Alex Osborn — Author of “Applied Imagination” and Inventor of Brainstorming
I have a Master’s of Science degree in Creativity & Creative Leadership from the Center for Applied Imagination at Buffalo State University (SUNY). And I owe it all to Alex Osborn. Osborn “the Father of Brainstorming”, wrote the book “Applied Imagination”. Eventually, he took the financial proceeds from his books sales to establish the Creative Education Foundation in his hometown of Buffalo New York. (1954) This led to his collaboration with Dr. Sidney Barnes of Buffalo State and the development “CPS” — which became known as the “Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving Process”. The process incorporates brainstorming, which is but one step in a multistage process that leads to the development and implementation of creative solutions to a myriad of challenges.
Alex Faickney Osborn (May 24, 1888 – May 5, 1966) was first known as an American advertising executive — the “O” in BBDO Advertising, a prominent agency on New York’s Madison Avenue. After the agency’s office closed in Buffalo, Osborn would commute by train weekly from Buffalo to New York City and back. So he was also a bit of a pioneer as one of the first telecommuters.
Over time, Alex Osborn became increasingly active as an author. His first book on the topic of creative thinking was “How to Think Up”, published in 1942. That’s when the concept of brainstorming was first introduced. His best known book, “Applied Imagination” appeared in 1953. In 1960, he resigned from his adverting post to devote himself full-time to developing his creativity methods. Through the creative studies program at Buffalo State, and the Creative Problem Solving Institute (CPSI), Osborn’s legacy has been teaching his methods to thousands of students for over 60 years. CPSI is the oldest, continuously running international creativity conference in the world.
For more information on Alex Osborn and his methods:
https://creativity.buffalostate.edu
