Brainstorming Is Better Together

Brainstorming is one of the most fun parts of a design project. It is that moment when ideas are flowing freely that you can feel creativity taking shape in real time. For me, brainstorming always felt like something that I had to do alone and then get my ideas reviewed from my mentor. I didn’t imagine it happening inside a classroom along with my peers, at least not in a way that felt exciting. That changed when one of my professors, Professor Morales, introduced us to a brainstorming exercise that was unlike anything I’d experienced before.

Professor Morales divided us into teams of three and gave us three different sets of cards, each representing a theme or prompt. For example, in one round my team drew three cards: “public park” (location), “time travel” (concept), and “food” (object). We had just a couple of minutes to mash them together and generate ideas. At first we all laughed at how random the combination was, but then the brainstorming energy kicked in. One idea was a picnic basket that could teleport food from the past or future, so you could have medieval bread alongside futuristic space snacks. Another was maybe it could be a park event where each bench transported you to a different time period’s cuisine. Before long, we were imagining a whole “time-traveling food festival” taking place in the middle of Washington Square Park.

It was fast, a little chaotic, and incredibly fun. One person’s half-formed idea instantly became the starting point for another. That experience stuck with me because it reminded me that brainstorming isn’t just about generating clever solutions, it’s about creating a space where creativity flows between people.  

What I loved about brainstorming in the classroom is how it encouraged collaboration rather than competition. For example, during a group activity where we had to reimagine a social media platform, one person started with the idea of slowing down content consumption, another suggested incorporating sensory elements like sound and touch, and I built on that by proposing a feature that captures and revisits emotions through sensory triggers. The idea kept evolving as everyone added their perspective, turning it into something far richer than any one person could have created alone. That moment showed me how powerful collaboration can be. We weren’t competing to have the “best” idea; we were experimenting and building onto each other's ideas into something unexpected together. It reminded me that brainstorming is as much about practicing listening, adaptability and collaboration as it is about generating ideas.

I’ve also experienced this practice outside the classroom. During my internship, we often used techniques like Crazy 8s and role storming. Crazy 8s is one of my favorites. You fold a sheet of paper into eight sections and then, in eight minutes, you sketch eight ideas. The speed forces you to let go of perfection and just get things on paper. It is amazing how freeing that can be, especially when you share your sketches with the team afterward and realize that even the wildest idea can spark something useful.

Role storming is another technique that I have used. Instead of thinking as yourself, you take on a different role. Maybe you’re imagining the problem from the perspective of a child, a celebrity, or even a fictional character. By stepping into someone else’s shoes, you free yourself from the usual limitations of your own thinking. 

What ties all of these methods together is collaboration. Brainstorming is never just about what you can come up with on your own. It is about how your ideas interact with others, how one person’s half-formed thought can inspire another person to build something stronger. 

However, it's also important for us to address the limitations of brainstorming. It does not always allow equal share of ideas. Some students fear speaking up due to cultural backgrounds and worry about other team members’ views of their ideas. When team members perceive that others have more expertise, their performance declines. This is especially problematic for introverted and less confident individuals.