Roger von Oech
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
February 16, 1948
Columbus, Ohio, United States
Roger von Oech | |
|---|---|
 Roger von Oech with the Ball of Whacks, presenting at a creativity seminar in London (2008) | |
| Born | Roger von Oech February 16, 1948 Columbus, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Creativity theorist, writer, speaker, consultant, and inventor |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.A. Ohio State, Ph.D. Stanford University |
| Website | |
| creativethink | |
Roger von Oech (born February 16, 1948) is an American speaker, conference organizer, author, and toy-maker whose focus has been on the study of creativity.[1][2][3]
In 1975, von Oech earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University in the self-created interdisciplinary program "History of Ideas".[2] Shortly afterwards, he began providing services in creativity consulting, working with companies such as Apple, IBM, Disney, Sony, and Intel.
In the 1980s, he created and produced the "Innovation in Industry" conference series in Palo Alto, which included Silicon Valley entrepreneurs such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Bob Metcalfe, Charles Schwab, Alan Kay, and Nolan Bushnell of Atari.[4]
Decks
Creative Whack Pack
In 1988, von Oech created the Creative Whack Pack, a deck of 64 cards with illustrations and strategies for stimulating creativity. It was designed to be a portable version of his creativity workshops, and it has sold over a million copies.
Creative Whack Company
In 2004, he started the Creative Whack company. Roger's definition of 'whack' is creativity.
