These instructions should not appear your exported PDF.

This Softcover template’s total width and spine width MUST be modified based on the exact
number of pages in your book.

For help with this visit this link for instructions and a video example:

http://blurb.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/475

Following these instructions assure that your PDF is the correct size.

A wrong-sized PDF will fail Preflight and need to be redone.

Remember, that the total document width is more important than the spine width, as this measurement
is only for a visual reference for the designer when adding content to the spine.

Please note, all critical text and art should appear within this gray area.
Any content outside this area may be unevenly trimmed or hidden when
the book is bound. If you would like your artwork to extend to the very edge 56 Sheets
7 x 7 in (18 x 18 cm)
of your finished book, then pull your artwork edge to Ruled
the red bleed -line.
- checkered dotted - diagramed - ....
The Book of
(your) ideas
56 sheets
7 x 7 in (18 x 18 cm)
Ruled - checkered - dotted - diagramed - ....
If found, please return to:
 Table of Contents
Brainstorming 8
101 Ideas 10
The Random Words Technique 14
Running low on Ideas? 16
Mind mapping 18
Affinity Diagram / KJ-method 20
Fishbone Model / Ishikawa Diagram 22
Trade-off 24
Did you find the perfect idea? 27
Heaven vs. Hell Chart 28
The Kipling Method (5W1H) 30
The Iceberg Analogy 32
Flowchart 34
Decision Tree 36
Gap filling 38
Checkpoint Charlie 40
Keep the creative juices flowing... 42
SWOT Analysis 44
The Medici Effect 46
The Perspective Diagram 48
The SCAMPER Technique 50
The white page 52
One final tip 55

6 / the book of (your) ideas

 “A new idea is With this quote of Ted Koysis we would like to introduce to you
our newest offspring... the book of (your) ideas.
like a child.
Can you relate to that moment when you’re just falling asleep and
It’s easier to conceive you have the greatest idea ever? Your ‘eureka’-moment?
Most of the time you don’t even remember it when you get up in the
than to deliver.” morning. And if you do, you don’t have the time to think it through
to make it sprout into a viable, long-term plan.

The book of (your) ideas will help you structure you wildest plans
into a well-founded scenario for future projects. The different
diagrams and schemes can be applied to all sorts of ideas and
sectors. We supply you with a short explanation on each diagram
and space to craft your own.

You might find diagrams that you’ve never heard about before and
maybe they make you look at your idea in a different light.
 Brainstorming
Brainstorming rules
Encourage all ideas no matter how 1/
exaggerated or far fetched they might be.
All ideas are equal, no matter 2/
who came up with them or how
unrealistic they might seem.
Go for quantity, not quality. 3/
The more ideas the better!
Don’t evaluate the ideas 4/
during the brainstorming session.
Only generate! Don’t evaluate.
10 / the book of (your) ideas
If you hadn’t had your ‘eureka’-moment yet or your are looking
for a technique to generate new ideas, the most common one is
brainstorming.
Brainstorming is a situation where a group of people meet to
generate new ideas around a specific topic or area of interest.
The basis of this meeting is to minimalize all inhibitions so the
members of the group can think more freely and create numerous
new ideas. Interaction is key. Everybody expresses their ideas and
in the mean time builds further on the ideas of others.
All ideas should be noted down and futher analyzed in a next stage.
 101 Ideas
Write a list of at least 101 ideas to deal 1/ 1
with your situation.
2
Go wild and write 2/
whatever you can think of. 3
Do not stop until 3/
you have at least 101. 4

5

10

11

12

13

14

15

12 / the book of (your) ideas

16 31

17 32

18 33

19 34

20 35

21 36

22 37

23 38

24 39

25 40

26 41

27 42

28 43

29 44

30 45
46 61

47 62

48 63

49 64

50 65

51 66

52 67

53 68

54 69

55 70

56 71

57 72

58 73

59 74

60 75

14 / the book of (your) ideas

76 91

77 92

78 93

79 94

80 95

81 96

82 97

83 98

84 99

85 100

86 101

87

88

89

90
 The Random
Words Technique
Find a random word. 1/ The random words technique is used to seek creative new ideas,
re-ignite your thinking proccess when you are running low on ideas
Look for associations. 2/ and to stimulate you and other members in your brainstorming
Use these associations 3/ session to think out of the box.
to create new ideas.

