Creative Thinking: A Path to Breakthroughs—Unlocking the Secrets of Connective Thinking

Design with soul is inevitably the result of good creativity. Looking back, how did we begin the design process when a request came in?

Here’s a summary of the different stages a designer goes through: Beginner stage—designing based on intuition; Intermediate stage—knowing something is wrong but not knowing how to fix it; Senior stage—looking for references and brainstorming are the norm.

When we talk about “feelings,” we think of children. Whatever they express through drawing, body language, or other means is a manifestation of their “feelings”—what we also call “creative thinking.” But children’s thinking doesn’t take reality into account, nor does it consider how others might perceive it. When we first started designing or learning to design, we were just like children—without any set standards, relying solely on our own sense of aesthetics to arrange, combine, and adjust elements. Looking back, most of those early works were probably quite dreadful.

Advanced Stage—Knowing What’s Wrong but Not Knowing How to Fix It. At this stage, we have a basic understanding of the fundamentals, can distinguish between good and bad design, and have developed a certain “perspective,” but we often “talk a big game but can’t deliver.”

Senior Level—Seeking inspiration and brainstorming are the norm. After gaining some practical project experience—especially when working on large-scale or urgent projects—experienced designers will engage in “brainstorming” sessions with team members to discuss visual layouts, styles, and specific design requirements. Of course, the ways of thinking vary. We all look to others’ creative work for inspiration, incorporating usable elements, styles, or aesthetic tones while making slight adjustments to differentiate our work—but overall, we’re still drawing from existing sources. We’ve all used this approach because it’s fast, safe, and ensures the quality doesn’t end up too low.

Of course, we’ve also heard of many ways to find inspiration, such as traveling, reading, observing everyday things, and talking to people from different industries. But these can only be considered the “most basic raw material” for creativity. Moreover, it’s only after they’ve been “fermented” by experience, life lessons, and continuous work that creativity eventually bursts forth at a certain point.

We’ve likely all experienced some of the methods used in the stages described above. As our professional experience grows, our perceptiveness and ability to execute tasks improve—but our creative approaches, in particular, remain largely unchanged. The longer we work, the more rigid our thinking patterns become. Eventually, many designers grow tired of searching for references and borrowing from others’ design approaches; some even develop a growing aversion to the design industry and gradually drift away from the very people they once dreamed of becoming...

So, does creativity really have to rely solely on flashes of inspiration? Of course not. A smart designer doesn’t rely solely on sudden bursts of inspiration; the reason they’re better than you is that they use a different way of thinking—associative thinking.

What is associative thinking? First, let’s talk about creativity. No matter how you define it, creativity should be a form of thinking and expression that is both unexpected yet logical. Conceptual thinking is the process of connecting seemingly unrelated things to generate new ideas. The simpler the existing ideas you connect, the less creative the result. Conversely, the more unusual the connections, the more creative the resulting “inspiration” will be.

So how do we think in terms of connections? Let’s take everyday objects as examples: a mattress consists of springs and padding; a watch is a miniature clock with a strap; a suitcase consists of a case with wheels and a handle; a book is a combination of paper and printed ink—and so on. Is this really what we call creativity?

Let’s continue to delve deeper and look at another example: the ball-type lipstick. Let’s break down how the creator established these connections:

Item 1: Traditional lipstick-style lip balm

Item 2: Ballpoint Pen

Ballpoint pens are a completely different product category from lip balm; by combining these two concepts, the lip balm can be applied to the skin by rolling it on, just as a ballpoint pen applies ink to paper.

Analyzing existing innovations involves more than simply thinking about combining two objects. Take the ball-point lipstick, for example: in addition to applying the principle of a ballpoint pen to a lipstick, designers must also consider other aspects during the actual production process, such as:

How wide does the gap between the ball and the edge need to be for the right amount of liquid to roll out evenly? What product shape is easiest to hold? What viscosity of liquid is optimal, and how should the cap be designed to prevent the liquid from drying out or leaking?

Only the creator himself may know just how great a leap was required to bring into being an object that now seems so ordinary.

The Core of Connexion Thinking—Adding a Catalyst

Generally speaking, when we’re faced with a particular need, we get caught up in the task itself and focus all our attention on the specific problem. This approach works for other tasks because it allows you to stay focused. However, it doesn’t work for creative inspiration, as it hinders divergent thinking—your brain simply follows its habitual pathways to find “logical” answers. So the key to unlocking creative inspiration is not to focus on the problem itself, but to shift your attention elsewhere and force yourself to find connections between other things and the problem at hand.

Associative Thinking: Specific Steps:

1. List of Issue Briefings (Issue 1)
2. Come up with a word (Object 2) that is directly related to the main element of Object 1.
3. Force yourself to connect Thing 1 and Thing 2 using the shape, color, pronunciation, meaning, and benefits of these words.
4. Select the most unusual “related associations” from among them and optimize them creatively

Random Word Association Method: Pick a random word and use its inherent characteristics to connect it to the problem you’re trying to solve.

1. First, define the problem—that is, the standard problem brief (Item 1)
2. Set aside the problem and focus your attention on the “creative catalyst”—that is, Thing 2.
3. Conduct an in-depth study of random words and list their characteristics and benefits—the more specific, the better.
4. Connect with the value proposition of Thing 1 and further refine your idea

Summary:

In the early stages of creativity, the most important thing isn’t whether an idea is “reasonable,” but whether it can break free from established patterns of thinking. So, broaden your definition of “reasonable” and broaden your definition of creativity. Only by breaking through these mental barriers can visual ideas burst forth in truly “out-there” ways. And this is precisely what we fail to consider when we focus too narrowly on the problem itself.

Whether it’s inspiration or creativity, the worst thing that can happen is for an idea to be dismissed by yourself or your peers before it has even taken shape. What we encounter most often is when you’ve just put forward a rough, unpolished idea, only to have it crushed by your peers with comments like “Don’t be silly,” “Just do it my way,” or “Be realistic”—the sworn enemies of inspiration.

What you really need to believe in is that through your daily efforts and effective thinking methods, you can focus and immerse yourself—and ultimately become the creative professional you want to be.