A Technique for Producing Ideas
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-04 06:54:16
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：James Webb Young
- ISBN：0071410945
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Summary
A step-by-step technique for sparking breakthrough creativity in advertising--or any field
Since its publication in 1965， A Technique for Producing Ideas has helped thousands of advertising copywriters smash through internal barriers to unleash their creativity。 Professionals from poets and painters to scientists and engineers have also used the techniques in this concise， powerful book to generate exciting ideas on demand， at any time， on any subject。 Now let James Webb Young's unique insights help you look inside yourself to find that big， elusive idea--and once and for all lift the veil of mystery from the creative process。
"James Webb Young is in the tradition of some of our greatest thinkers when he describes the workings of the creative process。 The results of many years in advertising have proved to him that the key element in communications success is the production of relevant and dramatic ideas。 He not only makes this point vividly for us but shows us the road to that goal。"
--William Bernbach， Former Chairman and CEO， Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc。
Since its publication in 1965， A Technique for Producing Ideas has helped thousands of advertising copywriters smash through internal barriers to unleash their creativity。 Professionals from poets and painters to scientists and engineers have also used the techniques in this concise， powerful book to generate exciting ideas on demand， at any time， on any subject。 Now let James Webb Young's unique insights help you look inside yourself to find that big， elusive idea--and once and for all lift the veil of mystery from the creative process。
"James Webb Young is in the tradition of some of our greatest thinkers when he describes the workings of the creative process。 The results of many years in advertising have proved to him that the key element in communications success is the production of relevant and dramatic ideas。 He not only makes this point vividly for us but shows us the road to that goal。"
--William Bernbach， Former Chairman and CEO， Doyle Dane Bernbach Inc。
Reviews
Mohammad Qahtani
，
Very nice and short， straight to the point。
Gabriella
，
It’s 26 pages but it’s not wrong
Nhật Đan
，
Ok。 Cuốn này mình phải đọc vì là đề cương môn học。 Nhưng mà đọc rồi thì thấy rất ổn áp luôn。 Ngắn gọn dễ hiểu。 Dành cho những bạn nào muốn biết thêm về TVC， truyền thông， sản xuất là được hết nheee
User1
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This is definitely the shortest time in which I've finished a book。 Very plain simple and exact， almost to a fault。 But maybe it works， I'm not sure yet。 This is definitely the shortest time in which I've finished a book。 Very plain simple and exact， almost to a fault。 But maybe it works， I'm not sure yet。 。。。more
Kajal Gosaliya
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked this book。 It is very short and covers the exact series of events happening in the human mind who wants to get an idea。 It gives a pretty image of the process and explains what to do after the 'Eureka' moment。 The idea can only be implemented after a certain amount of constructive criticism。 I liked this book。 It is very short and covers the exact series of events happening in the human mind who wants to get an idea。 It gives a pretty image of the process and explains what to do after the 'Eureka' moment。 The idea can only be implemented after a certain amount of constructive criticism。 。。。more
Anath lee Wales
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I really liked it and recommend it for everyone at all levels。Prior to reading many books and with due to my many other personal responsibilities，I couldn't get enough time to really write a personalized review，but this is really a good book you have to read。 I really liked it and recommend it for everyone at all levels。Prior to reading many books and with due to my many other personal responsibilities，I couldn't get enough time to really write a personalized review，but this is really a good book you have to read。 。。。more
Akash Jagdhale
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It is the smallest book I have ever read。 But it offers good insights into how we produce our ideas。it has some practical methods， some of which you may know but you should get to know the entire process that happens before our brain produces any ideas。
Katie
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The Creative Process in Bite Size StepsHe broke this down so easily。 I feel like he was describing perfectly the process of my previous many creative projects I’ve taken on。 And warned about the the pitfalls I’ve stumbled into along the way。 It’s a short， inspiring read that will help in any situation where you need an idea。
anonymousreader
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read
Sarvesh Yadav
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A smoothest book ever
Alyson phoenix
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Outstanding！Such a powerful little book！ I will definitely get some for the people in my life that need this！ So well written I could not put it down and will read over and over again！
