148 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
148 lines
6.1 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
name: ideation
|
|
title: Creative Ideation — Constraint-Driven Project Generation
|
|
description: "Generate project ideas through creative constraints. Use when the user says 'I want to build something', 'give me a project idea', 'I'm bored', 'what should I make', 'inspire me', or any variant of 'I have tools but no direction'. Works for code, art, hardware, writing, tools, and anything that can be made."
|
|
version: 1.0.0
|
|
author: SHL0MS
|
|
license: MIT
|
|
metadata:
|
|
hermes:
|
|
tags: [Creative, Ideation, Projects, Brainstorming, Inspiration]
|
|
category: creative
|
|
requires_toolsets: []
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Creative Ideation
|
|
|
|
Generate project ideas through creative constraints. Constraint + direction = creativity.
|
|
|
|
## How It Works
|
|
|
|
1. **Pick a constraint** from the library below — random, or matched to the user's domain/mood
|
|
2. **Interpret it broadly** — a coding prompt can become a hardware project, an art prompt can become a CLI tool
|
|
3. **Generate 3 concrete project ideas** that satisfy the constraint
|
|
4. **If they pick one, build it** — create the project, write the code, ship it
|
|
|
|
## The Rule
|
|
|
|
Every prompt is interpreted as broadly as possible. "Does this include X?" → Yes. The prompts provide direction and mild constraint. Without either, there is no creativity.
|
|
|
|
## Constraint Library
|
|
|
|
### For Developers
|
|
|
|
**Solve your own itch:**
|
|
Build the tool you wished existed this week. Under 50 lines. Ship it today.
|
|
|
|
**Automate the annoying thing:**
|
|
What's the most tedious part of your workflow? Script it away. Two hours to fix a problem that costs you five minutes a day.
|
|
|
|
**The CLI tool that should exist:**
|
|
Think of a command you've wished you could type. `git undo-that-thing-i-just-did`. `docker why-is-this-broken`. `npm explain-yourself`. Now build it.
|
|
|
|
**Nothing new except glue:**
|
|
Make something entirely from existing APIs, libraries, and datasets. The only original contribution is how you connect them.
|
|
|
|
**Frankenstein week:**
|
|
Take something that does X and make it do Y. A git repo that plays music. A Dockerfile that generates poetry. A cron job that sends compliments.
|
|
|
|
**Subtract:**
|
|
How much can you remove from a codebase before it breaks? Strip a tool to its minimum viable function. Delete until only the essence remains.
|
|
|
|
**High concept, low effort:**
|
|
A deep idea, lazily executed. The concept should be brilliant. The implementation should take an afternoon. If it takes longer, you're overthinking it.
|
|
|
|
### For Makers & Artists
|
|
|
|
**Blatantly copy something:**
|
|
Pick something you admire — a tool, an artwork, an interface. Recreate it from scratch. The learning is in the gap between your version and theirs.
|
|
|
|
**One million of something:**
|
|
One million is both a lot and not that much. One million pixels is a 1MB photo. One million API calls is a Tuesday. One million of anything becomes interesting at scale.
|
|
|
|
**Make something that dies:**
|
|
A website that loses a feature every day. A chatbot that forgets. A countdown to nothing. An exercise in rot, killing, or letting go.
|
|
|
|
**Do a lot of math:**
|
|
Generative geometry, shader golf, mathematical art, computational origami. Time to re-learn what an arcsin is.
|
|
|
|
### For Anyone
|
|
|
|
**Text is the universal interface:**
|
|
Build something where text is the only interface. No buttons, no graphics, just words in and words out. Text can go in and out of almost anything.
|
|
|
|
**Start at the punchline:**
|
|
Think of something that would be a funny sentence. Work backwards to make it real. "I taught my thermostat to gaslight me" → now build it.
|
|
|
|
**Hostile UI:**
|
|
Make something intentionally painful to use. A password field that requires 47 conditions. A form where every label lies. A CLI that judges your commands.
|
|
|
|
**Take two:**
|
|
Remember an old project. Do it again from scratch. No looking at the original. See what changed about how you think.
|
|
|
|
See `references/full-prompt-library.md` for 30+ additional constraints across communication, scale, philosophy, transformation, and more.
|
|
|
|
## Matching Constraints to Users
|
|
|
|
| User says | Pick from |
|
|
|-----------|-----------|
|
|
| "I want to build something" (no direction) | Random — any constraint |
|
|
| "I'm learning [language]" | Blatantly copy something, Automate the annoying thing |
|
|
| "I want something weird" | Hostile UI, Frankenstein week, Start at the punchline |
|
|
| "I want something useful" | Solve your own itch, The CLI that should exist, Automate the annoying thing |
|
|
| "I want something beautiful" | Do a lot of math, One million of something |
|
|
| "I'm burned out" | High concept low effort, Make something that dies |
|
|
| "Weekend project" | Nothing new except glue, Start at the punchline |
|
|
| "I want a challenge" | One million of something, Subtract, Take two |
|
|
|
|
## Output Format
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
## Constraint: [Name]
|
|
> [The constraint, one sentence]
|
|
|
|
### Ideas
|
|
|
|
1. **[One-line pitch]**
|
|
[2-3 sentences: what you'd build and why it's interesting]
|
|
⏱ [weekend / week / month] • 🔧 [stack]
|
|
|
|
2. **[One-line pitch]**
|
|
[2-3 sentences]
|
|
⏱ ... • 🔧 ...
|
|
|
|
3. **[One-line pitch]**
|
|
[2-3 sentences]
|
|
⏱ ... • 🔧 ...
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
## Example
|
|
|
|
```
|
|
## Constraint: The CLI tool that should exist
|
|
> Think of a command you've wished you could type. Now build it.
|
|
|
|
### Ideas
|
|
|
|
1. **`git whatsup` — show what happened while you were away**
|
|
Compares your last active commit to HEAD and summarizes what changed,
|
|
who committed, and what PRs merged. Like a morning standup from your repo.
|
|
⏱ weekend • 🔧 Python, GitPython, click
|
|
|
|
2. **`explain 503` — HTTP status codes for humans**
|
|
Pipe any status code or error message and get a plain-English explanation
|
|
with common causes and fixes. Pulls from a curated database, not an LLM.
|
|
⏱ weekend • 🔧 Rust or Go, static dataset
|
|
|
|
3. **`deps why <package>` — why is this in my dependency tree**
|
|
Traces a transitive dependency back to the direct dependency that pulled
|
|
it in. Answers "why do I have 47 copies of lodash" in one command.
|
|
⏱ weekend • 🔧 Node.js, npm/yarn lockfile parsing
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
After the user picks one, start building — create the project, write the code, iterate.
|
|
|
|
## Attribution
|
|
|
|
Constraint approach inspired by [wttdotm.com/prompts.html](https://wttdotm.com/prompts.html). Adapted and expanded for software development and general-purpose ideation.
|