03
Exploration stage
Make unexpected connections
Combine unrelated things.
The hook
"Unexpected connections can open up new ways to communicate."
→ Do this now
Pick something unrelated to your project:
object · place · ritual · emotion · system · natural phenomenon
Now ask:
What could this teach my idea?
Use the answer to make a quick sketch or concept.
WHY IT HELPS
Random combinations can feel meaningless.
The useful part is finding what the unrelated idea can bring into the project — a behaviour, feeling, structure, rhythm or way of communicating.
The goal is not to make something strange for the sake of it.
It is to find a connection that creates new meaning.