Loading...
10th out of 13 books
—
2 voters
My rating:
add to my books
A Technique for Producing Ideas
by
James Young
A McGraw-Hill Advertising Classic
"A Technique for Producing Ideas "reveals a simple, sensible idea-generation methodology that has stood the test of time.
First presented to students in 1939, published in 1965, and now reissued for a new generation of advertising professionals and others looking to jump-start their creative juices, this powerful guide details a fi
...morePaperback, 64 pages
Published
January 21st 2003
by McGraw-Hill
(first published November 30th 1943)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
213)
Aleeda Crawley
added it
I don't believe you could spend thirty more productive minutes if you lived to be 100 years old. This book was initially developed for and by advertising minds who often believe they have sole claim to practical creativity. This method is applicable to creativity and problem solving in virtually every situation. Describing five simple steps, James Webb Young has crafted an easy-to learn, simple process that you can apply to spark creativity. You will have to put in some effort, and some of that...more
You see lots of books that claim to teach ways of generating ideas and while some probably do this, I don't think they could do it as succinctly as James Webb Young's A Technique for Producing Ideas. The method that Young describes is a familiar one to me, because it is the process I go through whenever I have to write a piece of writing - and it does work! That said, though, it was not a process I realised I actually performed until I read this book. Certainly then, it is a book that you should...more
I have now read this book twice (not that hard as it's about a thirty minute read). Like Paul Arden's book "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be", I found this book to be incredibly inspiring for the creative process. Also, I find it serendipitous that in this week that I've devoted to "Filling The Well" (something I do quite often in my quest for inspiration via the spark that museums, movies, books, galleries, etc. almost always provide) I stumble upon ...more
Simple, precise, and commonsense are all words that can be used to describe James Webb Young’s book “A Technique for Producing Ideas”. A small book of fewer than 50 pages, it quickly provides the ultimate framework for the path to creative problem solving. It is the most intelligently written and precise book on the subject of Creativity available in the market today, but its principles are simple, and easy to follow.
In his book, Young discusses creativity, saying that while there are mu...more
In his book, Young discusses creativity, saying that while there are mu...more
just discovered this clever little book and highly recommend it to anyone in the idea-generating business. simply lays out some basic principles for coming up with ideas - a lot of it is obvious, but but that doesn't mean we don't need to be reminded of it from time to time. well written, easy to get through, admittedly a bit dated in places, but that's okay. and with intros from bernbach and reinhard, well, trust me, you can't go wrong.
Long books are not meant to be read. That is what author had probably in mind when writing this little book (maybe to strong word for about 50 pages). Book which doesn't give you much information about what tittle says, but gives nice simple overview of a creative process which you intuitively know, but maybe not think about it this way.
You can read this in ten minutes, it's a transcription of a speech, and it's adorable. And the best part is, I am going to use it to justify leaving work to go to a movie. Guys, sleeping on an idea is an essential part of the process. And I plan to sleep on a LOT of ideas.
marketers, account and creative directors who love buzzwords and meaningless phrases and who generally love to quote from sports movies will sure find inspiration in this book to boldly create new buzzwords and meaningless phrases. not worth the paper it is written on.
Read this one for work. It's a useful, brief primer on a process one can use to come up with ideas. In the process, it makes great arguments for a liberal arts education, and for the value of following our interests and passions in our leisure time.
Charles Riccardi
rated it
Recommends it for:
Scott Stemke, Eric Walter, Ryan Hostetler, Marshall Walter
Recommended to Charles by:
Eric Hoekendorf
Shelves:
design-advertising
This book paints a clear picture of the creative mind, and how it should function to create ideas. It sets up creatives for a successful outcome.
A quick, insightful read (particularly considering when it was written) I'd recommend to anyone in a remotely creative field.
Terse, and rightfully so. Details the creative process in less than 70 pages.
All instructional books should be so portable and brief.
Simple booklet, but solid concept.
[Most important take-aways]
An idea is a new combination of the old. To form ideas, study the relationships between what is already known.
1. Gather raw information, both specific and general to the subject
2. Find connections between this information.
3. Rest; put the topic out of your mind.
4. A "eureka" moment occurs; this is the birth of a new idea.
5. Adapt the idea so that it works in a real-world situation.
An idea is a new combination of the old. To form ideas, study the relationships between what is already known.
1. Gather raw information, both specific and general to the subject
2. Find connections between this information.
3. Rest; put the topic out of your mind.
4. A "eureka" moment occurs; this is the birth of a new idea.
5. Adapt the idea so that it works in a real-world situation.
takes about half an hour to read - is tiny - but articulates really clearly what creative people (not just advertisers) need to do in their life in order to be able to generate ideas. Maps almost entirely to how good UX people solve problems, in my experience.
view all 5 comments
Good book, not as good as Acuff advertised though.
I found it hard to get past the heavy advertising overtones.
Stephanie
marked it as to-read
Maciej
marked it as to-read
Sage
marked it as to-read
Stephen Collins
marked it as to-read
Michele
marked it as to-read
David Blecher
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
