Brainstorming is a collaborative, creative process designed to generate a wide range of ideas, enhance team collaboration, and solve complex problems. It typically involves a group of people that interact to suggest spontaneous ideas in response to a prompt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In UX, brainstorming is used for mostly visual techniques such as Crazy 8s or Storyboarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe term \u201cbrainstorming\u201d was popularized in the 1940s by advertising executive Alex Osborn. He felt frustrated by employee’s inability to develop creative ideas individually. In response, he began hosting group-thinking sessions which he referred to as organized ideation. Participant often referred to this concept as using the brain to storm a problem, which later turned into the term brainstorm sessions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first notable mention of the term brainstorming was in Osborn’s book How to Think Up published in 1942, where he started writing on creative thinking. It was later popularized in his classic work Applied Imagination (1953).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
WHEN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Brainstorming sessions are mostly scheduled intentionally as part of discovery workshops or requirements gathering sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes you may stumble into impromptu brainstorming, which may or may not be productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Either way, you know you’re in a brainstorm when you encounter the following situations:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- A meeting is scheduled to “come up with ideas”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A blank whiteboard becomes the center of attention<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sticky notes appear<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Someone says: “There are no bad ideas”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Energy is high, but direction is unclear<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
If the goal is ideas – but not yet decisions – you\u2019re in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WHY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Brainstorming feels productive because it looks like creativity in motion. If led and controlled well, brainstorming activities augments the creative process and produce valuable outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But various studies have found that the group dynamics change how people think and inadvertently may lead to producing fewer ideas than individuals working separately. The following factors can contribute to a loss of effectiveness in group brainstorming:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- Production blocking<\/strong>: Only one person can speak at a time while others wait – and forget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Evaluation apprehension<\/strong>: People hold back ideas that might sound wrong or incomplete.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Anchoring<\/strong>: Early ideas shape the direction of everything that follows.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Social conformity<\/strong>: Ideas cluster around what feels acceptable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The result is often fewer ideas, safer ideas, and more similar ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HOW<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Osborn said that two principles contribute to “ideative efficacy”: defer judgment and reach for quantity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brainstorming works best when it isn\u2019t purely group-based. The most effective sessions separate thinking from sharing, and include an element of individual ideation. Follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- State the problem:<\/strong> Problem should be simple and narrowed down to a single target.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Start individually<\/strong>: Give people time to think and write ideas on their own.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Share<\/strong>: Bring ideas back into the group.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Capture everything quickly<\/strong>: Timebox ideas, don\u2019t let them compete for airtime.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Delay judgment:<\/strong> Welcome wild ideas and withhold critisism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use constraints intentionally<\/strong>: A focused problem produces better ideas than a vague one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
In UX, good brainstorming generates options, but great processes turn them into decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use the following rules to improve the effectiveness and quality of a session:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
- Limit face-to-face pressure<\/strong>: Group settings can block ideas and discourage participation. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Follow the rules<\/strong>: Structure matters – without it, ideas become weaker. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Listen to others<\/strong>: Build on ideas, don\u2019t just push your own. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Combine solo + group work<\/strong>: Start individually, then share (e.g., brainwriting). <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Allow thinking time<\/strong>: Silence and breaks improve idea quality. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Don\u2019t rush<\/strong>: More time leads to better ideas, not just more ideas. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stay persistent<\/strong>: Push through slow moments – good ideas take time. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Use a facilitator<\/strong>: Guide the session, keep focus, and capture ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
PRO TIP<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nDon’t underestimate the social inhibitions among group members. Members of a group tend to perceive their productivity based on observation of the other team members. This often leads to a decrease (or increase) in quality and quantity of ideas. Identify extroverts that typically outperform introverts and match them up to receive a higher rate of productivity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
EXAMPLES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
- A group session produces obvious ideas \u2014 while better ones stay unspoken<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- The loudest voice sets the direction early<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sticky notes fill the wall – but few are actionable<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A workshop feels successful, but leads to no decisions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- A quiet participant has the best idea – after the meeting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
CONCLUSION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Creativity doesn\u2019t come from putting people in a room and ask to come up with ideas. It comes from giving them a structured way to think about a problem<\/strong> – and then space to brainstorm individually and share with the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best brainstorming sessions go for quantity, withhold criticism, welcome wild ideas, and use the group to combine and improve those ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brainstorming is a collaborative, creative process designed to generate a wide range of ideas, enhance team collaboration, and solve complex problems. It typically involves a group of people that interact to suggest spontaneous ideas in response to a prompt.<\/p>\n
In UX, brainstorming is used for mostly visual techniques such as Crazy 8s or Storyboarding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":750,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[121],"tags":[155,145,20],"class_list":["post-747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-foundations-principles","tag-brainstorming","tag-creativity","tag-idiom","entry","has-media","owp-thumbs-layout-horizontal","owp-btn-big","owp-tabs-layout-horizontal","has-no-thumbnails","has-product-nav"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/52.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":751,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747\/revisions\/751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hitchhikersguidetodesign.com\/book\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}