related online tool

The TDB Special Projects Idea

Generator is a three wheel tool that
gives you random three-word phrases.
While three-word phrases may not
give you as much input as entire web
pages, it’s still a useful way to give you
diverse inputs. Look at the random
words which are presented to you and
see if something comes to your mind.

http://www.tdbspecialprojects.
com/#169515/Idea-Generator

16 / the book of (your) ideas

Random word of the day
Running low on ideas?
Try one of the following online tools...

StumbleUpon presents you

with random pages whenever you
press the Stumble button in the
toolbar.

There are a lot of topics provided

by StumbleUpon which you can
choose from. You can then retrieve
random pages either in a specific
topic, or in all topics of your
preferences.

To maximize diversity, generally

it’s better to stumble in all topics.

Google Alerts http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Monitor the Web for interesting new content

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest

relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on
your choice of query or topic. Enter the topic you
wish to monitor, then click preview to see the type
of results you’ll receive.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

- Monitoring a developing news story
- Keeping current on a competitor or industry
- Getting the latest on a celebrity or event
- Keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

http://www.google.com/alerts
 TheBrain Technology helps people make
sense of the wide range of information they
need to organize and assimilate on a daily
basis. They believe that two brains are better
than one. And if you extend and capture your
thinking about your projects and life you can
get some amazing stuff done.

http://www.thebrain.com/

Free the Genie

Free the Genie is an online
brainstorming tool that makes it
refreshingly easy for individuals,
teams, and entire organizations to
generate, develop, and share new
ideas.

All you need to do is think of a

question — then click on any one
of the four games. Depending on
the game you choose, different
innovation-sparking cards will
appear. You read the cards, reflect,
and email your ideas to the people
you want to share them with.
That’s it.

http://www.freethegenie.com
 Mind mapping
Make a central image that represents 1/
the idea which you are thinking about.
Connect main themes 2/
directly to this central image.
Add a second level of thought. 3/
Out of ideas? Add pictures or symbols 4/
to your mind map.
Make each mind map a little more beautiful,
artistic, colorful, imaginative, dimensional,... .
In a mind map ideas, words, tasks or other items are linked and
arranged around a central idea or keyword. A mind map is mostly
used to visualize, generate and structure ideas. It’s also a
useful tool in solving problems, making decisions and organizing
information.
write your
conceptual idea
here..

EXAGERATE !!!!!!

add additional levels of thought

connect main
themes to the
central image
mac apps & other tools

MindNode
http://www.mindnode.com/

http://www.spiceynodes.org

20 / the book of (your) ideas

 u r main idea g
Yo o

es
he r
e >>
 Affinity Diagram /
KJ-method
Note each idea from 1/
a brainstorm on a card / Post-it®.
Group the ideas that are in one way 2/
or another related to each other.
In a second phase large clusters of ideas 3/
can be divided into subgroups
to get a better overview.
Having too many ideas and don’t know where to start?
An affinity diagram (also known as the KJ method – Jiro Kawakita)
is helpful in organizing ideas and data. It is often used to sort large
numbers of ideas, resulting out of a brainstorm, into groups for
later analysis or reviewing.
The affinity diagram can later be used to create a fishbone diagram
(see next page).

mac app

Sticky Brainstorming
http://stickybrainstorming.com/

22 / the book of (your) ideas

Cut out the squares, note your ideas on them and start grouping them into clusters >>
 Fishbone Model /
Ishikawa Diagram
Determine the head 1/ A fishbone model is a visual illustration showing the relationship
(topic or effect) of the fish. between a topic and multiple factors related to it.
Determine the factors that 2/
are related to the head. The shape of the model looks like the skeleton of a fish. The head of
the fish represents the topic to be analyzed, and the bones of the fish
Determine if it is possible and desirable 3/ represent the factors or categories of factors related to the topic.
to group certain factors or causes together
into categories. The categories you select
should be determined by the topic
or effect being analyzed.
Draw the fishbone diagram and fill in 4/
all of the necessary information.

