

development
o 4major components of any successful marketing communications program:
o Business Review
o Objectives, Strategies and Long-Range Plan
o Creative Concepts and Communications Plan
o The Plan Execution

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 3- Explain creative development stages / The Five Stages of Creativity
a. Preparation
the idea that you are immersing yourself in the domain. If you area musician you are
absorbing a lot of the music that is inspiring you to create this new piece… etc
So this stage is normally best carried out in a quiet environment. It’s really this stage that you
are trying to absorb as much information as possible because this information will go into
your sub- consciousness where it is very important for the second stage, or second level.

b. Incubation
In incubation, this is when all the information that you have gathered in the PREPARATION
stage really goes back. That idea that you’ll think about writing about a book or piece of
music, and you’re writing about it and you just leave it to the side for a while and then you
come back to it. and it is not really under your control how long that stage will take.

c. Insight
It`s often happen when you are doing some kind of low-level physical activity; going for a
shower, driving a car, or having a walk. This is because your subconsciousness in the
previous stages is bubbling away, and this insight stage really allows the mind to work on
something else. And then bring these ideas to the forefront of your mind.

d. Evaluation
it is an area that a lot of creative people struggle with because often you have so many ideas
and you have a limited amount of time. So the evaluation stage is important because this is
where it requires self-criticism and reflection. It is asking yourself questions like:
“Is this a novel or new idea or is it one that is just re-hashed and has been done before?”
Often you find that people who are called the most ‘creative people’ are often very good at
this stage, the evaluation stage. They have all these ideas but they can use self-criticism and
reflection to say “these are the ones that have the most merit and that I’m going to work on”

e. Elaboration
it’s “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.This is where you are actually doing the work. it`s
testing the idea, working on the idea, in the studio, or working at your desk

4- Creative Development Process

Planning model exhibit : Stages in the creative development process, Creative planners &
media planners should work together when developing an ad plan
- Marketing background (from marketing plan)
- Problem identification ( overall goal of campaign)
- Advertising objectives ( behavior oriented) – Media objectives
- Creative strategy ( How to communicate) – Media Strategy
- Creative execution (specific details)

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 - Creative Evaluation ( pre test & post test )
5- Learning Objectives (cont.)
- Identify and distinguish among creative objectives, strategies and execution
- Describe appeal techniques
- Identify the various execution techniques used for presenting messages
- Explain measurement techniques for evaluating creative
6- Advertising Plan
Is divided into two distinct yet connected sections
o Creative Plan
o Devise message
o Media Plan
o Devise media strategies

Five steps of strategic planning process

Step 1: Definition of strategy attributes
- Core value: Guiding principles of an organization
- Vision : the picture of the future as seen by the organization
- Mission : a goal of the highest level of abstraction, a context for all other goals &
actions for two main reasons:
o A formal one: follow the common trend and have something to show to
investors;
o A practical one: use them as building blocks of corporate culture and focus the
team’s efforts
Step 2: Strategy Formulation
there are at least 10 schools of strategy. You can be a follower of a certain strategy school, but
there are some key components that exist in any good strategy.
- Strategic priorities : the pillars for the future strategy
- Frameworks : balanced scorecard, SWOT, VIRO, PESTEL, GAP Analysis, RISK
Step 3: Strategy Description
- Business goals : Building blocks of the strategy, formulate the strategic hypothesis
- Strategy Map: Business goals connected by cause & effect logic
- KPIs: Quanitification of the business goals that make them tangible
- Initiatives : action plans aligned with goals, KPIs, and budgets
- Leading metrics : Quantification of success factors
- Lagging Metrics: Validation of the results achieved
Step 4 : Cascading
cascading is a discussion around business goals that helps participants to understand how
desired business outcomes can be achieved on a certain business level

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The idea is that everyone in the company, is aware of the strategy &understands how their
job is linked to the ultimate goal (achieving the company’s vision)
Step 5 : Execution
- Working on strategic initiatives
- Tracking efforts & results with KPIs
- Reporting

