Creative Thinking Exercise - Be More Derivative, Creative, and Fun

We're looking for the next potential creative thinking exercise all the time.

This photo is from the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards on Palladia. Katy Perry hosted the show and wore a variety of interesting outfits, including this one.

It looks like designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac crossed:

• Charlie Brown (color and cut) with
• The Dallas Cowboys (stars and stripes) and
• Barrack Obama to come up with this costume.

Totally derivative, yet completely creative and fun!

It's a creative thinking exercise worth trying next time you’re stuck for a quick creative idea:

1. Draw a 3 by 3 grid on a sheet of paper.
2. Label the three columns “Cartoon Character,” “Sports Team,” and “Celebrity” or if you want, label them completely differently.
3. Whatever labels you pick, fill in the 3 squares below each label with examples of it.
4. Then keeping pairing up three squares (one from each column) to see what the combos suggest in the way of borrowed creativity to address your challenge.

This creative thinking exercise will have you singing, "I borrowed an idea and I liked it!" – Mike Brown

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