Eureka! How to Start a Brainstorm

A silly thinking cap, complete with light bulb.
How to Start a Brain Storm

When Franz visited two big-city toy designers in the "Serious Business" episode, they shared this secret method they use to develop new ideas.

It is possible that a great brainstorm will start with just a few pairs of words. If you don't believe it, try to think of the names of some of the games you played as a kid to compare! (Hint: Ants in the Pants, Barrel o' Monkeys, Battling Tops)

Adverbs, Adjectives, and Verbs	Nouns ...............................
squirt	box
dancing	popcorn
wiggle	sister
shouting	hiccups
scratchy	baby
flush	socks
strange	teacher

Try this:
Make two lists of words. Adverbs, adjectives or verbs go in one list--nouns in the other. You can use this one until you get the hang of it.)

Now try to combine words among the lists and see what develops.

Can you imagine a game called Dancing Hiccups? What would be the object of the game? What would be the rules for playing Strange-Box? Not all of the ideas you create will be swell--but neither are the ones from the real toy designers! They do this for inspiration and to have a little fun while they work.

wiggle-sister,
dancing-hiccups,
strange-box.

Would you like to be a toy designer?
Write to:
Toy Manufacturers of America
200 Fifth Avenue, 7th Fl., New York, New
York 10010.

Ask them for their free Toy Industry Fact Book and their Toy Inventor Design Guide.

Click here to explore other methods that professionals use to create games and toys.

Toy information for the teacher.

Toy Link web site for additional industry information.