cause 1 cause 2

detail 1.1 detail 2.1

detail 1.2 detail 2.2

detail 1.3 detail 2.3

problem

detail 3.1

detail 3.2

detail 3.3

cause 3

24 / the book of (your) ideas

 ...
fish
or
fy
do
hea
e
th
e
in
m
ter
de

add the factor-categories

 Trade-off
Write your different concepts/ideas 1/ A trade-off is commonly used in product design processes.
in the left-hand column.
When a designer has developed multiple concepts, a trade-off is
Write the different specifications 2/
used to compare these concepts on a number of specifications.
you want to evaluate your ideas on
Each specification is given a weight (between 1-5) and each concept
in the top horizontal column.
is then given a score (between 1-10) for every specification.
Give each specification a value 3/
between 1 & 5. The most important Finally the score of each concept is multiplied with the value of
specification gets the highest value. the specification resulting in a total score. The concept scoring the
Different specifications can have the same highest, should the most viable to develop further.
value/importance.
Give each idea a score between 4/
1 & 10 on each specification.
Multiply the value of each specification 5/
with the score of the concept and add
these up to get a final score per concept.

The highest one wins!

26 / the book of (your) ideas

 Specifications:
Write your specifications
in the vertical columns
on the right >>
(there’s space for 6)

Value (1-5):
>
Write your different concepts/ideas here

>

>

>

Value x Score
28 / the book of (your) ideas
 Did you find
the perfect idea?
Congratulations! Now it’s time to see how far you’ll go with this one.

Use one or more of the schemes on the following pages

to analyze your idea.

See what parts it consists of, what decisions need to be made

and in the end how feasible it is to develop your idea further.

the book of (your) ideas / 29

 Heaven vs. Hell Chart
Place the positive aspects 1/
at the top of the chart and
the negative ones at the bottom.
Place the best at the very top, 2/
working your way down
to the worst of all.
30 / the book of (your) ideas
Almost every idea you come up with will have a good and a
bad side.
In the beginning you will of course only see the good side and pay
no attention to the ‘flaws’ of your idea.
The Heaven vs. Hell Chart is very useful when it comes to depicting
both sides of an argument and for getting a visual overview of the
positive and negative aspects of a topic. In marketing and sales
this diagram is often used to visualize the benefits of a product on
the heaven side and the costs of that product on the hell side.
You can even refine the chart by placing certain keywords higher
up or lower down in, for example heaven, to indicate how good that
particular item is, in relation to the others.
 Heaven / Positive

Hell / Negative
 The Kipling Method
(5W1H)
Ask the 5 W and 1 H questions. 1/
Extend the questions. 2/
Ask a planned sequence of questions. 3/
32 / the book of (your) ideas
The basis of this method is a simple poem written by Rudyard Kipling:
I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
This set of questions is an ideal starting point when you are in doubt
as to what to ask.
This method is ideal when:
- You want to select an idea for further development.
- Ideas have run out and you need a fresh impulse.
- You want to take a different approach on a problem.
An example:
What is the problem? My suitcase is too heavy.
Where is it happening? At the airport .
When is it happening? In the evening, coming back from France.
Why is it happening? Because I have bought wine.
How can you overcome this problem? Get the wine shipped.
Who do you need to get involved? The winery will do it for me.
When will you know that you have solved the problem?
When it arrives at home.
What?

Where?

When?

Why?

How?

Who?

