I’ll be the first to admit… I’m not the most organized. When it comes to laying out my ideas in a productive way, my penmanship and sketches come out in the way I think; scattered and frantic. This week, I learned about different exercises that help compartmentalize ideas in an orderly way, which proved to be successful for me! My sketchbook is typically full of random bullet points, sketches, and lists that don’t go together. They make sense to me at the time, but when I return to them later, I have to reconnect everything and basically start over. The ideation methods I used for this project helped me break that habit and stay within the structure of the method.

Method 1: Brain Dump

For the first round in my ideation process, I used the Brain Dump exercise to satisfy my need to write as I think. I gave myself 10 minutes to write down problems I face in my daily routine and ideas for an app that could make these challenges easier.

Method 2: Mind Map

After narrowing my focus to two ideas, I gave myself 7 minutes to create a Mind Map, which gave me a visual structure that still allowed me to write down my thoughts. The simple addition of arrows to my thoughts helps me know how they connect and makes returning to them easier.

Method 3: Sketch

Finally, I decided on one app idea and began sketching out the possibilities of its features and what it could look like. This helped me keep all my sketches in one place for future use. Finalizing my ideas with this method helped me smoothly transition into what the app would look like rather than all the features it would include.

To further expand on the features and visual components of the app, I looked at the apps I frequently use and enjoy the layouts of versus ones I don’t use often due to complex interfaces and confusing navigation.

After looking through these apps and deciding the components I liked and disliked, I began piecing together a simple, clean interface for a pet care app called Pet Parent, which takes the user’s daily routine and creates a schedule optimal for their pets. This app would include a daily checklist, pet profiles, and a community tab that allows pet owners to share advice and updates on their pets.

In conclusion, these ideation methods provide a great framework for my thinking process and allow me to keep my thoughts organized. Instead of jumping back and forth between writing down ideas and creating sketches, these methods will keep me on track to create linear, organized notes for future projects!

To view my full ideation process, click here.