Orla Brennan
Creative Thinking Researcher · Solventa
Orla studies how people generate and evaluate ideas under constraints — not as a philosophical exercise, but as a practical skill that can be taught. Her work draws on cognitive psychology and field research with design teams, educators, and independent practitioners.
How the Work Gets Done
Each guide on Solventa follows a consistent research-to-practice sequence — from identifying a real cognitive obstacle to testing a concrete technique against it.
Identifying a specific thinking obstacle — not a vague creative block, but a named, recurring pattern.
Reviewing existing methods from cognitive science, design practice, and structured problem-solving literature.
Applying techniques in real sessions with practitioners — noting where they work, where they stall, and why.
Distilling findings into step-by-step instructions that a reader can apply without prior training.
Background and Focus
Orla began researching creativity not as an innate talent but as a set of learnable cognitive habits. Her early work examined why some people generate more useful ideas under time pressure — and what distinguishes their approach from those who freeze.
Since founding Solventa in 2015, she has focused on translating academic findings into guides that practitioners can use without a research background. The emphasis is always on technique over theory.
The most useful creative thinking tools are rarely the most complex — they are the ones that interrupt habitual reasoning at the right moment.
