Generating ideas for your business is often an exhaustive process. Do you agree? Nevertheless, when you apply various techniques to enroll and boost creativity, the game of generation can become exciting. At Arounda, we frequently use these methods to develop our creativity and get outstanding solutions.
This article will share 10 techniques frequently applied across our product design and discovery phases. Whether you're a startup founder shaping your MVP or a product manager improving your UX strategy, these methods will help you turn challenges into breakthrough solutions. Let’s dive in and unlock your next BIG idea.
What is ideation in design thinking?
Ideation is the third stage in the design thinking process — the creative core where ideas take shape.
The first step is always defining the task and discussing it. As soon as we know what we are dealing with this time, it is easier to analyze possible ways to resolve the challenge. After empathizing with users and communicating on the problem, it's time to explore potential solutions without constraints.
Ideation is not just coming up with interesting proposals after a while. It is often a strict period during which you immerse yourself in deep thinking. That session allows cutting off the external world and leaving the space for encountering unconventional ways of thinking.
At Arounda, ideation is a powerful way to spark innovation and keep user needs at the center of every solution. Here’s an example of a simplified UX design created after a few ideation sessions among our team.
How to Ideate?
Ideation is essential in every sphere that is connected to creativity. With its help, you generate, explore, communicate, and implement new ideas. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to ideate:
- Understand and frame your problem.
Start with a well-defined problem statement based on real user needs. But don’t stop there — challenge the way it’s framed. Ask “how might we…” questions to open up creative pathways.
- Gather a diverse team.
The key is to bring together different perspectives by gathering specialists with versatile backgrounds. Combining various points of view allows us to come up with the best solution.
- Set the right environment and use references.
Create a safe, playful, open space where no idea is dismissed too early. Psychological safety is key in a physical room with sticky notes or a virtual whiteboard. Show some references at the beginning to build a comprehensive path. And if you are working on developing your UX strategy, check out our article on 10 UX Design Quotes That Redefine Usability.
- Apply several idea-generation techniques.
Depending on your goals, time, and team dynamics, apply 1–3 ideation techniques (we’ll cover our top 10 in the next section). This could be brainwriting, SCAMPER, mind mapping, or even role-playing.
- Record every idea that emerges during the session.
During ideation, quantity matters. Encourage participants to share even the wildest suggestions — you never know which thought might spark a breakthrough. Document everything without judgment.
- Choose the most promising ideas and develop them into rough prototypes.
Group similar concepts, discuss patterns, and evaluate ideas based on feasibility, user value, and business impact. Use prioritization frameworks (like the Impact-Effort Matrix) to identify what’s worth prototyping.
- Test these prototypes with users, gather feedback, and refine the arguments based on their responses.
Share your prototypes with real users, collect insights, and refine them based on what works (and doesn’t). Be ready to revisit earlier steps if needed — ideation is rarely linear.
The ideation process is not a thing that can be done once upon a time with groundbreaking results. It needs to proceed regularly. Moreover, all members should participate in such gatherings. That’ll help provide feedback and share their opinion.
10 Most Effective Ideation Techniques
No "best" practice exists since its usefulness varies depending on the situation. But here are some of the most widespread and effective ones.
- Mind Mapping
Think of a mind map as a visual way to untangle your thoughts. You start with a single word or idea in the board's center— like planting a seed. From there, you branch out, adding related concepts, keywords, or sketches that connect to the core idea. It’s a simple but powerful way to see how everything fits together and spark new ideas you might not have thought of otherwise.
The best thing about a mind map is that it changes and evolves. It follows the flow of ideas, connecting different parts of the concept and showing the thinking process. When connecting ideas visually, people see how things relate. Till the image is completed — both on the paper and in your mind.
- SCAMPER
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SCAMPER involves creating a checklist of prompts to think about a problem from different angles and develop innovative solutions. The method guides your thinking process through seven different approaches. Each of them corresponds to one of the letters of the acronym:
- "Substitute" prompts you to consider parts of the problem, product, or idea you can replace or swap.
