IDEA Cards playful creativity tool kit during ideation

Foreign idea cards. How does it really help in my process of ideation and how should I exactly use it and what is the benefit of exactly using it in my process? Lot many questions will be there when you're able to ideate certain things in design, right? We have been discussing lot of topics in ideas, creativity and all these things. This is also revolving around that theme. I don't know, like this week particularly, I've been thinking about recording more concepts, ideas and how you can become super creative as a designer. So this is one such idea which I'll be telling you. And you can able to simply implement it and even validate it how your creativity is going to go extant. Okay, so with this we'll start the podcast. Idea Cards is predominantly used by many big design organizations, firms, design studios, etc. Why we have to use this? There are certain advantages for it. Okay, so there are around seven advantages of how you can use the Idea Cards method. First is it will create a format for your ideas. First of all, when you're ideating, it's a very creative and abstract kind of an activity, right? We don't know what will come out, what will have a tangible output and what will not have an output. And what is the concept which can be taken now and what can be taken later. We have that complete doubt and dilemma to avoid, that there needs to be a discipline and a system and a format to follow. Idea Cards is one such way which can be helpful. See, normally it is called concept cards in the many places in design organizations and all. But I would call it as an idea card. And I have also designed a format of Idea card restricting to many, restricting to only few points, which if somebody able to answer it, then their idea will be very clear. That is why I call it an Idea Card. And at the end of this podcast you'll be receiving a gift also, guys. Okay, so the second part of this idea card thing is we should have something tangible. Tangible means physical, right? Intangible means something like a digital or something like that. So Idea Cards is something which you can touch in your hands. You can take a printout. Normally it will be laminated like a cards or it will be formed as a thick papers so that you can tangibly have it and you can use pencil, pen, sketch to ideate on that. You can sketch some concepts raw. You can think through your writing, you can think through your paper rather than always thinking it in digital. This is a way to conventionally break that so many people in fact like it. In fact, most of the Design community. People in the earlier stages, they started doing this, they like it, but eventually they leave this habit. Also, idea cards will bring back the tangibility in your products. Third important aspect is this is going to gamify you see, when you have something like a card, so something like a color cards or something like a pictures on that or concept on that, it kinds of gamifies you. And also people will see that and they'll be able to add a lot of things for your ideas. People will motivate you. You will have something tangible with your hand and you will be able to even assign points for that if you wanted to. Like let's say If I put one card I'll get 10 points. If I could 20 cards, I'll get 20 10. So something like that, you can add some points and make it gamified so that it looks like a quantifiable session what you're doing. Lot of people not able to quantify it because they do the sake of ideation to complete the project and do it. But it should be enjoyed and perished step by step. Then and only you will have the lot of joy and fun doing this activity. That's why it's always gamified and it will become more fun. The fourth important thing is you will have more clarity when you do idea cards. First of all, in idea cards in my format, okay, I have already given you in the description. Also you can definitely download that particular material for idea cards. And in that first, once you are sketching that idea, you should be able to write down how this idea is going to be helpful for your project. Okay, that's the first thing. If you're having an idea, if you're having some kind of a clarity in your idea, the first way to ascertain, the first way to easily think about whether it is certain good or not good, ask a question how. The second is what? What is the solution exactly? Can you explain that solution in one or two lines where somebody new who are seeing this concept card, idea card should be able to read it, right? Third, asking why? Why is this concept? What are the impact that is going to create? Why is this really required here? This is going to add more value or less value or what is it? And the fourth is, is it going to be implemented right now or in the later? Some ideas will be very big, some ideas will be really small. It can be implemented quick. So write down that and also put down your contact information like it's a email or phone number. What happens is people can get back to you once they are able to get a more details on your idea. If they get attracted if they want more clarity. So this kind of a tangible cards will be able to give you that link to contact you. Or else what will happen is when you do it digitally, sometimes people will not even bother to see each of the concepts you might have did. Hundred plus concepts. Normally idea cards are done. It should be like more than 150, 200 cards should be made. See, there is a huge