Agency Responsibility
1. Understand the marketplace
 Market Information ( Market profile/ Product profile/ Competitor profile/ Target market
profile/ Budget)
 Problem Identification (Identification of problem or/ Overall communication goal)
 A few generic examples of overall communication goals:
o To create or increase brand awareness
o To position or reposition a product in the customer’s mind
o To present a new image (re-image of brand)
o To attract a new target market
o To introduce a line extension

2. Develop a more precise creative strategy /Content of a Creative Brief

 Advertising Objectives ( Awareness/ Interest/ Preference/ Action/ New image/ New
targets)
 Positioning – Strategy Statement (Brand benefits, personality or desire image)
 Creative Objectives (Message content objectives/ Key benefit statement/ Support-
claims statement)
 Creative Strategy (Buying motivation/ Tone and style/ Theme/ Appeal techniques)
 Creative Strategy (How will the message be communicated to the target audience?)
 Website creative strategies & Through which marketing communications activities and
media done

3. Creative execution details

 Creative Execution (Tactical consideration / Production considerations)
 Tactical Considerations
What is the best or most convincing way to present a product so the consumer will be
motivated to purchase it? (Testimonials/ Endorsements/ Product demonstrations/ Torture
tests/ Product as hero/ Product comparisons
 Production Considerations
(Message content and media decisions/ Budget available/ Mandatory content)
 Creative Evaluation

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 o Does the ad reflect the positioning statement?
o Does it mislead or misinterpret the intent of the message?
o Is the ad memorable? / Is the brand recognition effective?
o Should the ad be researched?
 Research Techniques
o Creative Research : Is to measure the impact of a message on a target
audience.
 Pre-test: evaluated before final production or media placement
 Post-test: evaluating during or after its placement
o Recognition testing :Testing for awareness
o Recall testing: Testing for comprehension and impact
 Research Method
o Starch Readership test: (Noted/ Associated/ Read most)
o Day- After Recall Testing( Research is conducted the day after an audience
has been exposed to the ad for the first time)
o Opinion-Measure Testing
o Physiological Testing
o Inquiry Tests (Split-Run tests)
o Controlled Experiments

Lecture 6- Creative Thinking and Brainstorming

1. Brainstorming – probably one of most popular creative techniques
The basis of brainstorming is generating ideas in a group situation based on the principle of
suspending judgment – a principle which scientific research has proved to be highly
productive in the individual effort as well as group effort
2. Negative Brainstorming
It uses brainstorming to generate bad solutions to the problem and then see how those could
be transformed into good solutions. The method is a two-step process, that consists of
generating the worst ideas first and then transforming them into good solutions.
Here is a list of 25 brainstorming techniques. Pick the best method for the issue you
are facing and apply it
1. Time Travel. How would you deal with this if you were in a different time period? 10
years ago? 100 years ago? 1,000 years ago? 10,000 years ago? How about in the
future? 10 years later? 100 years later? 1,000 years later? 10,000 years later?
2. Teleportation: What if you were facing this problem in a different place? Different
country? Different geographic region? Different universe? A different plane of
existence? How would you handle it?
3. Attribute change. How would you think about this if you were a different gender?
Age? Race? Intellect? Height? Weight? Nationality? Your Sanity? With each attribute
change, you become exposed to a new spectrum of thinking you were subconsciously