- "Combine" suggests merging different aspects of a product, service, or problem in new ways.
- "Adapt" encourages adapting or adjusting existing solutions or elements to new situations.
- "Modify" is about thinking of how you could change or alter the current situation or its elements.
- "Put to another use" involves considering how you might use an item or process other than for its intended purpose.
- "Eliminate" is removing product, service, or process elements. It's about creating value by eliminating what's unnecessary and focusing on what's essential.
- "Reverse" or "rearrange" suggests turning a situation or problem on its head.
- Brainstorming
Brainstorming aims to encourage a flood of ideas. It uses the principle of "quantity over quality." Participants often feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts when we emphasize generating many ideas. Creating a non-judgmental atmosphere during these sessions is so important — every idea, no matter how wild or unconventional, is happily welcomed!
- Round-Robin Brainstorming
With this approach, each participant adds an idea in turn. As a result, everyone gets a chance to contribute and be helpful when some team members often dominate the conversation.
- Brainwriting
The main difference between brainstorming and brainwriting is simple. Extroverted people prefer the first method. Brainwriting has one more detail that is often more efficient for those who aim to think more than talk. It’s a fantastic technique for our introverted team members, allowing everyone to shine.
- Six Thinking Hats
Edward de Bono, a Maltese physician, invented this method. It is straightforward: individuals approach problems from various perspectives, metaphorically represented by different " hats." Each "hat" signifies a distinct type of thinking. By adopting different hats, participants can effortlessly transition between diverse viewpoints.
- White Hat (neutrality and objectivity). Participants focus on data and information. They look at the facts, figures, and evidence.
- Red Hat (feelings and intuition). Participants express their emotions, gut reactions, and hunches without justification or explanation. It provides a space to explore the emotional landscape.
- Black Hat (judgment and caution). Team members evaluate ideas critically. They look for potential problems, risks, and adverse consequences.
- Yellow Hat (positivity and optimism). Participants focus on the benefits, feasibility, and positive aspects of an idea or a decision.
- Green Hat (creativity). Participants generate new ideas, alternative solutions, and fresh concepts.
- Blue Hat (control of the process). Including organizing the thinking process, setting the agenda, and drawing conclusions. When wearing the blue hat, participants manage the other hats, summarizing and synthesizing gathered input.
- Sketching and Prototyping
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Sketching and prototyping are the most popular techniques for bringing product ideas to life. They play an essential role in turning abstract thoughts into tangible forms. Usually, sketching acts as the first step in this exciting journey, where quick and straightforward drawings help illustrate an idea or concept.
Prototyping takes idea visualization one step further. It varies from low-fidelity paper prototypes to high-fidelity digital interactive ones. One of the primary benefits of prototyping is identifying potential issues or improvements early in the process.
- Role Play
This technique is the most amusing and groundbreaking one. Trying on someone else's role broadens your mind and helps you think differently. A great example of this is training in the sales department, where one manager plays the role of the customer while the other works on objection handling.
- Journey Mapping
Imagine: there’s a big board in front of you with one word in the middle of it. You aim to turn on your creativity and draw all the synonyms that come to mind. Journey mapping seeks to use your unconscious part and get non-trivial thoughts. You have a task; you use your energy to generate all possible (or even impossible) solutions to resolve it.
- Reverse Thinking or Problem Reversal
Instead of thinking about ways to solve the problem, sometimes finding what is causing it is more efficient. Although problem reversal might initially feel a bit surprising, this change in viewpoint can open up new insights into the issue and spark some truly creative solutions.
Taking a moment to look at how the problem is created can help. Analyze its details, characteristics, and effects. This thoughtful approach brings you a deeper understanding of the problem and opens up ideas for potential solutions.
