As creatives, we are expected to produce awesome ideas every day.

No pressure, right?

And I do. Myself and my team tirelessly create, innovate, iterate and come up with genius ideas that connect with people and transform brands into extensions of their audience’s voice.

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Among many creative thinking strategies, I like to use the box metaphor or the birdhouse, if you will.

You see. We are often told that to think creatively, we need to break free from our constrictive thoughts and engage in the flow of creativity.

Typically, as creatives, we resist structure. But this no-process process can create chaos. We often find ourselves free falling.

My suggestion: instead of blowing with the wind, force your mind to stay within limits but push your imagination to think beyond what's obvious. Using this method, more often than not you'll find that a brilliant idea is right in front of you, and if not for the guidelines you set you'd be busy searching for it "outside."

Here is how it works:

Build a box (so to speak). Create a set of guidelines (2-3 rules) and only draft ideas that fit that criteria.

Remember, stay inside the box and only draft ideas that follow the guidelines you established. You'll be surprised at how creative you can get within the limitations you set, and even more so, how much more efficient your workflow becomes.

See it in action:

Assignment: Design a logo for a creative agency called Birdhouse.

Outside the box (no limits):

Hmm. This can go in so many directions, I don't know where to start.

Guidelines: Logo must be an icon and it must not be the shape of a house.

Inside the box (with limits):

Now it's your turn... Create three concepts within the guidelines above.

Comment with your ideas!

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