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 closed off from.
4. Rolestorming. What would you do if you were someone else? Your parent? Your
teacher? Your manager? Your partner? Your best friend? Your enemy? Etc?
5. Iconic Figures. This is a spin-off of rolestorming. What if you were an iconic figure of
the past? Albert Einstein? Thomas Edison? Mother Theresa? Princess Diana?
Winston Churchill? How about the present? Barack Obama? Steve Jobs ? Bill Gates?
Warren Buffet? Steven Spielberg? Etc.? How would you think about your situation?
6. Superpowers.This is another spinoff of rolestorming. What if you suddenly have
superpowers? Superman? Spiderman? Wonderwoman? X-Men? The Hulk? One of
the Fantastic Four? What would you do?
7. Gap Filling. Identify your current spot – which is Point A – and your end goal – which
is Point B. What is the gap that exists between A and B? What are all the things you
need to fill up this gap? List them down and find out what it takes to get them.
8. Group Ideation. Have a group brainstorming session! Get a group of people and start
ideating together. More brains are better than one! Let the creative juices flow
together!
9. Mind Map. Great tool to work out as many ideas as you can in a hierarchical tree and
cluster format. Start off with your goal in the center, branch out into the major sub-
topics, and continue to branch out into as many sub-sub-topics as needed. Source
Forge is a free mind-mapping software you can check out.
10. Medici Effect. The Medici Effect refers to how ideas in seemingly unrelated
topics/fields intersect. Put your goal alongside similar goals in different areas/contexts
and identify parallel themes and solutions.
11. SWOT Analysis. Do a SWOT of your situation. What are the Strengths?
Weaknesses? Opportunities? Threats? The analysis will open your mind up to new
ideas.
12. Brain Writing. Get a group of people and have them write their ideas on a sheet of
paper. After 10 minutes, rotate the sheets to different people and build off what others
wrote on their paper. Continue until everyone has written on everyone else’s sheet.
13. Trigger Method. Brainstorm on as many ideas as possible. Then select the best ones
and brainstorm on those ideas as ‘triggers’ for more ideas. Repeat until you find the
best solution
14. Variable Brainstorming.
o First, identify the variable in the end outcome you look to achieve. For example,
if your goal is to achieve X visitors to your website, the variable is # of visitors.
o Second, list all the possibilities for that variable. Different variations of visitors
are gender / age / race / nationality / occupation / interests / etc. Think about
the question with each different variable. For example, for Genre: How can you
get more females to your website?
15. Niche. This is part two of the variable brainstorming method. From the variations of
the variable you have listed, mix and match them in different ways and brainstorm
against those niches. For example, using the example in #14, how can you get more
male teenagers to your website? (Gender and Age) How can you get more American
Male Adults to your website? (Nationality, Gender, and Age)
16. Resource Availability. What if money, time, people, supplies are not issues at all?
What if you can ask for whatever you want and have it happen? What will you do?

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 17. Drivers Analysis. What are the forces that help drive you forward in your situation?
What are the forces acting against you? Think about how you can magnify the former
and reduce/eliminate the latter
18. Exaggeration. Exaggerate your goal and see how you will deal with it now. Enlarge it:
What if it is 10 times its current size? 100 times? 1000 times? Shrink it: What if it is
1/10 its current size? 1/100? 1/1000? Multiply it: What if you have 10 of these goals
now? 100? 1000?
19. Get Random Input. Get a random stimulus and try to see how you can fit it into your
situation. Get a random word or image from a dictionary/ webpage/ book/ magazine/
newspaper/ TV and think about how it can apply. Or a random object from your
room /house /workplace /neighborhood /etc. And so on
20. Meditation. Focus on your key question such as ‘How can I solve XX problem?’ or
‘How can I achieve XX goal?’ and meditate on it. Have a pen and paper in front of you
so you can write whatever comes to mind. Do this for 30 minutes or as long as it
takes.
21. Write a list of 101 ideas. Open your word processor and write a laundry list of at least
101 ideas to deal with your situation. Go wild and write whatever you can think of
without restricting yourself. Do not stop until you have at least 101

3.The Insights Game

 Have you experienced one of those moments when you suddenly realize how the
world works and the dots are connected? The insights Game is about these moments.
Every insight gives you one point. You need to have at least one point every day, if not
the game is over
 Actually, it is a personal method, but you can do it with your friends or team on
different boards simultaneously supporting each other.
 The goal and the reward of this game is that you will improve your ability to see the big
picture, process more complex problems and challenge your beliefs.
 Use images, videos, post-its and whatever you want to put your insights on the board.
Back to the board every day and look at the big picture. Try these for 21 days
minimum, and feel this magical moment! Use the Monthly Planner template to start or
put everything on a blank sheet

