Creativity - Combining Ideas

First word – FLAG

-Flags make me think of patriotism, loyalty, and identification with a particular country, political party, or belief system.

-Flags are colorful, bold, and very distinct in the things they express.

-I also think of things like flag football and high school; a private school I used to go to when I lived in Trinidad had a flag with the school emblem on it; the word flag makes me think of Trinidad, too.

-Medieval kingdoms, the World Cup, video games and fictional lands, white flags representing surrender, the American flag, nationalism, waving, fluid, wind, movement, running into battle, “Lord of the Rings,” sides, factions, festivals, outdoors events, the Olympics, banners, playgrounds, middle school, houses in “Harry Potter”

Second word – DVD

-Movies, film studies, special features, celebrities, commentary tracks, Blu-Ray, cameos, box office revenues, high-concept films, children’s movies, Scene-It, combination DVD/VCR players, high definition TVs, plasma screens, plastic cases, friends, get-togethers, scary movie nights, themed parties, candy, popcorn, soda, family movie nights, date nights, staying in, home movies, blank discs, snacks, lights off, special edition releases, extended editions, director’s cuts, movie franchises, school projects, Netflix, PS3, rentals, Blockbuster, actors, directors, editors, tech savvy, marathons…

Ideas for combining these two things:

1.      Flag made of DVDs

2.      DVDs cased in wrapped flags

3.      Flags made of DVD cases

4.      A flag in the shape of a DVD

5.      A DVD that has a flag as its cover art

6.      DVDs that project flags as a screensaver on your computer

7.      Flag/DVD carpets

8.      Flag.DVD wallpaper

9.      Flag/DVD blankets

10.  DVD coasters with mini-flags made of paper

These two things are tough to combine because they are unconventional as a pair. I can’t really think of any viable products or services that could be made using these two things. I wanted to stick to the requirements of the assignment, and I didn’t want to bias the results of the exercise, so I just went with the first two text suggestions I received. The brainstorming process was also difficult, because I associate a lot of emotions and activities with these two things, especially DVDs since I’m a huge movie buff. I did the best I could and I tried to be as creative and innovative as possible. With some alterations, an idea could come out of combining these two things. For example, if a special edition DVD was being released for one of the “Harry Potter” films, a flag could be included that represents one of the four houses in the books/films. Again, though, these ideas are all kind of a stretch, but the idea generation process is complicated and always evolving.