Pause and rewind frame by frame

Kanichi Fujiwara works under the title of traveler.
I tuned in when he appeared on the August 27th episode of the TV program "SWITCH Interview: Masters" (NHK E-TV, Saturdays at 10:00 PM). While his work as a traveler is impressive, he's also been actively pursuing photography lately, holding solo exhibitions and contributing to photography magazines.

"When I reached the edge of the world, I realized that what's truly important isn't far away, but right next to me."
Mr. Fujiwara shared this insight during the program. As a traveler who has journeyed across 6 continents and 94 countries, spending over 4,000 days on the road, his ultimate discovery was the everyday life right before him. I couldn't agree more.

My job is to generate ideas. It's like embarking on imaginary journeys within my mind. Since it's a world of imagination, I can go to unknown places or to the familiar world. However, I believe that rather than conceiving something special or grand that no one has ever experienced, ideas born from the small, overlooked or overlooked things in everyday life are more likely to surprise and resonate with many people.

As I've mentioned repeatedly in my book , "Improving Your Mind's Constitution" (Nikkei Publishing), the seeds for ideas and opportunities to train your mind are abundant right around you. After over 20 years in this profession, I've arrived at the same conclusion as Mr. Fujiwara: it's the everyday, familiar things.

The essence of idea generation is discovery.

 

People who generate ideas must have strong creativity because they frequently visit museums and concerts, watch the latest movies, and frequent trendy shops, right? I sometimes get asked this question, but I fundamentally disagree. Ultimately, these activities are merely information gathering, accumulating background knowledge.

The essence of idea generation is discovery. What matters is noticing things that everyone else would normally overlook or dismiss. Then comes expanding your imagination. You start thinking, "This could be interesting," or "This might be convenient," letting your thoughts wander.

A common example I use when discussing this is the "standing rice scoop."
The rice scoop is a tool every Japanese person knows. You see it almost daily at the dining table or in the kitchen, right? It's so deeply ingrained in daily life that it's perfectly normal to never really think about it.

But then, someone noticed and imagined: "Isn't there a way to avoid the rice grains that stick to the shamoji when serving rice, messing up the dining table or kitchen?" They focused on something everyone just accepted with a shrug, thinking "Oh well, can't be helped." This led to the creation of the "standing rice scoop." They discovered that by standing it upright instead of laying it flat, the rice grains wouldn't stick to it.

While it's now a staple product, this kind of idea is deceptively simple and obvious—the sort that seems like it should occur to you but doesn't. Many people will likely think, "Ah, that makes sense!" or "That's brilliant!" and it will be naturally accepted.

Following a similar line of thinking, another household staple you're probably familiar with is the "bendable straw." By making it accordion-fold bendable, it dramatically improved ease of drinking.

While not a staple, the "double-walled glass cup" is a favorite in my home, and I highly recommend it. Cold drinks often leave condensation on the cup's surface, soaking the table. To avoid this, the cup has a hollow space between the inner glass surface holding the liquid and the outer glass surface, creating a double-walled structure. This design prevents condensation from forming on the outer surface.

This shows that idea generation isn't just about superficial tweaks. Its essence lies in discoveries and insights from everyday life. The simpler and more intuitive the idea, the more brilliant it is, in my view. From a planner's perspective, the goal is to make those around you exclaim, "I never noticed that!" – to uncover discoveries in things you interact with or see routinely.

 

Even in ordinary daily life, you can keep accumulating topics

 

Discoveries and insights from everyday life also prove effective in communication.
Consider the difference between people who always have plenty to talk about and those who don't. It's easy to assume that those who constantly have topics are the ones who have had many special or unique experiences, while those who feel they lack topics simply lead ordinary lives. But that's not the case.

People who constantly share stories like, "Oh yeah, the other day this happened..." can accumulate topics steadily, whether from special experiences or ordinary daily life. Why can they do this? Because they excel at noticing things others overlook or miss.

This is by no means a special skill. It's something anyone can do with the right mindset. By paying attention to things you usually overlook, listening carefully, and engaging your mind, you can discover plenty within your everyday surroundings. Doing this naturally builds up your topics, and it also activates your mind, serving as training for generating ideas.

If you don't regularly maintain your mind, it won't perform as you need it to when you really need it for work. It's just like your body. If someone who never exercises suddenly tries to play sports, they're likely to get injured. That's why I recommend incorporating "mental exercises" into your daily routine.

Last month, the magazine "Tarzan" (September 22nd issue) featured a special section titled "Things That Are Actually Good for Your Brain, and Things That Aren't." It's interesting that a magazine focused on the body and health is now turning its attention to how the mind works. I wholeheartedly agree with the idea that both body and mind require daily training. That said, I must admit I'm not doing a great job with the physical part myself, but I am actively working to raise awareness about the mental aspect.

As part of this effort, I've been conducting a monthly class titled "Brain Exercises" on the fourth Friday of each month from May to October via the online video learning service "Schoo." In these sessions, I publicly showcase idea-generation training with three planners from Dentsu Inc., conducted in a freestyle comedy-style format. I also reveal the foundational "idea generation methods," mindset, and core principles that form the template for these brain exercises.

 

Rather than suppressing ideas, we focus on cultivating those we can actively steer.

 

In the fifth class broadcast on September 23rd, we held an idea battle under the theme "How to Make People Stop Walking While Using Their Phones." As is well known, accidents caused by walking while using smartphones have become a social problem, and solutions are urgently needed. Various countermeasures are being taken not only domestically but worldwide.

