Background
Bloodhounds are used to track people and animals. They search for a scent, lock onto it, and then pursue their quarry relentlessly. Hounds go from one scent to the next until they achieve their objective.
The Noun Hounds technique works in a similar manner. You start with a random noun and then go from one association to the next until you generate a sufficient numberof ideas.
Noun Hounds (also called Modifier Noun Associations) originally was developed by VanGundy (1983, 1988) to generate new product ideas using a random noun and a modifier unrelated to the problem. You then free-associate from this combination to generate ideas.
Objectives
• To help participants generate as many creative ideas as possible
• To help participants learn how to use the activities to generate ideas
Participants
Small groups of four to seven people each
Materials,Supplies,and Equipment
• For each group: markers, two flip charts, and masking tape for posting flip-chart sheets
• For each participant: one sheet each of three different colors of sticking dots (1?2” diameter) and one pad of 4 x 6 Post-it® Notes
Handout
• Noun Hounds Handout
Time
30 minutes
Taken From : Pfeiffer 101 Activities for Teaching Creativity
