ideating
Cooking up notions
Ideating is forming ideas or concepts, especially in a creative or brainstorming context.
The word appears most often in business and design settings, where teams engage in ideating sessions to generate solutions: We spent the morning ideating around the user experience problem.
The term can sound jargony to some ears.
Forming mental representations
- draftingCreating technical blueprints
- designingPlanning how something appears
- formulatingCreating through systematic thought
- composingCreating musical works
originating · developing · shaping · constructing · crafting · generating · synthesizing · envisioning
Joint intellectual work
- whiteboardErasable marker writing surface
- post-itsAdhesive-backed memo slips
- mindmapRadial idea diagram
- sessionScheduled time for activity
workshop · facilitator · divergent · groupthink · flipchart · teamwork · discussion · clustering
Sustained reflective attention
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
- musingReflective contemplation
- ruminatingThinking deeply, repeatedly
- mullingDeep, slow consideration
deliberation · introspection · meditation · daydreaming · noodling · percolating · stewing · woolgathering
First functional specimen
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- tinkeringCasual, unskilled adjusting
- gadgetNovel small device
mechanism · device · contraption · inventor · breakthrough · engineer · fabricate · conceptualize
Arranging for future events
- roadmapDetailed plan forward
- objectivesIntended targets or ends
- goalsIntended end results
- frameworkUnderlying support system
scenarios · contingency · prioritization · tactics · approach · methodology · mapping · visioning
conceptualizing
Forming mental representations
- draftingCreating technical blueprints
- designingPlanning how something appears
- formulatingCreating through systematic thought
composing · originating · developing · shaping · constructing · crafting · generating · synthesizing · envisioning · imagining
collaboration
Joint intellectual work
- whiteboardErasable marker writing surface
- post-itsAdhesive-backed memo slips
- mindmapRadial idea diagram
session · workshop · facilitator · divergent · groupthink · flipchart · teamwork · discussion · clustering · sketching
contemplation
Sustained reflective attention
- ponderingThinking deeply about something
- musingReflective contemplation
- ruminatingThinking deeply, repeatedly
mulling · deliberation · introspection · meditation · daydreaming · noodling · percolating · stewing · woolgathering
prototype
First functional specimen
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- blueprintDetailed technical drawing
- tinkeringCasual, unskilled adjusting
gadget · mechanism · device · contraption · inventor · breakthrough · engineer · fabricate · conceptualize · innovator
planning
Arranging for future events
- roadmapDetailed plan forward
- objectivesIntended targets or ends
- goalsIntended end results
framework · scenarios · contingency · prioritization · tactics · approach · methodology · mapping · visioning · forecasting
- creatingcreating, inventing, producing, generating, making
- imaginingimagining, visualizing, envisioning, picturing, conceiving
ideatingexecuting
Carrying out a task
implementing · doing · acting · building · producing
ideatingstagnating
Ceasing to develop
blanking · drawing a blank · going through the motions · vegetating · zoning out
ideatingrejecting
Refusing to accept
dismissing · scrapping · abandoning · critiquing · evaluating
- suicidal ideationThoughts of ending one's life