While going through the ideation phase of design thinking, we aim to encourage free thinking and foster creativity. That's why the techniques we use for ideation are wonderfully diverse and adaptable, sparking a world of possibilities.
Expert Tip from Arounda:
We document post-ideation outcomes in Notion and sync with clients in follow-up workshops. This ensures shared understanding, clarity, and alignment before moving into design or development sprints.
After Ideation: What’s Next?
So, you've just wrapped up a dynamic ideation session — the (virtual) whiteboard is filled with ideas, your team is buzzing with energy, and you’ve identified a few standout concepts. What happens now?
The real value of ideation unfolds in what comes after. Here's what the Arounda team recommends doing.
- Refine and prioritize ideas
Not every idea will be a winner — and that’s okay. Use evaluation criteria such as user value, technical feasibility, market fit, and business impact to narrow your list. At Arounda, we often run a short team voting session or use tools like the Impact-Effort Matrix to align decisions.
Need some fresh ideas for your design? Read our article on Graphic Design Trends in 2025!
- Turn ideas into prototypes.
Select the ideas that excite you the most and watch them come to life through quick and fun prototyping. This can be anything from simple wireframes to clickable flows in Figma or engaging interactive demos — just enough to explore and test your hypothesis. - Test with real users
Take the opportunity to validate your prototypes. One of the best techniques is sharing them with real users. Their insights strengthen your direction or highlight areas that need more focus. - Iterate and evolve
Approve the main ideas. Afterward, you can finally implement the concepts you have gained. And it’s the most essential stage, during which you should consider adapting and reimagining them.
- Align with stakeholders
Sharing your outcomes, early concepts, and insights with decision-makers is essential. When stakeholders understand the “why” behind your ideas, they’re much more inclined to support the “what” (e.g., budget, timeline, and scope). - Plan for implementation
Once you've confirmed your direction, you can explore user stories and technical requirements. Then, you are ready to create a product roadmap. Your ideation journey is an excellent starting point for planning the MVP and paving the way for exciting future product phases. By the way, we are good at creating stunning MVPs. Here’s one of our latest cases:
Sinta is a Dutch startup in the HR industry that needed to unify the hiring process and gather all the functionalities in one platform. Our team provided a unified user experience for HR managers and job seekers. As a result, an intuitively simple product with a high range of possibilities was born.
Tips To Choose the Best Ideation Technique
Here is some advice that’ll help you to choose the relevant ideation strategy for your project.
Know Your Team
While one person is more visually oriented, the other prefers verbal or even audio sources to get information from. Consider your team members’ personalities, skills, and preferences. For instance, introverted team members will likely excel in techniques like Brainwriting.
Consider the Scope
Your project’s scope or challenge is crucial in determining the ideation tools and techniques. If you're working on a service design project, journey mapping can become an effective way to ideate around different touchpoints. Prototyping and sketching techniques benefit a product design project more.
Timing Matters
The choice of the technique also depends on how much time you have. For example, Brainstorming and Round-Robin usually require less time. In contrast, Reverse Thinking or Role Play might take longer.
We always pay attention to the first stages of design creation, as it is crucial to form a firm base before going further. Conducting a brief and providing profound research takes a few weeks, but after completing it, we are ready to make a recognizable design code.
Final thoughts
Ideation is where bold ideas start to take shape — and where they begin to make a real difference. It helps teams face complex challenges from new angles during the design thinking process. It is also helpful at uncovering innovative, creative, and user-aimed solutions.
However, effective ideation isn’t just about following the proper steps or picking the correct technique. It’s about building a culture where curiosity is encouraged, fresh perspectives are embraced, and even the wildest ideas get a chance to shine. At Arounda, we’ve repeatedly seen that some of the best solutions come from taking that first leap into the unknown.
For us, ideation means staying open to new challenges, new ways of thinking, and new possibilities. If you are ready to bring your most creative ideas to life, contact us, and we’ll make that happen!
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