A Few Words

For this exercise we were supposed to text two of our friends asking them to send us the name of a random inanimate object. I sent this message to my best friend Karen who now goes to Indiana University and a friend from work this summer, Harry, who goes to Michigan University. It was pretty arbitrary how I chose these friends; they were just the first ones I thought of. It was extremely interesting how quickly they responded. I got both of their answers within 3-5 seconds. I guess this task was more interesting than all of the other messages I send, which usually take a few minutes to get a response. The other interesting thing I observed is that both of these friends immediately responded with the name of an inanimate object that was in their plain sight. Since we are talking about creativity, it was interesting to observe how my friends generated their “random” word, which turned out to be in not such a random way.

Word One (from Karen): Skateboard

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of a skateboard is long greasy hair. Just kidding, but it is hard not to see a picture of that “skater boy” we all used to know. I also think about all of the different parts of the skateboard: wheels, wood, grip material, painting on the back, metal axels, complete with ugly skater shoes that make your feet look huge. (I think the shoes must be some kind of skating requirement, otherwise who would wear them…) Mostly when I think of skateboards I think of the type of people that use them and the activity that they use them for.  I think of people zipping past me on the sidewalk, or sneaking into parking garages at night to skate, or the skate park that was next to the pool where I grew up.

Word Two (from Harry): Knife

I originally thought this word was really strange, but Harry clarified his choice for me: “I swear I’m not a serial killer, I just happen to be cooking!”  This brought up an interesting point about the knife. A knife is such an integral part of our lives, yet it has a pretty bad rep. I guess its one of those things where you can use the power it gives you for good or for bad. (Although I’m not sure how the “good” compares to the “bad.” i.e. a well filleted fish vs. a dead person.) Regardless, when I think of a knife I think of the many different uses it has: chopping, slicing, cubing, spreading, cutting, etc. I also think of the more unconventional things we often use our knives for: opening packages, getting the hot toast out of a toaster, looking under the pantry door to check for aliens, opening letters, etc. All around the knife is a pretty interesting tool with many uses.

Now comes the part where I am supposed to come up with ideas to combine the two random objects. Let me just say, a knife and a skateboard aren’t seemingly related in any way. The temptation to cheat and get a new word was high, but I refrained.  I will work on combining the products as a whole, and if I run out of ideas for that, I will combine parts of them.

•       Skateboard with a knife holder- although this immediately sounds a like bad/dangerous idea
•       Skateboard with knife wheels- like a giant pizza cutter? Maybe this would be more feasible if it were a smaller version, like a miniature skateboard with wheels made out of blades that you could use to slice things (getting more leverage than just a normal pizza cutter)
•       Skateboard that is also a knife sharpener
•       Skateboard with a knife design painted on the bottom
•       Knife with a better grip handle- using the grip material from the skateboard so it wont slip out of your hand
•       Knife holder on a skateboard- so you can move it around your counter more easily?
•       Knife with the handle painted to match your skateboard paint
•       Special knife that helps you replace the grip material on the skateboard
•      Skateboard with a knife attachment on bottom- maybe used to trim the grass/ weeds?
•       Knife with retractable wheels in handle- maybe could make dicing easier
•       Skateboard wheel on a knife handle- if you put the knife handle through the middle of the wheel, and slid the wheel all the way to where the handle meets the blade, this could provide protection for your hand or a little extra weight to help you chop, or a guard so the knife doesn’t slice your counter

That’s pretty much all I can do. I can definitely see how some creative product designs could come from the combination of two seemingly unrelated things, but no such luck today. I did my best, but I don’t think any of my combinations are particularly marketable

(or feasible for that matter.)  I gave it my best effort, and I do think it was a valuable exercise in creativity. Maybe in the next few days I will think of something more promising… never say never!