When?
 The Iceberg Analogy
Write keywords for what’s visible 1/
above the surface.
Place all non-visible 2/
items ‘under water’.
Get a better understanding of how 3/
the non-visible components
might influence the visible ones.
4/
34 / the book of (your) ideas
Seeing what’s below the surface...
With this type of model you make a visualization of what is visible
and what is ‘underneath the surface’. Originally it was used by Freud
to illustrate his structure of the human mind.
An example:
A name, visual identity and trademark are the visual components
of a company branding. The emotional and added values of the
company, the brand promise, company mission, etc. are below the
surface.
The same analogy can be applied to a website.
In a website the images and content are the visible components.
A far more substantial part is not visible and has nothing to do with
how the website looks, but how it functions and performs.
 Flowchart
Write out the different 1/
steps of your process.
Note your first action in 2/
the box below start.
Add more rectangles and arrows and 3/
arrow until you reach a decision point.
Draw a diamond shape there and 4/
connecting arrows for each possible
decision to the next step/rectangle.
Draw the end capsule. 5/
A flowchart is most commonly used to depict a process
or algorithm.
All the steps of the process are put into different kinds of boxes
depending on their nature. These boxes are connected by arrows.
By arranging all the steps of a process in this fashion, a step-by-step
solution to a problem can be achieved.
The arrows, connecting the boxes represent the direction or flow
of the data.
Note: A flowchart is also ideal for drawing out the structure of
a website with all it’s main- and subpages.

basic flowchart shapes

mac app
Process Decision Document Data Preparation
Diagrammix: http://www.deepit.ru

Stored data Delay Display Manual Manual Input

Operation

36 / the book of (your) ideas

start
 Decision Tree
Starting point of your decision tree: 1/ In the decision-tree diagram a tree-like model is drawn up of all
write a decision you need to make decisions that have to be made and their possible consequences
in the small square at the left. to reach a predefined goal.
Draw lines to the right for 2/
each possible solution and write This analysis should help you identify a strategy that will most
the solution along the line. likely make you reach that goal. To take into account all parameters
that can affect the outcome, you should also include chance event
Draw the result at the end of each line: 3/ outcomes, the cost of your resources, utilities, ... .
Result = uncertain > draw circle.
Result = an other decision > draw square.
From the circles, draw lines 4/
representing possible outcomes.
From te new squares, draw out lines 5/
representing the possible options.
Keep on doing this until you have 6/
drawn out as many of the possible
outcomes and decisions as you can.

Add a brief note along each line, square
or circle to keep a good overview. keep icon

new branding new icon

our brand is
outdated new name

rebranding keep colors

new colors

38 / the book of (your) ideas

start
 Gap filling
Identify your current spot – Point A 1/ What do you need to do to bridge the gap between A & B?
and your end goal – Point B.
What is the gap that exists 2/
between A and B?
What are all the things you 3/
need to bridge this gap?
List them and find out what 4/
it takes to get over the gap.

40 / the book of (your) ideas

 Add markers with the things you need to do, to fill up the gap between A & B

A B
 Checkpoint Charlie
A bullet list is a list whose items start with the typographical symbol
of bullet, that is •, or with other symbols other than numbers.

42 / the book of (your) ideas

Keep the creative
juices flowing...

Behance Outfitter
Products and Tools for Creatice
Professionals

Evernote All kinds of cool books and notepads

Inspiration at your fingertips! to write down your ideas or thoughts
on the fly.
Evernote is a fabulous Mac App
we recently discovered! http://www.creativesoutfitter.com/

Save your ideas, things you like,

things you hear, and things you see.

http://www.evernote.com/

Idea a day
where ideas are free

http://ideaaday.org/
 SWOT Analysis
What are the advantages
of your idea? What makes it
unique, better than others, ... ?
What can be improved?
What should you avoid?
Good opportunities. Opportunities/
Current trends and innovations
you can use to your advantage, ...
Obstacles, competitors,
changes in technology, ...
46 / the book of (your) ideas
Strengths/ The SWOT-analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate
the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a
project or a new business venture.
Weaknesses/
With this method you specify the goal/objective of your project
and then analyze the internal and external environment with all of
it’s positive and negative components, which have an influence on
wether your reach your goal or not.
Threaths/
 External environment

Threaths Opportunities
Strengths
Internal environment

Weaknesses
 The Medici Effect
Determine your goal. 1/
Find comparable goals 2/
from different fields/sectors.
Write down the solutions to these goals 3/
to maybe find a solution to your problem.
Try to identify parallel solutions
between the different fields.
48 / the book of (your) ideas
The starting point of the Medici effect is that ideas from
seemingly unrelated fields/subjects are often related
in one way or an other.
For example:
Is your goal to become a famous journalist?
Take a look at well known television hosts, writers,
documentary makers, ... .
See if there are any common factors between these people
and how they succeeded in reaching their current status.
Are there any of these factors that you can apply to
your personal situation?
The key is to see what you can adopt to reach your goal.
Your goal:

