Based on Edward De Bono’s theories of lateral thinking, I tried this random-pairings activity.
I created two lists of twenty objects and randomly connected a word from the first list to a word on the second list. Two of those combinations made actual sense and related to my poster.
The original lists
| sun | brooch |
| computer | cloud |
| ring | mouse |
| poster | flyer |
| house | church |
| cup | tweezers |
| sea | museum |
| gallery | clock |
| hotel | wine |
| coffee | water |
| pen | paint |
| calendar | rain |
| suitcase | passport |
| wire | earring |
| book | sketchbook |
| diary | dairy |
| cow | tea |
| cat | pool |
| beach | yoga |
| gym | pencil |
The randomly combined lists
| sun | mouse |
| computer | tweezers |
| ring | clock |
| poster | wine |
| house | church |
| cup | water |
| sea | passport |
| gallery | brooch |
| hotel | pool |
| coffee | rain |
| pen | earring |
| calendar | museum |
| suitcase | paint |
| wire | cloud |
| book | yoga |
| diary | pencil |
| cow | flyer |
| cat | sketchbook |
| beach | dairy |
| gym | tea |
Gallery brooch and hotel pool
This exercise was completely new to me, and I doubted a little that it would lead to anything relevant.
But I suppose if you work on a project certain objects/words pop up automatically that indeed relate closely to the project. I think it is definitely worth a try, especially if you feel a little stuck or in need of a new impulse.
In my case it was gallery brooch, which perfectly relates to the art/gallery scene in Nelson (mentioned on the flyer) and of course the hotel pool.
Gallery brooch – image
Hotel pool – image