Sinduja Krishna Kumar
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A beautiful short read that explains things that can’t be explained so easily。 This is by far the perfect answer anyone could give for how ideas are born。 This is a must read for anyone who feels like they don’t have any original ideas。
Abhay Ranga
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well summarised
Vedant Kaushik
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Everyone knows what the book tells you， but only a few can really execute。
Shabeeh Haider
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On a subject like techniques， methods and other similar to that of this book。 I always prefer shorter books and luckily this book was short。 It enlists some basic techniques to be used but i think it missed practical examples。Although it had practical examples of how ideas are generated but when writer was explaining his 5 steps， i was anticipating example on every step which i didn’t find ！
Joshua Grier
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Very succinct。 Extremely validating and useful to have found this put to words。 Also to know that the business of being creative will never really change across time。
Ssekamwa Felix
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1。 "。。。an idea is。。。a new combination of old elements。"2。 "。。。the capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to seerelationships。" 1。 "。。。an idea is。。。a new combination of old elements。"2。 "。。。the capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to seerelationships。" 。。。more
Hazel Behrens
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5 steps - a lifetime to masterSimple accessible concepts of the process used to generate ideas。 Having used this process without systematically thinking about it， I testify to its effectiveness。 This world with all its problems needs creative solutions。 Mothers， bricklayers， scientists， sales people， entrepreneurs， the clerk in a cubicle， and the teen on the streets - we all need new ideas。 Step 5， bringing the idea out into the world， is where real magic happens。 Together the ideas combine and 5 steps - a lifetime to masterSimple accessible concepts of the process used to generate ideas。 Having used this process without systematically thinking about it， I testify to its effectiveness。 This world with all its problems needs creative solutions。 Mothers， bricklayers， scientists， sales people， entrepreneurs， the clerk in a cubicle， and the teen on the streets - we all need new ideas。 Step 5， bringing the idea out into the world， is where real magic happens。 Together the ideas combine and improve in life-altering ways。 。。。more
Richard
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This pamphlet is short， but one of my pet peeves with some non-fiction books is that they have one solid idea to expound and they milk it for all it’s worth over a bloatfest of 200 or more pages。 This little gem has solid one idea and gets to the point quickly and painlessly。 Yes， the author was an award-winning adman， and the context is advertising， but that shouldn’t put off the creative mind。 Young's concept is as useful to creative artists and writers as it is to the more commercial world of This pamphlet is short， but one of my pet peeves with some non-fiction books is that they have one solid idea to expound and they milk it for all it’s worth over a bloatfest of 200 or more pages。 This little gem has solid one idea and gets to the point quickly and painlessly。 Yes， the author was an award-winning adman， and the context is advertising， but that shouldn’t put off the creative mind。 Young's concept is as useful to creative artists and writers as it is to the more commercial world of advertising。 My only complaint is that with as many editions as thing this has had， there should’ve been fewer typos。 。。。more
Jeremy Hung
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"Consequently the habit of mind which leads to a search for relationships between facts becomes of the highest importance in the production of ideas。" "Consequently the habit of mind which leads to a search for relationships between facts becomes of the highest importance in the production of ideas。" 。。。more
Sunny
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Pound for pound and page for page this has got to be probably one of the best books I've ever read in terms of insights and ideas that it's generated for me。 I often mark with a dot on the top right of the top left corner of a page an interesting point which I read on that page。 And although this is a very small book this book was practically littered with dots and underlined sections。 The book is essentially about the process with which we can go about producing ideas。 In a nutshell James Webb Pound for pound and page for page this has got to be probably one of the best books I've ever read in terms of insights and ideas that it's generated for me。 I often mark with a dot on the top right of the top left corner of a page an interesting point which I read on that page。 And although this is a very small book this book was practically littered with dots and underlined sections。 