Synectics
A group creativity method that uses analogies and metaphors to move away from the problem and come back to it with new ideas.
What it’s for
It helps break out of the usual solutions when a team knows a problem so well that it no longer sees it.
Key elements
Make the familiar strange
Look at the usual problem as if for the first time.
Make the strange familiar
Understand something new by comparing it with what you already know.
Move away to come back
The analogy takes you far from the problem; then you return to it with what you found.
How it’s done
State the problem and set it aside for a moment.
Look for analogies in nature, in other trades or in yourself.
Return to the problem and turn the comparisons into ideas.
Applications in design
When to use it
When the team gets stuck on ideas similar to what already exists.
Avoid
Staying in the metaphor without bringing it back to the real problem.
Don’t fall for it
It needs someone to guide the session; without a guide, it gets lost in anecdotes.
Connections
Authors and works
- 1961
William J. J. Gordon
Developed the method with George M. Prince in Arthur D. Little’s invention group and explained it in his 1961 book.
Sources
Original sources
- Gordon, W. J. J. (1961). Synectics: The development of creative capacity. Harper & Row.
Last reviewed: