This article (a) sketches briefly some systematic aspects of creative work as part of the rationale for the use of the case study method, (b) outlines a spectrum of processes that can be grouped as the 'visionary function,' which includes metaphor and other figures of thought, and (c) illustrates the previous points by examining both Jean Piaget's creative work and his ideas about creative work, drawing on unpublished interviews and other sources. Special attention is given to an example of metaphors and other figures of thought that play important roles in Piaget's thinking. These include the circle of the sciences, nourishment and growth, biology and knowledge, toys, projection, possibilities, incubation, writing as thinking, internal logic, music, morality and structure, adolescent dreamer, ascent, and ascending equilibration.