How to be an Inventor – print edition

Print version.

How to be an Inventor — An Inventor’s Playbook
by James Kean

Everyone has ideas. Most people were just never shown how to find them. Written by a design and engineering teacher with over 30 years in the classroom, this playbook hands young inventors the 12 proven methods that real inventors use — the same kind of thinking behind the telephone, penicillin and the Cat’s Eye road stud.

Bold, practical and genuinely fun, it takes readers from a blank page all the way to a finished idea (and even how to protect and sell it).

Inside you’ll find:

• 12 step-by-step methods for generating ideas — from SCAMPER and lateral thinking to morphological analysis (one technique alone can spark 2,400 ideas in ten minutes)
• Simple, hands-on activities to get started straight away, with space to doodle and think
• The mindset of an inventor — how to spot problems, handle failure, and keep going
• From idea to income — a plain-English guide to patents, trademarks, prototyping and turning an invention into a business
• Four clear sections you can read in order or dip into as you like

Perfect for:

• Curious teenagers (ideal for S4–S6 / ages 15+)
• Design, engineering and STEM students
• A brilliant, different gift for anyone about to start their next big adventure

Scotland gave the world the telephone, the television and penicillin. Who’s next? Maybe the person reading this book.