30 Circles

Purpose:

• Get into a generative mode

Participants: Solo or groups of any size
Supplies: A pen and a piece of paper (per person) with 30 blank circles on it of approximately the same size.

How to lead it:

1. Give each participant one 30 Circles sheet of paper and something to draw with.

2. Turn as many of the blank circles as possible into recognizable objects in three minutes (think clock faces, billiard balls, etc.)

3. Compare results. 

   • Look for the quantity or fluency of ideas. How many people filled in ten, fifteen, twenty or more circles?

   • Next, look for diversity or flexibility in ideas. See if the ideas are derivative (a basketball, a baseball, a volleyball) or distinct (a planet, a cookie, a happy face).

   • Did anyone “break the rules” and combine circles (a snowman or a traffic light)? Were the rules explicit, or just assumed?

Source: IDEO