The book is essentially about the process with which we can go about producing ideas。 In a nutshell James Webb young talks about having a very diverse universe with which too collide and contrast and compare and crunch ideas together ， another book calls it the Medici effect， but essentially a platform where you're able to hold desperate ideas and let those ideas brew together in a juicy hot Stew。 Once you give those ideas time it's important to be able to set up a system that allows you to capture the key insights from them but also be able to go back to those key insights with ease and start to make correlations。 The next bit is interesting in that it suggests and encourages us to step away from the idea and let our subconscious take over。 One thing I've always found absolutely fascinating is the tendency I have to generate ideas when I'm reading some boring book which doesn't really interest me and my subconscious starts working away and starts to create connections and starts to ferment the ideas。 Once that Eureka moment happens and those connections are made you essentially have the idea in principle and then it's about activating and really bringing that idea to life with some sort of pragmatic and practical implementation of it。 One of the truly fascinating realizations in the book is the example of the kaleidoscope which James Webb young introduces。 He simply says that a kaleidoscope is like this hothouse of idea production。 You put a kaleidoscope spoke to your eyes and twist a couple of times and the different colored chips of see through plastic and glass inside form beautiful new patterns。 Essentially that's what new ideas are。 A re framing and a re formatting of previously existing patterns of chips but see now through a different point of view and a different lens。 I thought this is an absolutely astonishing and beautiful analogy to describe the production of ideas。 Anyway enough talking for me here are some of the best bits from the book:The speculator is the speculative type of person。 And the distinguishing characteristic of this type according to pereto， is that he is constantly preoccupied with the possibilities of new combinations。Particular bits of knowledge or nothing。 They are made up of what doctor Robert Hutchins once called rapidly aging facts。 Principles and method are everything。An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements。 To a mind which is quick to see relationships several ideas will occur， fruitful for advertising， about this use of words as symbols。 Is this then， why the change of one word in a headline can make as much as 50% difference in advertising response？Consequently the habit of mind which leads to a search for relationships between facts becomes of the highest importance in the production of ideas。 That by no possibility can one of them be taken before the proceeding was completed， if an idea is to be produced。 The first of these steps is for the mind to gather its raw material。In advertising an idea results from a new combination of specific knowledge about products and people with general knowledge about life and events。The construction of an advertisement is the construction of a new pattern in this kaleidoscopic world in which we live。 The more of the elements of that world which are stored away in that pattern making machine， the mind， the more the chances are increased for the production of new and striking combinations or ideas。And her a strange element comes in 。 This is that fact sometimes yield up there meaning quicker when you do not scan them to directly， too literally， 。 You remember the winged Messenger whose wings could only be seen when glanced at obliquely？ It is like that。 In fact it is almost like listening for the meaning instead of looking at it。 When creative people are in this stage of the process they get their reputation for absent mindedness。 As you go through this part of the process two things will happen。 First little tentative or partial ideas will come to。 Put these down on paper immediately。 The mind to has a second wind。In the third stage you make absolutely no effort of any direct nature。 You drop the whole subject and put the problem out of your mind as completely as you can。And it was while I was folding up that copy of the eagle and putting it away for later reading that something came into my mind。 I have had this happen before: I can puzzle over a thing until I am in a state of utter confusion， give it up and then suddenly have the answer leap into my mind without any apparent reason at all。 In summary here the five stages of the book。 First the gathering of the raw materials both the materials of your immediate problem and the materials which come from a constant enrichment of your store of general knowledge。 Second the working over of these materials in your mind。 Third the incubating stage where you let something beside the conscious mind do the work of synthesis。 4th the actual birth of the idea， the eureka I have at stage。 And finally 5th the final shaping and development of the idea to practical usefulness。 but you can also enormously expand your experience vicariously。 It was the author of Saad Harker I believe who had never been to South America yet wrote a good adventure book about it。 I'm convinced however that you gather this vicarious experience best not when you are boning up for it for an immediate purpose， but when you're pursuing it as an end in itself。still another point I might elaborate on a little is about words。 We tend to forget that words are themselves ideas。 They might be called ideas in a state of suspended animation。 When the words are mastered the ideas tend to come alive again。 。。。more