4. Mood board
 Mood board is a type of collage that may consist of images, text, videos and samples
of objects in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator.
 Designers and others use mood boards to develop their design concepts and to
communicate to other members of the design team. They are used by artists and are
based on a particular theme of their choice too. Here you can find some more useful
information about mood boards

5. Random Words (Random Input)

 Random Words Creative technique encourages your imagination to create different
perspectives and new angles on your idea or the problem you are facing. It is by far

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 the simplest of all creative techniques and is widely used by people who need to
create new ideas (for example, for new products)
 Prepare with a lot of different random words, short stories or tweets, put them on the
board and start your brainstorming session!
 Once you have chosen the word, list its attributions or associations with the word.
Then apply each of the items on your list and see how it applies to the problem at
hand.
 How does it work? Because the brain is a self-organising system, and very good at
making connections. Almost any random word will stimulate ideas on the subject.
Follow the associations and functions of the stimulus word, as well as using aspects of
the word as a metaphor

6. Storyboarding
 Storyboards go back to the very beginnings of cinema and animation. As it is known,
Walt Disney and his staff developed a Story Board system in 1928. Disney wanted to
achieve full animation and for this, he needed to produce an enormous number of
drawings. Managing the thousands of drawings and the progress of a project was
nearly impossible, so Disney had his artists pin up their drawings on the studio walls.
This way, progress could be checked, and scenes added and discarded with ease
 Now Storyboarding is a popular creative technique and is widely spread in business.
Storyboards are used today by industry for planning advertising campaigns,
commercials, a proposal or other business presentations intended to convince or
compel to action.

7. Metaphorical thinking
 A metaphor is a thinking method which connects two universes of meaning.
Examples: Food chain or flow of time. Metaphorical thinking is based on Similarity.
Our mind tends to look for similarities. A road map is a model or metaphor of reality
and useful for explaining things.
 Put everything that you may need on the board – words, images, videos, icons, etc. to
help you create something new and exciting
 Imaging within another conceptual frame can help, eg. the visual images of spring
which inspired Vivaldi’s “Prima Vera”, the dream that led to Berlioz’s “Symphonie
Fantastique,” the art exhibition which Mussorsgy illustrated in “Pictures at an
Exhibition,” and so on.

8. Mind Mapping
 Mind Maps has been developed by Tony Buzan are an effective technique of
structuring information and note-taking. They are also useful during the brainstorming
sessions. To Make a mind map , start in the center of the board with the main idea,
invite your team and work in all directions, producing a growing and organized
structure using key words/phrases and key images/videos.
 Use colorful links, post-its, shapes, icons, images and videos – anything that can help
you build a visual

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9. Brain Shifter
 Brain Shifter is one of creative techniques that is similar to mind mapping, but you
should act as if you were someone else. The purpose is to create new ideas that you
never thought about before.
 Get in to character by changing your mindset and try to think like another person. E.g
imagine that you are a doctor, a lawyer, a kid or why not a Batman? Start to write your
ideas on post-its thinking as your ‘superhero’. If you use the method in group, you can
give the roles to each other before the session.
 After the session is finished, vote for the best ideas

Lecture 7 - Metaphorical Thinking

What is Metaphorical Thinking?
 A metaphor means comparing two things that in reality are not literally the same. By
making a metaphorical comparison between a complex problem and a recognizable
situation, other people can understand what’s meant right away.

Insight
 Metaphorical Thinking might seem strange, but eventually it will lead to more insight.
Thinking in metaphors brings other solutions to the surface.
 Using metaphors encourages creativity. It is a soft thinking technique that connects
and compares two different meanings. After all, people tend to look for similarities.
That helps them to grasp complex issues.

