Braindrawing

Choose this exercise

Purpose: To create visual shapes that trigger unexpected ideas for an existing problem statement.

Use it when: Ideation sessions when verbal discussion has stalled or produced only conventional ideas.

Skip it when: Tasks requiring quantitative evaluation, detailed technical specifications, or execution planning.

Group arrangement: Independent circulation among 3 to 7 shared stations, ending in whole-room sharing.

Timing: Source indicates 2 to 60 minutes. UWT standardizes on 30 minutes for a complete drawing and extraction cycle.

Materials and tools

• 3 to 7 flip chart paper sheets
• Tabletop paper sheets (standard letter or ledger size, 1 per seated participant)
• Main whiteboard or central display for the focus problem
• Low-tack masking tape
• Assortment of colored flip chart markers (4 to 6 markers per standing station plus 4 to 6 markers per seated table)
• Sticky notes (1 pad per 4 participants)
• Pens (1 per participant for writing ideas on sticky notes)
• Timer
• Smartphone or camera for hybrid document sharing (if running hybrid format)

Before participants arrive

1. Tape 3 to 7 flip chart sheets around the room at standing height, spaced so people can move between them freely.
2. Place 4 to 6 colored flip chart markers at each standing station tray or ledge.
3. Write the focus problem clearly at the top of the main whiteboard or central display.
4. Place tabletop paper sheets and an extra set of 4 to 6 colored flip chart markers at accessible seated tables for participants who prefer not to stand.
5. If running hybrid, designate a co-facilitator or volunteer to photograph physical sheets before the harvest.

Say this to open

We are going to use spontaneous sketching to find unexpected ideas for our focus challenge. Step up to any paper sheet, pick up a marker, and add lines, loops, or simple marks. You do not need drawing skill. Build on what others draw until each page has an interesting cluster of shapes.

How to run it

1. Introduce challenge and open stations 3 minutes

   Read the focus question aloud from the central board. Deliver the opening script and invite participants to distribute themselves across the stations with markers in hand.

2. Collaborative doodling 10 minutes

   Participants circulate silently among the stations, adding shapes, extensions, and color to existing marks or blank spaces. Stop the round when pages have rich, overlapping marks without turning into solid blocks of ink, or when the timer rings.

3. Spot shapes and capture ideas 10 minutes

   Participants inspect the completed sheets individually or in pairs. Have them look for recognizable silhouettes, objects, or metaphors in the doodles. For each idea sparked, the participant writes a concrete solution on a sticky note and posts it beside that part of the doodle.

4. Harvest and debrief 7 minutes

   Gather the room. Invite 4 to 6 volunteers to point to a doodle and read the solution it prompted. Gather and group the sticky notes for subsequent evaluation.

Debrief questions

• Which doodle sparked the most surprising connection to our challenge?
• What visual patterns revealed ideas that verbal discussion missed?
• Which captured idea should we test or refine first?

Finished output: 3 to 7 collaborative doodle sheets annotated with sticky notes containing challenge ideas.

Remote

Set up an online whiteboard such as Miro or Mural with 3 to 7 blank frames. Provide digital pen and shape tools. Participants circulate across the digital frames adding spontaneous strokes for 10 minutes. During the harvest phase, participants paste digital sticky notes with written concepts adjacent to the visual triggers.

Hybrid

Maintain physical wall sheets in the room alongside an online whiteboard platform like Miro or Mural. Remote participants doodle on 3 to 7 digital frames while in-person participants use the physical sheets. The designated co-facilitator or volunteer photographs the physical sheets and pastes them into the digital canvas so both groups view and annotate all work together during the harvest.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to stand may draw on tabletop paper sheets that are later posted on the wall.
• Participants may contribute written single words into the drawings or participate exclusively during the shape-spotting and idea-writing phase.

If the session gets stuck

Participants hesitate because they feel they lack artistic skill.

Reiterate that realistic drawings are not wanted. Scribble a messy loop or geometric cross to show that basic marks are sufficient.

A sheet becomes an illegible solid blob of dark ink.

Direct people to less crowded sheets, or tape up an additional blank page to spread out drawing activity.

Terms used here

• Doodle: A simple, spontaneous sketch or scribble made without a formal plan.