How does innovation happen?  When you bring together all players and, well… let them play! Just one of the many insights we learned from our visit to an amazing innovation shop, Brain Store. Based in Biel Switzerland (the cutest town around), Brain store is a literal factory of ideas that combines innovation tools into their Idea Machine process (below).

Their phone book definition:

The IdeaFactory BrainStore develops ideas using an industrial process.
For companies, organisations and private people. Reliably, and in record time.

It’s industrial idea production for some heavy duty brands, having worked with everyone from the BMW to DuPont and a ton of social campaigns as well including Amnesty International and the Swiss Government.

But their productivity comes from fun as well as trends, research and inclusion of multi-disciplinary vantage points for creative thinking, which often means kids.

Via an article by Fast Company

“We’re not looking for average ideas. We’re looking for crazy ideas. We use kids to find those ideas, because they know how to talk without letting their thinking get in the way.”

The BrainStore mixes these young people with members of its client teams during creative workshops. “One of the ideas behind the company was to blend the professionalism of experts with the unbridled enthusiasm of kids. We have 17-year-olds working on products and campaigns for such companies as Nestle and the Swiss railway. It’s cool for kids to be able to say, ‘Hey, I was a part of that.’”

Not only do we love the idea of bringing together the target audience and the client (an great idea Brain Store was founded on) but also their realization of the innovative potential of young people.

Many thanks to our gracious hosts and founders Nadja and Markus for an inspiring tour and stay. Keep up the amazing work and realization of the motto, “It’s Possible”.