For a long time, I used to throw my ideas around with friends.
An idea about design.
A thought about tourism.
Something around sustainability.
An observation about a community or a place.
Sometimes it was not even a proper idea. Just something I happened to notice and wanted to talk about.
We would discuss it, question it, disagree, add something to it and sometimes completely change the original thought.
Looking back, I realise that those conversations were an important part of my creative process.
Today, I do much the same thing — but with a much larger circle.
I share my ideas in public.
Not because I think every idea is perfect or ready to become a project. In fact, many of the ideas I share are still half-formed.
And that is exactly why I share them.
An idea becomes clearer when you put it out there
An idea can feel very clear when it is sitting inside your head.
But try explaining it to someone else and suddenly you start noticing the gaps.
Writing it down does the same thing.
And then comes the interesting part — people respond.
Someone may agree.
Someone may question it.
Someone may add something I hadn’t thought about.
And sometimes, someone may look at the same idea from a completely different angle.
That is where the real learning begins.
Why throw ideas into the public?
I have started seeing quite a few advantages in doing this.
It makes me articulate my thoughts.
When I put an idea into words, I am forced to understand what I actually think about it.
It helps me see my blind spots.
When we think alone, we naturally see things from our own perspective. Other people can point out what we have missed.
It brings different perspectives.
A designer may see something differently from someone working in tourism. A traveller may look at a place differently from someone who lives there. Someone from a community may have a completely different understanding of an idea.
Those differences can make an idea better.
It allows an idea to evolve.
Sometimes a single comment can take an idea in a direction I had never considered.
The original thought may be mine, but the conversation can make it something much richer.
It starts conversations.
And not every conversation needs to end with a solution.
Sometimes a good question is enough to start something.
It can also create unexpected connections.
You never know who is reading.
Someone may have the knowledge you don’t have. Someone else may have the resources. Another person may have already tried something similar.
An idea shared publicly can sometimes connect people who otherwise may never have met.
But there is one important thing
You have to be comfortable with the fact that not everyone will agree with you.
Some people may misunderstand the idea.
Some may disagree strongly.
And sometimes, their criticism may actually be valid.
I think that is part of the process too.
The purpose of sharing an idea shouldn’t be to prove that we are right.
It should be to find out how much better the idea can become when it meets other minds.
Not every idea needs to become a project
This is something I have become more comfortable with.
Some ideas may become projects.
Some may lead to another idea.
Some may simply remain a conversation.
And some may disappear altogether.
That’s okay.
For me, the value is also in the thinking that happens along the way.
Maybe this is my version of an Idea Factory.
Not a place that produces finished ideas, but a place where thoughts come in, get questioned, mixed with other thoughts and hopefully become better.
Over time, I have come to see sharing ideas as part of my creative practice.
Think. Share. Listen. Learn. Think again.
I don’t share ideas because I have all the answers.
I share them because I am still figuring things out.
And perhaps that’s one of the best ways to keep thinking.
What about you?
Do you share unfinished ideas with others to understand them better?
Or do you prefer to develop an idea quietly before putting it out into the world?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s discuss.
Prakash Varma
SatvaDesign | Idea Factory
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