Here’s a fun creativity hack I discovered years ago from illustrator Von Glitschka: a wheel of associations. The idea is to brainstorm puns, idioms, and related concepts around a given subject. In this example, Glitschka used “dog” to generate creative connections.
I used this wheel for a story on wheat cultivation and efforts to make it stronger and more resistant to crop threats. Struggling to come up with a creative approach beyond standard wheat imagery, I turned to this exercise. Under “pun,” I landed on “no pain, no grain.” This inspired an illustration of wheat working out under observation, symbolizing the process of cultivating stronger, higher-quality crops.
