Lost Swordfish Blog

What would an alien make of this brief? By writing from the perspective of an extraterrestrial we can discover insights and assumptions to help us think in a more ‘first principles’ way. Check out the Strange Planet comics online for inspiration for alien perspectives.

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Imagine you’re a famous comedian who fits the tone of the brief. What would they joke about? What’s an irreverent insight? Is there an elephant in the room that needs to be outed?

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What would you think if you knew nothing about this? How might a child interpret the problem or solution? What’s the obvious solution and why is it good or bad?

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How can we break new ground? Are we thinking too locally? If we could rewrite the rules, what would we do differently? How might someone from a different culture approach this?

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Take on the persona of an oracle. Why are we really doing this? What’s the true insight and purpose of this project? Is there a deeper truth? What would someone truly wise do?

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What does a day in the life of your target audience look like? What are their fears and aspirations? What might they not understand? What might we not understand about them?

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What would someone ruthless do? How could you use mischief to disrupt the situation? What if we broke some stuff? How might someone evil exploit you?

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Creative breakthroughs often arise from challenging conventions. What assumptions have already been made? Could they be wrong, or shifted? What if the brief is too narrow? Too wide? Pretend to be your competitor.

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Looking at extremes can bring insights into sharp relief. What would happen if you amplified the problem or solution? What if it was minuscule or all-consuming; what would a global response look like?

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Removing limitations means removing assumptions, which can result in novel perspectives and solutions. Imagine you have unlimited superpowers, budget, time, or technological capability to solve the problem. What would a god do?

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