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synectics (si-nek-tik).
a. (LL. synecticus, Gk. synektikos, holding together.) 1. Bringing different things into real connection.

In this lab we will explore what it means to be creative.

We will learn to use synectics as a toolkit to become creative, regardless of whether we feel "artistic" or not.

The synectic toolkit works for everyone because it builds on what we already know...namely that connections and similarities exist all around us.

The principle idea is to awaken our visual awareness and realize that we don't have to invent our creativity. Rather, we can learn by observing carefully and reshaping what we see.

Creativity is the marvellous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.
Max Ernst

All things, regardless of their dissimilarity, can somehow be linked together, either in a physical, psychological or symbolic way.
Buckminster Fuller

A person becomes creative, whether she is an artist or a scientist, when she finds a new unity in the variety of nature. She does so by finding a likeness between things which were not thought alike before. Jacob Bronowski

The first thing we notice in a creative act is that it is an encounter. Rollo May

Carefully read/browse the page(s) on synectic triggers. These triggers are the toolkit you'll use in completing the lab.

Create a new file in Photoshop. Give your file the following dimensions:
W: 1100 pixels H: 600 pixels and a resolution of 72 pixels_per_inch (ppi).

Carefully choose an image that you can tolerate for 8 variations. Yup, you'll be reworking the image eight times. Your image should be reasonably complex, preferably photographic and definitely NOT a cartoon image.

Resize (or transform>scale) your image so that it measures W 250 pixels, H 250 pixels at a resolution of 72 ppi.

Copy and paste your image into your 1100 x 600 pixel canvas. Repeat the paste seven more times so that you have eight copies of your pasted image on the canvas. using your move tool, arrange the pasted squares so that they fit into two rows of four squares each.

Having browsed the synectic triggers, choose one to work with (distort, for example) and create seven variations of your pasted image based on that synectic trigger. (Leave the first paste as_is for reference.

Inside your user folder, create a new folder called synectics. Into this folder, do a Save_As and call your file distort.psd.

Now repeat steps 1-6 five more times, each time choosing a new image and a new synectic trigger to work with.

In the end, you should have five files, each with eight variations on a synectic trigger. you'll have chosen five of the synectic triggers to explore and produced 5 x 8 = 40 images in total.