Write down similar goals from different fields >> + the soultion for reaching their goal >>

>

>

>

>

>

>

Conclusion:
 The Perspective
Diagram
Note the topic you want 1/ Get things into perspective...
to analyze in the center.
Write down your prior knowledge 2/
on the topic at the bottom.
Write unknown factors at the top. 3/
Think about current or future negative 4/
and positive experiences on your topic
and note them in the corresponding areas.

50 / the book of (your) ideas

 Open questions

Main topic >>

Negative experiences Positive experiences

Prior knowledge
 The SCAMPER
Technique
What can I substitute S / Substitute The SCAMPER-technique is originally used as a checklist that
to make an improvement serves as a guideline in making changes to an existing product
– parts, people, ...? to create a new.
What parts of a product/ C / Combine
process can be combined? The 5 keywords of the SCAMPER -list can be direct suggestions to
what changes have to be made. Or they can serve as starting points
Which part can be altered? A / Adapt for lateral thinking.
In exchange for what?
What if you change/distort M / Modify
an existing component?
How can you realign P / Put to an
your current solution other use
to other purposes?
What if you simplify, remove E / Eliminate
parts? Go back to basics.
What if you do it R / Reverse
the other way around ?

52 / the book of (your) ideas

Substitute

Combine

Adapt

Modify

Put to other use

Eliminate

Reverse
 The white page
Write, bullet, illustrate, scheme up,... 1/
Whatever takes your fancy.

54 / the book of (your) ideas

 One final tip
Make sure your ideas/goals are SMART
specific, significant, stretching
measurable, meaningful, motivational M
agreed upon, attainable, achievable,
acceptable, action-oriented
realistic, relevant, reasonable,
rewarding, results-oriented
time-based, timely, tangible, trackable
Hopefully the book of (your) ideas has helped you to get a clearer view
S on your idea and might even have convinced you to start up your project.
Once you’re in the planning-stages of your project and are setting out
goals to enable you to be successful...
A
R
T
The Book of
(your) ideas
copyright addwittz
grotesteenweg 91
2600 berchem (antwerp) - belgium
+32 (0)3 286 80 40
info@thebookofyourideas.com

www.thebookofyourideas.com
 By this quote of Ted Koysis we would like to introduce
These instructions should not appear your exported
to you PDF. offspring... the book of (your) ideas.
our newest
This Softcover template’s total width Can
andyouspine width
relate MUST
to that be modified
moment based
when your’re juston the exact
number of pages in your book. falling asleep and you have the greatest idea ever?
Your ‘eureka’-moment? Most of the time you don’t even
For help with this visit this link for instructions and ait video
remember when example:
you get up in the morning. And if you
“A new idea is do, you don’t have te time to think it through to make it
http://blurb.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/475
sprout into a viable, long-term plan.
like a child.
Following these
book ofinstructions assure thatyou
your PDF is you
the correct size.
It’s easier to conceive The (your) ideas will help structure
wildest plans into a grounded scenario for future
A wrong-sized PDFdifferent
will fail Preflight
diagramsandandneed to becan
redone.
than to deliver.”Remember,
projects. The
appliedthat thesorts
to all totalofdocument
ideas andwidth
schemes
is more
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be
important
We supply you than the
spine with
width,a as thisexplanation
short measurement is only
on each for a visual
diagram reference
and space to for the
designer when
craft youradding
own. content to the spine.

You might find diagrams that you’ve never heard of before

and maybe they make you look at your idea in a different
light.

Please note, all critical text and art should appear within this gray area.
Any content outside this area may be unevenly trimmed or hidden when
the book is bound. If you would like your artwork to extend to the very edge
www.thebookofyourideas.com
of your finished book, then pull your artwork edge to the red bleed line.