New Metaphors toolkit

New Metaphors is a creative toolkit for generating ideas and reframing problems.

Developed over the past few years by the Imaginaries Lab, it’s is a set of 150 cards (two different kinds) and a number of simple, fun workshop formats which enable idea generation and new ways of thinking about issues creatively, from specific problems within an interaction design team or organisational context, to much larger questions about our collective futures and our relationships with the planet, to personal reflection.

In the box: 100 image cards, 50 concept cards (+ blanks for your own additions), two worksheets, and a 24-page introduction booklet where you can learn more about how people have used the cards, the background to using metaphors for generating ideas, and useful resources.

All the material is also available as a free download from the Imaginaries Lab website.

Dan Lockton, Devika Singh, Saloni Sabnis, Michelle Chou. New Metaphors: A Creative Toolkit for Generating Ideas and Reframing Problems. Imaginaries Lab, ISBN 978-0-9565421-2-0 (print) ISBN 978-0-9565421-3-7 (PDF)

The cards, booklet, and worksheets are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence. Photos included in the cards are by Dan Lockton, Devika Singh, Michelle Chou, Tammar Zea-Wolfson, Shengzhi Wu, Sofía Bosch, Marisa Lu, and Soonho Kwon. The booklet additionally includes images contributed by Laura Devendorf, Susanne Kirchner, Marysol Ortega Pallanez, Michal Luria, Corine Britto, and Linas Gabrielaitis.

All shipping is using tracked services. Sales to the UK are dispatched from the UK, using Royal Mail. Sales to the rest of the world are dispatched from the Netherlands, using either DHL or Post NL.