World Famous Comics: A Technique for Producing Ideas (Advertising Age Classics Library)
A Technique for Producing Ideas (Advertising Age Classics Library)
By: James Young Publisher: McGraw-Hill Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: McGraw-Hill Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 64 Publication Date: January 21, 2003
Product Description: A McGraw-Hill Advertising Classic
A Technique for Producing Ideas reveals a simple, sensible idea-generation methodology that has stood the test of time.
First presented to students in 1939, published in 1965, and now reissued for a new generation of advertising professionals and others looking to jump-start their creative juices, this powerful guide details a five-step process for gathering information, stimulating imagination, and recombining old elements into dramatic new ideas.
A Mere Outline of Common Idea Producing Themes There are common themes among idea producing books that cover all aspects of developing the necessary state of mind to produce valuable ideas. Bernbach covers the basics in this book but offers little else. At best this book represents an outline of the common themes, and at worst is it a 20 page book stretched into 47 pages (very large font, small book, less than 20 lines per page - likely 15-20 pages for standard sizes).
I rate this book as a two instead of a one as it does momentarily capture the essence of idea production in the following statements:
"An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements."
"The capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to see relationships."
"The habit of the mind which leads to a search for relationships between facts becomes the highest importance of the production of ideas."
Beyond these quotes the book encompasses little else other than a three page chapter about taking action. I sincerely believe that if you understand the above quotations as well as the notion that once you have the idea, you have to actually use the idea for it to have value, then you already know everything this book has to offer.
I highly recommend much better material on the subject found in "How to Get Ideas' by Jack Foster; a book that will not disappoint you as it is laced with real world examples, applications, and exercises to produce countless ideas.
A Technique for Producting Ideas This book breaks the ice and helps ideas flow that otherwise would remain silent. Though it is small, it carries a big stick that can help when you have those moments of being unable to come up with an idea for work, for research papers as a student or for just about any situation.
Techniques to create ideas Just excellent! And, such a beautiful language too, like a poem! Read it, love it!
straight to the point, somewhat perceivable I really enjoyed reading this book. Although a bit too short, James Webb Young succeeds in clarifying the creative process with common wisdom. It will be helpful for almost anyone, but especially to those in the creative field.
Personally I have been using the same thought process for a couple of years now, but without paying the appropriate attention to detail in every single step of it.
Overall an easy to digest recommended reading.
Savvas S.
Short and to the Point If you want to cut to the chase about how to be more creative, this is the book for you. Young breaks the creative act into its basic points in as straighforward a fashion as possible. It is a very short book, which can be digested in probably 20 minutes or less, but leaves you with all you need to know to get started. The book has no creativity activities or exercises like other books of its kind, but focuses instead on the main principles and basic methods for producing creative ideas. This is the book to begin with if you aspire to more creative production in your life.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
