Subscribe to FeedAshworth Graphic Design Instructor, Michael R. Nelson, Discusses The Politics Of Innovation…
I recently attended the Georgia Chapter PDMA Summit 2008 that discussed the Politics of Innovation. It was fantastically practical with great speakers. You can download their presentations by clicking here. My favorite speaker was David Owens, Professor of Management at Vanderbilt University and former CEO of Griffin Technology. He had the great thesis that “creative people must be stopped” and he fought against “thinking outside the box”. My hope is that he will one day be able to erase that cliche from the face of the earth. What David Owens is getting at in terms of product development is that thinking outside the box make no sense because the constraints of “the box” are good constraints can be agreed upon, measured, offer focus, and constraints drive adoption.
Designers fight back with constraints because by the time you design a product that fits all the constraints you end up with a puny idea that is not all that interesting. David Owens then jumps in with what he considers the drive to innovation. Owens says that innovation doesn’t come from coming up with wacky ideas outside of constraints, he instead encourages designers to find ways to expand your constraints. When your constraints are broader, your ideas have more room to grow (see his diagram above).
Michael R. Nelson
Creator Of The Ideation Phase
Ashworth Graphic Design Instructor