Solution-oriented
 Metaphors conjure up lively images and help us to look at things from a new
perspective in order to understand them better. It opens eyes and people are more
able comprehend problems and gain insight into solutions.
The key to Metaphorical Thinking is looking for similarities or parallels.

Metaphorical Thinking example

o ‘time is money’; an expression that compares ‘time’ and ‘money’. At first glance, these
concepts seem to be unrelated.
By thinking of time as money, you can conjure up some powerful images. Wasting time is
like throwing money down the drain and spending time on something is making an
investment for the future. This way, Metaphorical Thinking opens people’s eyes to the
similarities between disparate things.

Outside of established frameworks

o Creativity starts to flow when you step outside of established frameworks and think out of
the box . When using a metaphor, you combine two elements that have little or no logical
connection. Breaking the rules of logic like this allows metaphors to access the creative
side of our brains. This is the part that is stimulated by images, ideas and concepts.
o That way Metaphoric Thinking can help you to come up with creative solutions to

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 problems or provide clear insight into complex situations.

Example
Now a metaphor can be made with an overweight person who wants to lose weight. By doing
this, the brain starts to approach the problem from a completely different perspective, which
will lead to different solutions. Losing weight is now compared to getting rid of excess ballast
(too high production costs).

Metaphorical Steps
1. Identify the metaphor for the problem
Losing weight (ballast) equals lowering the high production costs.
2. Solutions for the metaphorical problem
This is where the initial focus lies. Every extra kilo is metaphorically equal to the extra euros
spent on production costs.
Many of the ideas "like gym" will be linked to the actual problem in the end. That’s why it’s
best to come up with as many ideas as possible during this phase
3. Translating to real solutions
The metaphorical solutions can now be linked to the real problem and provide insight into
actual solutions. Counting calories for instance can be translated to stricter monitoring of
what goes into the company.
4. Communication
Using metaphors is a matter of language and proper communication. It’s important to first
know what needs to be communicated before looking for comparisons. The audience needs
to understand the metaphor and be able to identify with it.
Generally, people like to consider a situation in this way and will stimulate each other during
this process. That way, Metaphorical Thinking can lead to good, useful ideas, loyalty and
cooperation.

Lecture 8 - Storyboarding of Creative Thinking

What is Storyboarding ?
Storyboarding is a creativity technique that often uses stick diagrams to explain a scenario,
so that the planning for that scenario can be done by groups of 8-12 people by arrange the
brainstorming ideas in a logical story and discuss criticism at every stage

The story boarding process includes four phases:

 Planning: define the issues clearly spelt out
 Ideas: the ideas are put on & arranged
 Organization: the participants decide who is going to implement the finalized solutions
& timing
 Communication: the participants are asked to share their storyboard with all the
members.idea

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Uses for Storyboards
 Movie making.
 stimulating creative thinking
 planning a project
 collecting ideas
 exploring an organization
 communicating a concept
 illustrating a briefing
 understanding the big picture

The Excursion Technique

This is a very effective method of persuading a group of people to design and develop new
thought patterns to address unique situations and to formulate strategies based on their
analyses, by 5 steps:
1- The instructor asks to take an imaginary journey to a place has no connection with the
issue at hand. then draw 8- 10 images based on their experience of that place
2- participants go to draw similarities and establish relationships between the images &
the real-life issues
3- analyze the connections between the problems & identify linked with all factors
4- Participants share their experiences with group
5- Like brainstorming, participants discuss each other’s ideas and find out a common
solution

Example/ How it works

We understand much through stories. it`s great for learning, as we naturally follow along the
path they lay down to the ideas and conclusions. When we watch or listen to the story of
another person, we put ourselves in their shoes, feeling and experiencing as they do. Stories
are great for hooking people in and generating emotional responses

Summary
 Storyboards can be a helpful tool for planning a complex project. They can be used as
a communication tool for team members as well as communication for people outside
the team. Creating effective storyboards is a skill that can be developed.
 Using some of these techniques might help students think visually and be more
comfortable putting their ideas down on paper before they jump onto the computer.

