20 Most Used Creativity Methods (and How to Apply Them in 2025)

Why methods matter for creativity

Creativity isn't just inspiration—it's a process you can structure and improve. Methods provide frameworks that make creativity more reliable, more productive, and more accessible to everyone, not just those who consider themselves creative.

These 20 methods have stood the test of time because they work. They've been used by innovators, entrepreneurs, and creative teams for decades. But applying them in 2025 means leveraging modern tools, AI assistance, and digital collaboration to make them even more effective.

Classic ideation methods

1. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is the most well-known ideation method. Participants generate ideas freely, with no criticism during the ideation phase.

How to apply it: Set clear rules (no criticism, quantity over quality, build on others' ideas). Use a timer to create urgency. Capture all ideas visibly. In 2025, use digital tools like Ideadrive that provide real-time collaboration and AI participants that never run out of ideas.

2. SCAMPER

SCAMPER uses seven prompts to explore ideas systematically: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse.

How to apply it: Apply each SCAMPER prompt to your problem or idea. Use AI to systematically explore each dimension, generating variations you might miss. Modern tools can guide you through each prompt and track ideas across dimensions.

3. Six Thinking Hats (Perspective Hats)

Six Thinking Hats considers problems from six perspectives: Facts (white), Emotions (red), Critical judgment (black), Optimism (yellow), Creativity (green), Process (blue).

How to apply it: Systematically explore each perspective. Assign roles or use AI participants to take on different hats. Modern tools can help you explore multiple perspectives in parallel, ensuring comprehensive exploration.

4. Round Robin

Round Robin ensures everyone participates by having participants share ideas in turn.

How to apply it: Establish turn order. Each person shares one idea per round. Continue until ideas run dry. Digital tools can manage turn order automatically and ensure equal participation even in large groups.

5. Mind Mapping

Mind mapping visualizes ideas in a hierarchical structure, starting from a central concept and branching out.

How to apply it: Start with a central problem or idea. Branch out with related concepts, then branch further. Use digital mind mapping tools that support collaboration and allow easy reorganization.

6. Reverse Brainstorming

Reverse Brainstorming generates ideas about how to cause or worsen a problem, then reverses those ideas to find solutions.

How to apply it: Brainstorm ways to make the problem worse. Then reverse each idea to find solutions. This technique often reveals solutions that direct brainstorming misses.

7. Worst Possible Idea

Worst Possible Idea deliberately generates bad ideas, then extracts useful elements from them.

How to apply it: Generate intentionally bad ideas without judgment. Then review them to find useful elements, interesting directions, or valid problems they highlight. This reduces fear of bad ideas and often reveals unconventional approaches.

Visual and rapid methods

8. Crazy 8s

Crazy 8s generates 8 ideas in 8 minutes, forcing rapid ideation without overthinking.

How to apply it: Set an 8-minute timer. Generate 8 ideas quickly, one per minute. Use digital drawing tools or rapid sketching. The time pressure forces quick thinking and prevents over-analysis.

9. Storyboarding

Storyboarding visualizes ideas as a sequence of events or steps, useful for process or experience ideas.

How to apply it: Create panels representing different stages or steps. Visualize how ideas work over time or how users experience them. Digital tools make storyboarding collaborative and easy to iterate.

10. Sketching

Sketching helps visualize ideas quickly, making abstract concepts concrete.

How to apply it: Use quick sketches to visualize ideas, even if you're not an artist. Simple diagrams, wireframes, or rough drawings help clarify concepts. Digital sketching tools enable sharing and collaboration.

Structured thinking methods

11. First Principles Thinking

First Principles Thinking breaks problems down to fundamental truths and rebuilds from there.

How to apply it: Identify fundamental truths. Question all assumptions. Rebuild solutions from those truths. AI can help identify assumptions and suggest first principles approaches.

12. Design Thinking

Design Thinking follows five stages: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Test.

