Ideate: generate options
Many ideas, then a few cards.
Ideate generates many options, then shapes the best few into ideas that can be compared. The methods mix individual sketching with group building, and several use failure and analogy to widen the field. For AI projects, ask early what a simpler, non-AI fix would look like.
You leave with: Many ideas, then a few cards.
8 Ideate methods
- Structured BrainstormMany ideas, built in rounds30 minutes · 4 to 12 people
- Crazy 8sEight quick ideas in eight minutes15 minutes · 3 to 20 people
- SCAMPERIdeas from asking how today’s process could change40 minutes · 3 to 12 people
- Reverse BrainstormIdeas flipped from ways to make it fail30 minutes · 4 to 15 people
- Headline from the FutureA vivid picture of success25 minutes · 3 to 15 people
- What Would Have to Be TrueThe conditions an idea needs to succeed30 minutes · 3 to 12 people
- Borrowed IdeasIdeas from other industries30 minutes · 3 to 12 people
- Idea CardOne idea written up on one page25 minutes · 1 to 15 people
Free in the Workshop Toolkit
Every Ideate method has a guide page and a printable canvas in the Ideate deck.
Get the free toolkitQuestions
What is the Ideate phase of a design thinking workshop?
Ideate generates many options, then shapes the best few into ideas that can be compared. The methods mix individual sketching with group building, and several use failure and analogy to widen the field. For AI projects, ask early what a simpler, non-AI fix would look like.
What do you leave the Ideate phase with?
Many ideas, then a few cards.
How many methods are there in the Ideate phase?
There are 8 methods in the Ideate phase: Structured Brainstorm, Crazy 8s, SCAMPER, Reverse Brainstorm, Headline from the Future, What Would Have to Be True, Borrowed Ideas, Idea Card. Together they take about 225 minutes if you run them all.
See also design thinking for AI projects and how to run a workshop.