Before a big brainstorm session, warming up with a fun activity can go a long way to prepping people for creativity. One of my favorites is a drawing exercise called Get Sketchy. For this activity, people draw four objects during 30-second timed sprints with a variety of challenge commands added as you go.
Facilitating this is pretty simple. Here’s what to do:
- Distribute supplies. Everyone needs one copy of this Get Sketchy template (or simply ask people to draw an x-y axis to create four spaces) and a writing utensil. Have a timer or stop watch ready. You’ll be timing each round at 30 seconds each.
- Give instructions. Here’s a sample script:
- We’re going to do a quick warm up! I’ll provide prompts as we go. We’ll start in the top left space on your paper, and take 30 seconds to draw a sun. And go! Any type of sun works. It’s up to you.
- Next, move to the top right space in your paper. This time, close your eyes and draw a cloud.
- Now let’s move to the bottom left and draw a tree with your non-dominant hand.
- Last section. Without picking up your pen or pencil, draw a house with some windows, maybe some landscaping. Make any kind of house you want – but no picking up that pencil.
- Discuss. Allow a few minutes for people to share their experience of the activity. Sample questions you might ask include: How did this activity go for you? What was most challenging? Why do you think we did this? Share that the purpose was to warm our minds up for creative ideation. Remind people that ideation can be messy – just like a blind drawing. It’s okay to surface raw or imperfect ideas.
- Variation: Make up your own series of four objects to draw.
I love this activity because it levels the playing field. Making a perfect sketch isn’t the point. Who can really draw well with their non-dominant hand? Or their eyes closed? Discovering and accepting silly mishaps is part of the process. Everyone can laugh together. The door to vulnerability opens, which is so necessary for collaborative ideation.
For more energizer ideas, check out:
- IDEO’s 30 Circles activity. This sketching activity taps into the power of the sprint to push for quantity.
- Hyper Island toolkit. Their energizers remind me of improv techniques, and definitely push envelopes and comfort zones. If you want to try something a little outside the norm, give these a whirl.
Get Sketchy Source: I initially heard about a variation on this warm up from Stacy Kagiwada, who experienced it at a conference. I’d be happy to include a credit, if anyone knows an original source for this.