How to apply it: Start with user empathy. Define the problem clearly. Ideate solutions. Build simple prototypes. Test with users. Modern tools support each stage with templates, prompts, and collaboration features.

13. Lean Canvas

Lean Canvas maps out business model assumptions in a one-page format.

How to apply it: Fill out the nine boxes: Problem, Solution, Key Metrics, Value Proposition, Unfair Advantage, Channels, Customer Segments, Cost Structure, Revenue Streams. Use this to explore business model variations systematically.

14. Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy finds uncontested market spaces using the Four Actions Framework: Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create.

How to apply it: Identify factors to eliminate, reduce, raise, or create. This helps you find new market spaces rather than competing in existing ones.

15. SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis evaluates Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats to identify opportunities.

How to apply it: Analyze internal factors (strengths, weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities, threats). Use this to identify opportunities that leverage strengths and address weaknesses.

Role-playing and perspective methods

16. Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame generates ideas by role-playing as famous figures, using their perspectives to explore problems.

How to apply it: Select relevant famous figures. Role-play as each figure to generate ideas from their perspective. AI can help simulate different personas and generate ideas from their viewpoints.

17. Disney Creative Method

Disney Creative Method explores ideas through three perspectives: Dreamer (creative vision), Realist (practical implementation), Critic (critical evaluation).

How to apply it: First, explore ideas as a Dreamer without constraints. Then, as a Realist, determine how to implement them. Finally, as a Critic, identify weaknesses and improvements. Modern tools can guide you through each perspective systematically.

18. Empathy Mapping

Empathy Mapping explores user perspectives through what they Think, Feel, Say, and Do.

How to apply it: Map out what users think, feel, say, and do in relation to your problem. Use this to identify opportunities and develop user-centered solutions.

Advanced methods

19. Lateral Thinking

Lateral Thinking solves problems through indirect or unconventional approaches rather than linear logic.

How to apply it: Challenge assumptions. Explore random connections. Consider opposite approaches. Use provocation to generate new possibilities. AI can help explore unconventional connections and approaches.

20. TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving)

TRIZ uses patterns from successful inventions to solve new problems systematically.

How to apply it: Identify contradictions in your problem. Use TRIZ principles to resolve them. Apply patterns from successful solutions in other domains. This method is particularly effective for technical or engineering problems.

How to choose the right method

Not every method works for every situation. Here's how to choose:

• Problem type: Technical problems benefit from TRIZ or First Principles. User problems benefit from Design Thinking. Business problems benefit from Lean Canvas or Blue Ocean Strategy.
• Team size: Large groups work well with Round Robin or structured methods. Small groups can use more collaborative methods like Brainstorming.
• Time available: Tight timelines need rapid methods like Crazy 8s. More time allows deeper methods like Design Thinking.
• Experience level: Novice teams benefit from structured methods with clear steps. Experienced teams can adapt methods to their needs.
• Goal: Are you generating many ideas (Brainstorming) or exploring one idea deeply (SCAMPER)? Are you solving a problem (Design Thinking) or finding opportunities (Blue Ocean)?

Using modern tools in 2025

Modern tools make these methods more effective:

• AI assistance: AI participants never run out of ideas, explore different perspectives, and help when human creativity slows.
• Digital collaboration: Real-time collaboration tools enable remote teams to use these methods effectively.
• Structured workflows: Tools can guide you through method steps, ensuring you don't skip important phases.
• Idea management: Digital tools help capture, organize, and develop ideas systematically.
• Analytics: Post-session analysis helps you learn from ideation sessions and improve over time.

Next steps: Start using these methods

The best way to learn these methods is to use them. Start with one method that seems relevant to your current challenge. Use it, learn from it, then try others. Tools like Ideadrive provide structured implementations of many of these methods, making it easy to get started and see results.

Don't try to master all 20 methods at once. Start with 2-3 that seem most relevant to your work. As you use them, you'll develop preferences and learn when each method works best. The goal isn't knowing every method—it's having a toolkit you can use effectively when you need to think creatively.