Simple Shapes -- A Creativity Warm-Up

Happy Presidents Day! Whether or not this is a holiday for you, it's still Monday morning -- a good time for a quick creativity warm-up. Simple Shapes is one of my favorites. It has many variations, and I'll try to share some of them with you soon. In the meantime, here's what you need:

• Sale Flyer or Coupon Circular. Grab something colorful from the Sunday paper or recycle bin.
• Scissors
• Glue Stick
• Sketch Book

Here's what you do:

Cut. From areas of relatively solid color, quickly cut 4 simple shapes (these do not need to be perfect!):

1. 2 tall skinny triangles
2. an arc 
3. and a circle

Shuffle. Play with these 4 shapes to find different ways you can arrange them to represent:

1. a monster
2. an animal
3. a person
4. a landscape
5. a building

Work quickly to find as many different arrangements as you can in two or three minutes.

Glue. After you've done 5 to 7 arrangements, pick one you like and glue the elements to a fresh page in your sketchbook.

Title. Give this design a title, and write it on the page.

There it is: 5 minutes, 4 shapes, and a series of idea catalysts. This is another way of using explicit constraints to spark creativity. I know it sounds too simple to work, but try it and let me know what you think. The comment button is right below this post.