How stimulus pictures stimulate correctly
In exchanges with colleagues or with staff from innovation management, there is a lot of regular talk about methods and techniques. The stimulus image technique often stands out with statements like: “I think I scared my participants with it”, “Our engineers don’t like the technique at all”, “My colleagues don’t take the stimulus image technique fully and seriously”, or: “If I use it more than once, it becomes boring for the participants”.
I don’t want to and can’t let these statements stand, especially because I actually had similar experiences many years ago. Today, on the other hand, the stimulus image technique is for me one of the most valuable creativity techniques of all. That’s why I’ve prepared tips, tricks, lots of experiences and a stimulus image sample for you to try out for yourself.
Let’s start with the rather negative experiences that you can have with the stimulus image technique, which I have also had in the past. Such negative experiences have always sparked an ambition in me to explore exactly why these things happen. Here are the most important experiences and results:
Factor: “quantity”
Stimulus image packages must really contain a lot of images. Stimulus picture packages with only up to 50 pictures do not really work well. They quickly become boring and the so important drive of curiosity and discovery cannot be acted out. My standard packages contain at least 190 pictures, the largest even over 750 pictures.
Factor: “size”
Stimulus pictures must be neither too small nor too big. If they are too small, they are too unattractive; if they are too large, they actually frighten inexperienced participants. Sizes in the range of 15 x 20 cm have proved to be the most optimal in the many years of testing.
Factor: “paper”
Please never print stimulus pictures on plain copy paper. It should be heavier photo paper or photo cardboard. This also increases the attractiveness considerably.
Factor: “print quality”
Here there is a clear realisation that pictures produced in a high-gloss finish work much better than pictures produced in a matt or semi-gloss finish. The slightly higher printing costs pay off immediately in the application.
Factor: “theme”
Image direction and dramaturgy play an extremely important role here. The stimulus pictures should be both exciting and pleasing at the same time, so the picture direction should always approximately follow the golden ratio. Furthermore, they should show either a small scene or a detail that always leaves a mystery open. It is precisely this mystery that tickles the imagination and creativity. The motifs should certainly be totally diverse on the one hand, but each individual motif must never be arbitrary in its picture direction and dramaturgy. A client once coined the term “everyday macros” for my pictures.
Let us now turn to the experiences that have to do with the direct application of the stimulus images. Here, too, I have gathered many exciting insights for myself over the last few years:
- Only people who actually use this technique to solve their own challenges will be successful with it in innovation coaching. This is not relevant with many techniques, but it is with the stimulus image technique. So that there are no excuses here, you can download a stimulus image sample for self-experimentation with 11 stimulus images after the article and there is a brief instruction of the basic variant of the stimulus image technique.
- As a trainer, always set a good example with the stimulus picture technique and express initial thoughts yourself with a stimulus picture – be a role model, then the participants will follow without any effort.
- Arrange the stimulus pictures so that all participants have easy access. Lay out the stimulus pictures before the participants are even in the room. If I spread out my large stimulus picture package with over 750 pictures on the floor, even the room takes on a totally inspiring character and the participants spontaneously start rummaging through the large pile and a great dynamic automatically develops.
- Use the stimulus picture technique in its wide range and in many different variations. There is a real treasure buried in the great variety of possible uses of the stimulus image technique – more on this in the next section.
Actually, there is not just one stimulus picture technique. Stimulus pictures offer an extremely wide range of applications. Here is the perhaps already classic basic variant:
Step 1: What is your challenge? Now formulate your challenge into a question. Example: “How could our trade fair stand score better?”
Step 2: Quickly, spontaneously and randomly choose a stimulus image from the large set of stimulus images.
Step 3: Now all participants should connect their associations to the picture with the challenge and write their thoughts about it, as complete sentences, on moderation cards, for example. Which objects, colours, feelings, experiences, details particularly stand out? E.g.: “The stand could be outside the hall.” “The stand conveys the atmosphere of a fireside lounge.” “The stand could look like a shooting gallery and our products could be the prize.” “If the booth smelled like coffee, more visitors would come.”
Step 4: Let the sentences carry you away and lead you to new ways of thinking.
But stimulus imagery can do much more, here is a list of possible uses:
- Basic variant – All participants are inspired by one image.
- Basic variant 2 – Each participant picks up their own picture and derives thoughts and ideas.
- Advertising slogans – With the help of the pictures, sentences are directly formed as advertising slogans.
- Predefined sentences – The participants have to form sentences with the help of the pictures, where for example certain words have to appear. Example: Form sentences with the help of the pictures in which our company name and the word efficiency appear.
- Introductory rounds – The stimulus picture technique is an excellent tool for introductory rounds. It is particularly attractive for teams that have known each other for a long time. Example questions for a round of introductions after which each participant has taken a picture: “What connects you with this picture?”, “What does this picture have to do with your job?”, “Why do you think your colleague chose his picture?” – or the participants are given the task of finding a picture that describes them well.
- Stimulus pictures are also suitable as an ICE-breaker and reactivation tool after lunch breaks or exhausting work phases.
Perception training – As perception training, have participants each make a list of the things they see in a picture. The participant with the longest list wins. - Mood pictures / Creative Casting – Creative Casting (based on the brainfloating principle by Harald Braem) is a light, refreshing perspective extension with stimulus pictures that produces a mood chart (a kind of stimulus picture collage) as a result. This mood chart forms the basis, for example, for further action in a particular project.
- Creative Collages – The combination of stimulus images produces mental images that stimulate creativity and lead teams to even more new ideas in discussion. For example, when two unrelated images collide in a collage, our imagination transforms them into a shared, new reality that is higher (“transcended”) than the two individual images. The collage is more meaningful than the source material and may represent something entirely different.
- … and there are many more techniques that make use of stimulus images such as “image-text potentiation”, “mind mapping”, “images instead of words”, “storyboarding”, “random stimulus”, “visual synectics” and some more.
I hope you can now understand a little more “how stimulus pictures really stimulate”. Immerse yourself in one of the most exciting creative and inspirational techniques of all. Use our stimulus picture sample and try it out for yourself – true to Leonardo da Vinci’s great insight “We are eye creatures! For all those who find the stimulus image technique particularly exciting, our self-learning course to become a “stimulus image facilitator” is especially suitable.
With inspiring greetings,
Benno van Aerssen
