Idea (n): a thought, plan, or suggestion about what to do.

Every invention begins with an idea to create a product that solves a current problem. At Inventionland, we’ve helped inventors turn their invention ideas into reality. That’s why days like today – National Swap Ideas Day is so special to us!

This innovative day is annually celebrated on September 10 and encourages people to share creative or helpful ideas with someone in return for their ideas.

National Swap Ideas Day encourages people to get together and share their creativity with one another and to build on each other’s ideas.  People can share their concepts, ideas and thoughts with each other to swap and share innovation.

Your ideas can be off-the-wall or they can be practical and applied to everyday life. Whatever your idea may be, it’s worth brainstorming.

If you need a creative boost, in honor of National Swap Ideas Day, here are some tips straight from our designers for effective brainstorming!

Immerse yourself in a creative environment.

“Variety is the spice of life,” and this notion applies to your work environment, too! Did you know that switching up your work environment can actually affect the way your brain works? Neurobiologists believe that enriched environments could speed up the rate at which the human brain creates new neurons and neural connections. So where you have your brainstorming sessions likely can affect the ideas your team comes up with. That’s easy for us, because Inventionland was recently named one of Pittsburgh’s coolest offices by the Pittsburgh Business Times for its creative spaces!

Bounce ideas off of each other.

“Team work makes a dream work,” and in this case, it’s an invention dream! Sometimes, the right idea doesn’t always come easy so that’s why it’s important to look to others for some valuable input. Starting a conversation can get the creative-ball rolling towards innovative ideas.

Doodle!

For all those times that you were doodling while you should have been paying attention at school or meetings, you were actually doing yourself a service! Why? Because doodling can help spur creative insight, increase attention span, and free up short and long term memory. In fact, doodling can actually help us think about ideas in a different way and make connection that we never thought existed.

Take it from one of Inventionland’s best sketch artists, Dan:

“Its weird trying to explain how it works. It’s just natural.  I draw what I see in my head and it just starts to flow out.  Start with a thought and end up with an actual ‘thing’.”

Step away from the idea!

If you’ve seemed to have hit the proverbial “wall” when it comes to brainstorming, take a break.  Sometimes the best way to get over the “wall” is to step away and come back later with a fresh mind. Brain breaks are beneficial because they can help focus your mind and continue developing your idea.

Creative Director of Design, Curtis, agrees.

“This is a regular occurrence in Inventionland.  Each week, we brainstorm with our designers and sometimes the brain just gets stuck or doesn’t seem to work properly anymore.  You have to put things on hold and come back to them with fresh thoughts.  Most of the time when you look at something, the second time around it is easier to figure out.”

These were just a few of our tips for National Swap Ideas Day!

Need our help brainstorming your own invention ideas?  We want to hear yours, too!

Copyright Inventionland, 2015

Sources:

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/brainstorm-productive?utm_campaign=blog-rss-emails&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=21842208

https://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/corridors-of-the-mind-49051

Image:

https://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=102392811

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