I have recently been spending time studying ideas, how we come up with them and what we can do to improve our ability to develop good ideas. I read a small book on the subject: "A Technique for Producing Ideas" by James Young. I recommend picking it up if you can, it's a quick read, but only costs around $5-6.

Several other books and resources have given a similar method to "producing" ideas, and they all share the same basic steps. The first step I have adopted (although it isn't a step in every process outlined) is to narrow your goal down to one simple question. Assuming we are trying to create an ad for a hot sauce, we would want to narrow down our goal to a question like "how can I show that this hot sauce is the hottest on the market?"

Once we have a single goal in mind it is time to generate ideas (no matter how silly or generic) and research the subject. Part of this step is to look at the hot sauce from any possible perspective. How does the hot sauce appear to a child, or a dog. How would a rock or a tree see the hot sauce? There should never be guidelines to what we relate to the subject. It is also important to be scientific about it. How does it work? What is it made of (ingredients)? These kind of questions will help us learn as much as we can about the subject while we develop ideas. As we think of ideas we can never block ourselves by setting up blocks like "this idea is to simple," or "this idea has been done before." Limiting your mind in this way is extremely counter productive, so don't do it!

The next step in the process is to take a break! Everyone has experienced the idea that seems to come out of nowhere, like remembering someones name hours after you needed to. Our brains don't stop thinking about something when we do. So taking a break, sleeping, doing something you enjoy all allow our brains to rest and "digest" the ideas we have come up with. It is during this stage that we are likely to get a bigger idea. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, or while watching a movie an idea will pop into our minds. This is the last step, and it happens on it's own. If we try to force it it likely won't happen, or not with the results we expect.

The above process contains ideas I have studied and practiced, and generally seem to work without fail. Never think it sounds too simple! Creativity may very well be a reflection of our ability to allow our minds to accept ideas that may seem silly or trivial and allow them to germinate in our minds, mix with our other thoughts and grow into something new and unique.