In the US, several states have enacted "walking while texting ordinances," imposing fines on violators. In London, I've heard they wrap utility poles with cushioning material on busy streets to prevent pedestrians from bumping into them. In one German town, they reportedly embedded traffic lights into the pavement so they're clearly visible even to people walking while texting.

In Chongqing, China, they've even created dedicated lanes for smartphone users... In Japan, NTT Docomo released a video titled "Walking Smartphone Commute" late last year to raise awareness, sparking online discussion.

While methods like legal restrictions or infrastructure built assuming people won't stop walking while using their phones exist, wouldn't it be healthier to encourage individuals to stop this behavior themselves? With that thought in mind, we set the theme as "Methods to Make You Want to Stop Walking While Using Your Phone."

Now, let's introduce some ideas born from this online class.

Walking while using your phone narrows your field of vision. Some say you can't recognize objects until they're within 1.5 meters. Until you actually get into an accident, it's hard to grasp how many dangers you're exposed to, so people keep doing it.

This idea proposes setting up a prank to give people a simulated experience. Rather than enforcing restrictions, it lets people tangibly feel the danger while having fun. It's a win-win concept that also provides entertainment for those not using their phones while walking.

This idea came from a Schoo student. We rarely get the chance to really observe someone walking while using their phone objectively. That's why we focused on the runway at a fashion show as a symbol of a scene where everyone intently watches only the act of walking.

Imagine if models—who usually strut confidently with smiles, heads held high—suddenly appeared hunched over, staring down at their phones. It would look awkward and uncool. Wouldn't you instinctively realize that's exactly how you appear when you're walking while using your phone?

 

Thinking from the perspective of increasing the resolution of things

 

In online classes, we churn out ideas one after another within the limited time of one hour each session. As planners, we're constantly required to do this, so we've developed various implicit ways of thinking. Some we learned intuitively from seniors, others we devised ourselves. We conceptualize and verbalize these, presenting them in class as mental gymnastics templates, or "ideation methods."

Following our previous ideation methods—" Extremization," " Partial Transformation," " Metamorphosis," and " Addition/Subtraction "—this time we introduce the fifth: "Frame-by-Frame." This method involves mentally replaying and repeating things we might unconsciously overlook if we just let them pass by. It's like applying frame-by-frame or stop-motion effects, controlling how we replay the moment, thereby increasing the resolution of things to spark ideas.

So, let's explore what kind of ideas can be generated by "frame-by-frame" replaying things we'd normally overlook, using examples from our surroundings.

Tokyo Disney Resort is full of ideas designed to capture moments of happiness. Among them, the parent-child drinking fountain stands as a symbol. Designed so parents and children can drink facing each other, it features a step on the child's side to ensure their eye levels meet. It seems founder Walt Disney envisioned this to capture the satisfied smiles when parched throats are quenched.

If we view the common scene of a water fountain purely as a functional fixture, it likely doesn't catch our attention anew. We might overlook it without a second thought. However, by focusing on the fleeting change in expression and replaying it frame by frame as an emotional scene, new ideas emerge.

Similarly, the handwashing areas at Tokyo Disney Resort feature a special surprise. When the foam soap from the nozzle lands on your palm, it forms the shape of Mickey Mouse. Disney magic is at work here, transforming the brief moment between the foam landing on your hand and it being washed away into a moment of happiness.

Kanebo Cosmetics' recently launched facial cleanser, "Evita Beauty Whip Soap," features foam soap that emerges from the can in the shape of a rose and has a rose fragrance. This shares a similar concept, making daily cleansing fun and luxurious. It became a hot topic on social media even before its release and seems to be trending overseas as well.

 

Seize every fleeting moment and play it back frame by frame

 

This summer, "Häagen Heart" became a major topic, especially on Instagram. Häagen-Dazs ice cream proposed a new way to enjoy it: "The Hunt for Häagen Heart." They named the occasional heart-shaped crater that appears when you open the cup lid "Häagen Heart" and introduced the appearance rates for its 11 different shapes and the flavors where it's more likely to appear.

This crater shape apparently forms when the ice cream's corners get squished during the factory process of attaching the inner film lid after filling the cup. By not missing that fleeting moment between opening the lid and eating—essentially playing it back frame by frame—they discovered something usually unnoticed. The result? It instantly went viral on social media, racking up over 100,000 retweets and 200,000 likes in no time.

Melody Roads, which play music using the sound of car tires rolling on the pavement, are spreading nationwide. It all started in 2004 when a trial was conducted on a town road in Shibetsu, Hokkaido. It was featured in the media and became an instant sensation.

The idea was born from the thought: instead of immediately dismissing the driving sounds as mere noise, what if we paused and transformed them into music? I've experienced it myself around Lake Kawaguchi, and when "Fuji no Yama" (The Mountain of Fuji) started playing, my heart leapt, and I found myself humming along.

By interpreting things around us like this, we can grasp the meaning and application of creative thinking. It also serves as a daily "mental workout," so I highly recommend it. Mastering the templates introduced here will give you a foundation for generating ideas at work, allowing you to come up with more concepts faster than just thinking vaguely.

Now, the next session of the online video learning service "Schoo," Lesson 6, will be broadcast live this Friday, October 28th, starting at 7 PM. This will be the final episode of "Brain Exercises." The Oogiri (comedy improvisation) topic will be announced on the day, and we plan to hold an idea battle between Schoo students and the planner. If you're interested, please join us.