Lecture 9 - Mapping Thinking

What is a mind map?
A mind map is a type of visual diagram that consists of a centralized subject and related
topics or ideas branching off from it in all directions. From each topic subtopics can again
branch off, resulting in a radial structure
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How to start Mind map?
1. In the center you write down whatever your mind map is about
2. start adding topics, also known as: “nodes”, “keywords”, “ideas” or “branches” to your
map.
3. call child topics / ideas to your first-level topics. Simply draw another line from your
first-level topic and write your child topic ( hierarchy).

The benefits of mind mapping

 Mind mapping helps you focus.
 Mind mapping lets you structure your thoughts.
 Mind mapping provides a great overview of a topic (See bigger picture, make out
connections and hierarchies)
 Mind mapping enhances memory (It kicks your brain into action)
 Mind mapping is efficient. )It increases productivity & save time)
 Mind mapping is easy. (Everyone from can do it)
 Mind mapping enables a free flow of ideas (you can jot down ideas a lot faster than
usual)
 Mind mapping is fun

Why mind maps work so well

 The graphical structure: Mind maps display hierarchy and relationships between
topics visually. That’s enables you to make out connections easily
 The overview: it is always fitted onto one paper. you don’t have to jump back and
forth between multiple pages .
 The Spartan wording: They foster a reduced writing style, where every word counts.
You don’t clutter your notes with unimportant information and save time
 Colors and Icons: which can help you greatly in structuring your content. it`s trigger
your memory and thus speed up the recall process.
 The Pictures
Digital mind maps usually also allow you to support your arguments with statistical
diagrams, show screenshots, add photographs ...

Who mind mapping is for

Mind maps are so easy to draw that basically everyone can create them from the age of 8 &
no age limit. Even if you feel comfortable with your old thinking method (linear thinker), you
can utilize other techniques to further improve your creativity, memory and problem

Most popular mind mapping uses

 Brainstorming: it`s encourages a free flow of ideas and sparks associations, will set
your creativity free

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  Summarizing: mind map encourages you to break the information down into smaller,
and capture the key concepts of the topic, which makes it perfect for later revisions of
the material.
 Planning & Strategizing: to plan anything. They are perfect to collect all your ideas, to-
dos and even resources in one place, to arrange things in a clear and logical way, and
function as a perfect visual aid when presenting your plan to others.
 Problem solving: It is not so much the comprehensive knowledge of a subject that is
on demand, but the ability to think logically, make the right connections and find
creative solutions to a problem.
 Note taking: more efficient, easier to quickly go back to refresh your memory later on.
 Memorizing: help you memorize all kinds of information and data & encourages the
spontaneous recall
 Presentations: visual aids are key to help the audience follow the speaker’s thought
process and further explain complex topics.
 Collecting and structuring information: Mind maps has ability to “structure thoughtsor
any other kind of information
 Collaboration: Everyone can easily add their own ideas, which in turn can spark new
ideas in others. The results of the collaboration process can then be structured, tasks
can be assigned and deadlines added.
 Decision making: provide you with a clear overview of the pros and cons

Choosing the right mapping format

1- paper mapping, 2-digital mapping 3- online mapping.
The system is always the same and once you’ve come to appreciate its value, you’ll probably
make use of it in all kinds of different situations

Types of Mind Mapping

 Circle Map
a tool that is used to describe something or convey our understanding
of a topic. for both individual and group brainstorming activities.by:
1- Drawing a circle in the center for main topic
2. Draw a larger circle around it, brainstorm &write down everything you
know about the topic within.
3. Draw a square around the larger circle“frame of reference” and is
used to indicate how you gathered your knowledge about the topic.

 Bubble maps
used to describe a subject using adjectives. useful when
analyzing a character, introducing new lessons, etc.

