Brainstorming

What to Do

• Start by brainstorming scenes and experiences in your life

  • • 1. First, write down at least 3-5 scenes (environments or situations) in which you interact with the object.

      2. Go as broad as possible, and don’t try to think of solutions or build ideas yet.

      3. If it’s helpful, you can try setting a timer for 5 minutes and continuously brainstorming until the timer goes off.

• Then, brainstorm the problems that arise in the scenes

  • • 1. Once you have at least 3-5 solid related scenes on your list, start brainstorming the problems associated with them and write them down.

      2. To help, ask yourself questions like: What don’t I like about each situation? What could be improved?

      3. Go through the scenes individually and try to think of 1-2 problems for each one.

      4. If it’s helpful, you can try setting a timer for 5-10 minutes and continuously brainstorming until the timer goes off.

• Next, brainstorm possible solutions to these problems

  • • 1. Now that you have brainstormed your list of problems, it’s finally time to think of some solutions. What could you build to solve the problems you identified?

      2. Remember to choose a build idea that is achievable given the time and resources you have — you will have less than three weeks to complete this build!

      3. It’s okay if you don’t know exactly how you’d build these ideas just yet — you’ll figure that out as part of the design process!

      4. If it’s helpful, you can try setting a timer for 5-10 minutes and continuously brainstorming until the timer goes off.

      5. Once you have some ideas for solutions, it can be helpful to do an online search to understand what types of builds might be possible and gather inspiration from others.

• Once you have a list of project ideas, choose the most promising one

  • • 1. Once you have a few build ideas brainstormed, pick the one you most want to design and build.

      2. To pick your build, ask yourself which idea makes you the most excited, has the best story, and also fits within your practical constraints. Remember, it’s easy to underestimate the difficulty of an engineering project — try to pick an idea that you feel confident you can tackle in less than 3 weeks.

      3. Come up with a title for your build that describes what it does.

• When you’re ready, upload and share your project idea below

  • • 1. To make your project idea more visual, find a thumbnail or image to represent your idea. It doesn’t need to be an image of an actual device or build—it can be anything that relates to your project idea or the problem you’re trying to solve.

      2. This image will help tell the initial story of your build to your peers in a visual way.