Object Brainstorm

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Generate concrete product, process, or interface concepts by borrowing mechanisms, textures, or forms from unrelated physical objects.

Use it when: Use when a team is stuck in abstract discussion and needs practical inspiration for how an item opens, connects, folds, dispenses, or locks.

Skip it when: Skip when the session focuses on regulatory compliance, fixed financial audits, or final sign-offs where divergent concepts are unhelpful.

Group arrangement: Tables of 3 to 6 participants. Divide total turnout into balanced tables (for example: 7 splits into 4 and 3; 13 splits into 5, 4, and 4; 24 splits into four tables of 6).

Timing: Gamestorming lists 30 minutes or more. This run sheet sets an exact 30-minute schedule.

Materials and tools

• Curated collection of 8 to 15 tangible objects with moving parts or distinct tactile traits (such as garlic presses, retractable tape measures, spring clamps, mechanical timers, dispenser pumps, collapsible cups, small friction toys)
• Sticky notes (1 pad per person)
• Felt pens (1 per person)
• Painter tape (1 roll, for securing stubborn notes or marking board columns)
• Large wall space or dedicated whiteboard
• Laptop with webcam and digital whiteboard (for remote or hybrid formats)

Before participants arrive

1. Gather 8 to 15 functional items before the clock starts.
2. Distribute 3 to 4 varied objects onto each small-group table.
3. Write the focal question on the main wall (for example: How might our next product store, fold, or secure itself?).
4. For remote or hybrid sessions, create a shared digital whiteboard with matching category columns.

Say this to open

Welcome. We are solving our design question by borrowing ideas from physical objects. Examine the items on your table. Twist, open, slide, and touch them. Notice how their parts connect and move. We will use these mechanical actions to inspire concrete features for our project.

How to run it

1. Frame the inquiry 3 minutes

   Read the opening script and point to the focal question on the board. State the rule: focus on mechanisms, connections, motions, and textures, not the original product brand or ordinary domestic use. Remind everyone that handling items is optional; visual observation is completely valid.

2. Inspect and manipulate 6 minutes

   Participants inspect and test the objects at their table. Prompt them to examine hinges, slides, catches, and springs. Example: feeling the mechanical advantage of a garlic press might inspire a quick-release clamp. Participants may swap items between tables if they need fresh mechanical movements.

3. Capture ideas silently 5 minutes

   Working silently, each person writes concepts on sticky notes, one idea per note. Each note names the proposed feature and the borrowed mechanism (for example: Telescoping umbrella arm to allow adjustable screen height). Aim for 2 to 4 notes each. Anyone preferring not to propose designs may record factual mechanical observations instead.

4. Table share and wall clustering 12 minutes

   Spend the first 5 minutes at tables: participants take turns reading one favorite note aloud, or pass. During the next 7 minutes, each table sends one representative to post their group notes on the wall using painter tape if notes curl. All representatives then collaborate to rapidly group all posted notes into functional clusters (such as folding, latching, dispensing, texturing).

5. Debrief and review 4 minutes

   Bring the room together facing the clustered wall. Invite 2 or 3 quick comments using one of the debrief questions. Conclude by agreeing which cluster to take forward into technical specification or concept sketching.

Debrief questions

• Which specific mechanical movement suggested the most feasible solution to our design question?
• What non-mechanical trait (such as texture, weight, or sound) triggered an unexpected concept?

Finished output: A categorized board of physical mechanisms and borrowed feature concepts posted on sticky notes.

Remote

Ask participants in advance to bring 2 household objects with moving parts to their desks. In Step 2, participants test their objects and show moving parts on camera. In Step 3, participants draft digital notes. In Step 4, place participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 5 for 5 minutes to read favorite notes aloud. Then bring everyone back to the main room for 7 minutes: all participants simultaneously drag their digital sticky notes into shared category columns on the single main digital board.

Hybrid

In-person tables handle local objects; remote attendees use household items at their desks. In-person participants use their own laptops or mobile devices to post notes directly onto the shared digital board during Step 3, ensuring equitable speed with remote participants. In Step 4, table groups share locally while remote participants share in a breakout room. For clustering, remote attendees and table representatives simultaneously sort the digital sticky notes into shared category columns on screen.

Access and participation choices

• Participants with motor or tactile sensitivities may inspect items visually without touching them.
• Anyone may pass during the table share or place notes directly into the pool without speaking aloud.

If the session gets stuck

Participants focus on what an item is instead of how it moves.

Prompt them to name the joint, latch, spring, friction fit, or sliding path instead of the commercial product.

One person monopolizes an interesting object at their table.

Call a 90-second rotation cue so objects rotate clockwise to the next person.

Terms used here

• Mechanical analogy: Borrowing a physical movement, hinge, latch, or sliding mechanism from an everyday object to solve a problem in an unrelated product or process.