Start with something you already have
A blank page is not always the best place to look for a new idea. If you have a rough concept, an existing design or a familiar way of working, changing it deliberately can reveal possibilities you might not find by starting over. SCAMPER is a set of seven prompts for doing exactly that: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate and Reverse or rearrange.
The prompts are questions, not steps you must complete in order. Each one asks you to look at the same idea from a different angle. You might use them alone to explore a visual identity, or with a small team to develop a campaign, workshop format or piece of content. The goal is to produce options before deciding which option is best.
Define the idea and the constraint
Choose one specific starting point. “Improve our marketing” is too broad to change easily; “make a poster for a community photography workshop” gives you something to work with. Write down what the poster must do, such as communicate the subject, location and sign-up details. Note any limits on format, production or time. These constraints help you distinguish a useful variation from an interesting idea you cannot use.
Next, describe the current concept in a sentence: “The poster uses a large camera image, a bold title and a list of workshop details.” Keep that sentence visible as you work through the prompts. If you are in a group, let everyone sketch or write a few responses independently before discussing them. This gives quieter or less obvious ideas room to emerge.
Change the ingredients: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify
Substitute asks: What could you replace? Look at the imagery, wording, material, format or process. For the workshop poster, replace the camera image with photographs taken by participants, or replace a formal headline with a question a beginner might ask. A substitution is most useful when it changes what the audience understands, not just how the design looks.
Combine asks: What could you bring together? Pair two elements that normally appear separately. The poster could combine the workshop schedule with a contact sheet of sample images, so viewers see both the practical details and the kind of work they might make. Combining is not the same as adding everything: the result still needs a clear visual hierarchy.
Adapt asks: What approach from another context could work here? A museum label, field guide or instruction card might suggest a new way to present the workshop. Borrow the underlying structure rather than copying its appearance. For example, a field-guide approach could organize the poster around what participants will notice, try and take home.
Modify asks: What could you enlarge, reduce or otherwise change in character? Make one photograph fill the page, shrink the title into a caption, or turn a dense block of information into three short steps. Try an exaggerated version first. It can show you which part of the idea carries the message, even if the final design becomes more restrained.
Change the role or order: Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse
Put to another use asks: Where else could this idea work? The poster’s contact-sheet layout might become a social post that invites people to contribute an image, or a handout used during the workshop. Thinking beyond the original format can reveal a flexible system rather than a single finished piece. Check that each new use still has a purpose; reusing a layout alone is not a strategy.
Eliminate asks: What can you remove? Take away the camera image, the decorative border or even the title, then see what the remaining elements can communicate. You will usually need to restore essential information, but temporarily removing it helps expose what is repetitive or distracting. A simpler poster may make the invitation easier to grasp.
Reverse or rearrange asks: What happens if you change the sequence or the usual point of view? Lead with an image someone could make at the workshop, then explain how to join. Or put the sign-up instruction at the top instead of the bottom. Reordering elements can change which question the design answers first; choose the order that serves your audience.
Turn variations into a direction
Give each prompt a short, timed pass and capture responses as quick sketches or one-sentence descriptions. Do not spend the whole session polishing the first promising option. When you have a spread of ideas, group similar ones and select a few that address the original task in meaningfully different ways. You can also combine responses, such as adapting a field-guide structure while eliminating unnecessary imagery.
Evaluate the shortlist against the constraints you wrote at the start. Can someone understand the invitation? Are the details legible? Can the team produce it with the available resources? If possible, show rough versions to someone who has not been part of the discussion and ask what they think the piece is asking them to do. Use their response to revise the work, not to declare a winner by vote.
SCAMPER works best when it helps you move between exploration and judgment. The seven prompts open up possibilities; your brief, audience and practical limits help you choose among them. Keep the unused variations nearby. An idea that does not suit this poster may be the right starting point for the workshop handout or the next project.
