When to use it
Use it as visual method of creating ideas.
Use it when you like to use drawing and doodling.
You can use it also as a change from other creative methods.
How to use it
Doodle bits of images
Start by dreaming about the problem, thinking perhaps about some metaphor or essence within it, or just let your subconscious go where it will go.
Then just doodle whatever comes to mind. You can do as many doodles as possible. Don’t do detailed single images. Deliberately do incomplete parts of lots of images. Leave bits out or do curves and shapes that hint at what you are thinking about.
Combine the images
Now cast your mind across the images you have created and randomly pick two or a few and see if you can combine them in some way. The result may be a complete idea or may trigger further ideas about what you might do to solve your problem.
When you have several people doing this, you can swap the doodles and hence use other people’s images to trigger further ideas.
Example
I am thinking about creating a new fun play toy for children. I start dooding toys and partially draw an aeroplane. I use the idea of ‘party’ to trigger images of fun, and my doodles here include a picture of some streamers. I combine the two in the diagram below.
How it works
Images and doodling are particularly useful for some people to release their creative potential. For others, a change is as good as a rest and using this method can trigger thoughts that other methods have not touched yet.
Partially complete images have a particular creative use in that our minds do not like things to be incomplete and will hence try to complete them in any way possible.