Bernardo Bento
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Working in advertising， and having to come up with big ideas often， can sometimes be overwhelming。That’s where this book comes in。It is a quick read but make no mistake - it’s extremely useful and practical。It lays down the whole creative process for us。No fluff。 No over-the-top storytelling。Only 5 simple steps to become more creative。Use at your own risk。
Michaela Martonová
，
Krátka a pritom veľmi výstižná a užitočná kniha pre každého， kto uvažuje nad tým ako funguje kreatívny proces a ako môže zlepšiť kvalitu svojich nápadov。
Juhi Bansal
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I have always been asked these questions - "How did you get this idea？" or "How are you so creative？"。 There was always a creative streak since childhood， and I am happy my right brain is more active than the left one。 But if I have to summarize the process， it would be - Read as much as you can。 Not only books， read articles， newspapers， random posts on social media。 Do not restrict yourself to a specific genre。 Read about politics， romance， history， religion， culture， mythology， management， se I have always been asked these questions - "How did you get this idea？" or "How are you so creative？"。 There was always a creative streak since childhood， and I am happy my right brain is more active than the left one。 But if I have to summarize the process， it would be - Read as much as you can。 Not only books， read articles， newspapers， random posts on social media。 Do not restrict yourself to a specific genre。 Read about politics， romance， history， religion， culture， mythology， management， self-help， etc。 Read whatever you can lay your hands on。 Sometimes ideas are hidden in the most unexpected places。 Make a note of the things/ideas/topics that strike you while reading。 It does not have to be a hi-fi excel or a spreadsheet。 Use Google Keep to note down these points。 Use any other app if you are already comfortable with it。 The goal is to jot down the ideas/points/random thoughts。 Coming to the most crucial step of the process - Sit back， relax， and chill。 Mandatorily do one of these activities - Go for a walk， listen to music， watch something and forget about the idea。 Stop thinking about it。 Just enjoy this me time and let your mind play the game。 This step gives you ideas at the most unexpected times - taking a bath， watching random videos， or just when you are about to sleep。 This book talks about the same steps mentioned above， and the reason I loved it because it does not talk about making huge plans and timetables。 It does not ask you to follow some random principles from a management book。 It is a 40-page book， and it is one of those self-help books which would not make you feel depressed。 Instead， it will cheer you up and motivate you to read more and more， something this bookstagram community already loves doing。。 right？ 。。。more
Anders Tiltnes
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Splendid！
Jack Rudden
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Stupidly vague with one or two fair observations。 Would not refer to this as a technique， but rather just a weird half description of how the subconscious mind works away in the background。
Jenna
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This book was a lukewarm 3 stars for me。 I didn't feel like Young's technique was anything revolutionary （might have to do with the fact that this book was originally published in 1940。） Nothing you can't find online today。 I think if you're looking for a good way to quickly churn out great ideas that can keep up with today's content-making world， I would highly recommend Ann Handley's "Everybody Writes" where she goes into concrete detail about the kinds of tools you can use to produce amazing This book was a lukewarm 3 stars for me。 I didn't feel like Young's technique was anything revolutionary （might have to do with the fact that this book was originally published in 1940。） Nothing you can't find online today。 I think if you're looking for a good way to quickly churn out great ideas that can keep up with today's content-making world， I would highly recommend Ann Handley's "Everybody Writes" where she goes into concrete detail about the kinds of tools you can use to produce amazing content people and search engines will love。 。。。more
Marcos
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Elegant in its simplicity。 Everyone should read this。
JG
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Typographical ErrorsSuch a great little booklet and I saw lots of similarities on the way I generate ideas， but there are lots of typographical errors that need to be fixed in the text。 I look forward to the corrected version though not sure how long that will take to appear。
Dave
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