Ask HN: How do I come up with an idea?

I'm currently studying a mixed media university degree which focuses a lot on web design and development now that I am in my final year. We have to submit a major project which is pretty much what potential employers will judge us on.

I drew up a few ideas, one of which my tutor told me to go for (it was a google maps/flickr API mashup) as it would push my coding skills and set me up for a path to take me down a more developer or hybrid approach (which I've started on anyways with learning Rails and coming from a programming background before university).

Turned out that it was already done and exists as the explore section on Flickr pretty much.

I'm struggling to find an idea that will push my abilities, is reachable, interesting and doesn't exist exactly as I imagine it already.

Any tips on how you come up with an idea?

I've always found that my best ideas come with an open mind and by "doing" something. It doesn't really matter if there is existing competition - you just need to do it 50% better to be a success. Who knows, you might be part way into the project and realize that there is a truly killer idea for a new audience. Keep an open mind and do something.

Here's a good idea as an example:

http://www.lifesta.com/

The folks who created this site were likely impressed with Groupon and asked themselves, "what happens if I don't use this coupon that I'm going to impulse buy?" Open to ideas while using the service, they created a marketplace not just for Groupons, but that could be used across all of the groupon clones. With some good press and improved functionality / polish, a good idea will go to great.

Beyond erroneously telling you to "do" things with an open mind, here are 2 things that I do when I'm looking for new ideas:

1) I disconnect completely from technology, change my scenery and think without distraction. Getting into a pattern is the key for this to work. I usually book off Tuesday and Thursday afternoons when I'm in idea mode and no matter what else is going on, I disconnect, go for a hike and relax while brainstorming. Often, I'll toss a digital audio recorder in my pocket so that I can spit out ideas without writing - but nothing else.

2) When I'm trying to think of ideas, I talk to people. Go to local geek meetups / conferences and use the room as a sounding board. While it's not incredibly honest, I find that confidently telling people that I'm already the CEO of my new project idea, judging their reaction and listening to their feedback / questions is a lot more valuable then a conversation based around the sentence "what do you think about this idea".

I hope that these things help you out.

Just because it's already done doesn't mean it can't push your abilities and isn't reachable.

Flickr would have had the resources to do anything they wanted with the project. You, as the only guy on it, will have to make tradeoffs and sacrifice features in order to get it done. What part of that isn't helpful in the real world?

I agree to some extent with everyone here stating that an idea doesn't need to be novel to develop your skills. However, I do think executing on an idea of your own versus reverse engineering something that exists does require much more from you. With a project that is entirely your own, you have nothing to fall back on. When you start at square one, you must design and implement everything.

So with that being said, I'd encourage you to check out a book called Thinkertoys[1]. Although it's a little elementary at times, it lays out specific techniques to get your creative juices flowing. Its great for analytical types because it provides a concrete framework for a very abstract activity (idea generation).

--- [1] http://www.amazon.com/Thinkertoys-Handbook-Creative-Thinking...

By asking questions, and putting answers in different contexts.

For instance, questions about the reality such as "what if?", "what makes it right?". Once there's the answer, try to find another space where it fits.