difference between idea cards and flashcards which I forgot to tell you. Flashcards is something which is like a picture which is like kids and school teaching method they use for activity based learning for the kids. Okay. They used to identify some pictures like Apple, Mango. Watch this. That flashcards has a different thing. It's a very simple communication concept card is little more complex. Communicating the complex ideas in this thing relating to design field. Okay, so this is the what you call format. You can ask how what why are you going to implement now later and what's your contact detail. Okay, this is the fourth aspect. The fifth element is you can vote and you can get a feedback from your team. Like let's say if your idea is liked by three people, four people or even 10 people out of the 50 concepts. Let's say if you're making three of your concepts or got the maximum voting, what will happen is we will be digging deep into that particular ideas. Like let's say if that idea seems really good and it's attractive, it seems like implementable. So we will be able to dig more details and get more clarity in doing that. So that your team can also give you feedback how you can able to implement it. Okay, so that's the other advantage of having the idea cards the sixth way. The sixth benefit of having idea card is you will be able to put everything very quickly time saving. This is the major major advantage when it comes to ideation. Lot of ideas are lost, lot of ideas were detailed out more. But when you have a discipline of making idea cards, you will stick to certain time for completing one card. So your time will be drastically saved. You will quickly sketch ideas and you will roughly make the format very very clear. And then there is a seventh advantage what you have. You can assign some colors for your idea cards and you can sort them easily. Like let's say if this idea is relating to usability. If this are concepts and ideas are relating to testing concepts are relating to better visibility for the customer. If this concepts are relating to more what you call more process efficiency improvements. So assign that carefully and you can able to sort when you have something tangibly with you, you can very well do it in digital also. But tangible is something very different. Okay, and let me tell you guys, this seven steps are really good. There is no problem you can implement it. But I would suggest conception and ideation is a very creative process. Rather, if you try to create your own method to validate your ideas through some format, you don't have to necessarily create a card you can do in your own way that becomes a unique flavor for you because lot of people don't do that for getting started. Yeah, this kind of a method like concept card, idea cards, all these things could be used. But going forward you should be able to take a whole process of ideating and documenting and validating and communicating to your team effectively. So this is the whole seven things of the idea cards. Okay, so let me repeat quickly. First, idea cards helps in formatting your ideas in a structure. Second is it helps you bring tangible physical things in your hand. Third is it helps you gamify and motivate you to do more, more, more concepts and get appreciation. Fourth is you will have a clarity in asking questions like how, what, why now are you going to implement later? Or your contact details. And next is voting and feedback to prioritize and rank your concepts. And then you are going to have a quick sketches and rough communication fast so that you can save huge time. And it's very easy to sort information in the clusters of ideas, whatever you're ideating and then creating your own thing. Okay, so this is the whole process and please implement it because hearing to this podcast will not change you anything. Implementing and taking action will only change it. Okay, let me suggest you some of the materials which you can use. You can use something called Ideo cards. You can go to that website. Maybe I'll paste you that website here so that you can able to download their ideal cards easily. And then you can open a website called Be of Innovation. I'm I will paste you the link for that particular innovation tool. So you have lot of AI tools and lot of idea card methods which is already there as a free template. You can download that and also you can read something called Dave Gay, Sonny Brown, James McConaughey. This is for games for brainstorming and innovation. See, when it comes to ideation and creativity, people feel bored, right? Sometimes people feel excited, but when it is gamified, the whole thing changes. So this one book can really help you bring how games could be used in order to get a more interesting facts and you can read a book called Design Sprint. Okay? And also there is something called Google Ventures who form this Design Sprint, you can able to use it for ideas, prototype testing. So these are some of the resources which you can definitely use which is going to help you ideate even more faster, even more better, even more optimal. Okay. So thank you so much guys. Thank you for staying tuning in with me. If you find this podcast valuable, give me a Best star rating. And if you need my support and mentoring, please try to hit me in the email which I've given below and also write about what you think about this podcast. I'll be happy to connect with you to exchange my gift as well. Okay, thank you so much guys. Take care. Bye. Bye.