An exercise in guided brainstorming: A project completed as part of my certificate in Managing Innovation and Design Thinking, HEC Paris, March 2020
I explain what the subtraction brainstorming technique is in this article.
These sketches are the results of guided techniques in brainstorming, in this case, a rethink of a coffee shop. To start, I brainstormed a list of essentials of what makes a coffee shop. These essentials become the seeds for new ideas, depending on which technique you use:
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/20f34e5ef347645bfb42b4827a145ef8/ed778b88-8d30-470c-8165-d369140f9208_rw_3840.png?h=0558c8d6d098e67428b4fd938470f167)
This idea for individualized coffee "pods" came from using the replacement technique, in which you remove an essential part of something and replace it with another essential.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/20f34e5ef347645bfb42b4827a145ef8/f9e6c1d0-e9fd-4867-bf9d-975fcf884571_rw_3840.png?h=166780706bf7bb6a26ce5e8daa54ba2a)
This idea for drive-thru cold brew growlers used the cropping technique, in which you move one essential from the beginning of the customer experience to the end.