Exactly, you just can't jump into a brainstorming session without getting to know the people you're working with. There is something about putting pencil to paper, of sketching, which really brings forth the ideas. But it's more than an artist's sketchbook. Brainstorming requires a collective group and a collective energy. At Metadesign , we try to get rid of the idea of the table and tape up paper over the walls in the room.
Someone starts with an idea, which stimulates another idea, and another.
But, it's not just the volume of work, it's also the range of ideas. If you pay attention to the path your ideas take, you'll start to recognize some very interesting patterns. We also use word association. But, we're not looking for complete sentences or definitions, we're looking for words, for thoughts, for certain colors, for people. By agreeing on these descriptive ideas, your team will approach the project from the same perspective and development will tend to be much more focused.