Oblique Strategies" is a deck of cards created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975 to overcome creative blocks. It was initially published as a set of cards containing a single provocative prompt. I have been a long time fan of Oblique Strategies for more than a decade now, so I added them on my blog in case they might be useful to others. Each card contains a short phrase or cryptic remark intended to help artists, musicians, and other creative individuals break through creative blocks by encouraging lateral thinking and providing inspiration. The idea behind Oblique Strategies is to approach a problem or challenge from a new perspective or to help shift one's mindset.
The cards have been used by many artists, including musicians like David Bowie and Coldplay, to help them think differently during the creative process. The strategies are often abstract and open to interpretation, allowing users to apply the concepts in various ways to their unique situations. The deck has been through multiple editions, and some of the original phrases have been updated or replaced over time.
The earliest decks included this instruction: These cards evolved from our separate observations on the principles underlying what we were doing. Sometimes they were recognized in retrospect (intellect catching up with intuition), sometimes they were identified as they were happening, sometimes they were formulated. They can be used as a pack (a set of possibilities being continuously reviewed in the mind) or by drawing a single card from the shuffled pack when a dilemma occurs in a working situation. In this case, the card is trusted even if its appropriateness is quite unclear. They are not final, as new ideas will present themselves, and others will become self-evident.