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1. Draw a circle and write down the topic
2.– Add connecting circles around the main topic in the center. to describe the subject

 flow map
Represents the flow of something. used to organize information in a
logical order, sequence steps of a process or event and identify patterns.
1. identify the steps of the event. Put them down on a flow map in a
logical order to represent the sequence.
2. Add substages as necessary. They can be used to break down a
key step into sub-steps. Substages should be connected to the
main sequence with lines and not arrows

 Brace maps
Used to show the components of a object or event.like parts of a car & not
like a concept or idea
1. Begin the map with the object you are breaking apart.
2. Brainstorm and add its components in front it, connected by a
bracket.
3. Subdivide the components as necessary. Connect them with
braces

 tree map
The tree map is used to categorize and organize information. by
listing down sentences under the sub-categories.
1. On the top, place the main idea
2. Place the supporting categories underneath the main topic
connected by lines.
3. List down examples or supporting details under each sub-
category.

 Double Bubble Map

used to identify different and similar qualities between two things.
The two center circles represent the subjects you are analyzing. The
circles that are common to both topics contain similarities while
others represent differences.
1. Define the two things you are comparing.
2. compare and contrast the two ideas using a double bubble
map.
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  Multi-Flow Map
used to identify the causes and effects of a situation. the
causes do not correspond with the effects, but the situation.
1. Write down the event or situatio in the middle.
2. In the left boxes, write down the causes
3. In the rightside boxes, write the effects of the event

 Bridge Map
used to understand the relationships between words or show
analogies between ideas.
1. Draw the "as" pyramid. Place the two information pairs
on each side of the pyramid.
2. Define the relating factor that will help connect the two
pairs of information.

Examples of Mind Maps

1- Brainstorming mind map
Mind mapping is one of the best brainstorming techniques for:
 helps you easily retrieve information from your memory
 gets your thoughts flowing freely so you can come up with
new ideas
 lets you identify connections between individual ideas
 helps you see the bigger picture
If you run out of ideas too early, try drawing blank branches into
your mind map. Our brains don’t like unfinished business, so by
drawing unfinished branches, we can often trick our brains into
looking for creative ways to expand our mind maps

2- Note-taking mind map

mind maps compel you to actively think about what you
hear & only write down the most essential pieces of
information. it`s save time both during the lesson and
afterward
it`s offer a much better overview than normal documents
do

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3- Reading comprehension mind map
Some texts can be quite difficult to understand. Taking notes in a mind map can make it
much easier to understand its structure and content.
- Break the information down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
- Capture the key concepts and ideas of the text.
- Make a list of unfamiliar words and other questions that turn up while you read.
- Summarize the plot of a text and describe its main characters.
- Use the map to review your notes before an exam

4- Group project mind map

A mind map can make it much easier to visualize what needs to be done and work together
with your teammates to accomplish all tasks. by online mind mapping software

5- Class presentation mind map

you could use a mind map instead of a slideshow while presenting a report in class.

6- Homework mind map

for collecting arguments and quotes from the various sources you want to cite and for
outlining the structure of your essay

7- Essay mind map

8- Exam preparation mind map
to collect all the materials that will be covered in an exam, and note down instructions from
the teacher and other information about the exam

9- Creative writing mind map

If you have to write a short story for one of your classes, use mind map. You can outline the
story & make a note of your setting, any needed background information, the climax of your
story, etc.
Then, you can reference your mind map while writing your story so that your mind is free to
be creative instead of bogged down trying to remember all of those details.

10- Semester plan mind map

If you have a teacher who expects you to just stay on top of the projects and assignments
you have to do across the semester, you can create a semester plan mind map that lists
things like assignments, project touchpoint due dates, exam dates, teacher contact
information, and more.

11- Business ideas mind map

A mind map is a great way to brainstorm business ideas—either alone or as a group—to
come up with ideas for products you could sell, decide how you would market those
products, figure out who would buy those projects, and determine why people would want to
buy your products.

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