There's no such thing as a truly original idea.
I don't know who said it first, but it's something I really believe! I've found a fascinating book by creativity expert David Kord Murray that takes that saying to the outer limits.
I'm kicking off a series of posts on the impact of design in our world, and this line of thought looked like a good place to start.
"Borrowing Brilliance" will challenge you as it examines the evolution of a creative idea. It also offers practical advice, taking the reader step-by-step through Murry's unique thought process. Here are the six steps:
- Defining - define the problem you're trying to solve
- Borrowing - Borrow ideas from places with a similar problem
- Combining - Connect and combine these borrowed ideas
- Incubating - Allow the combinations to incubate into a solution
- Judging - Identify the strength and weakness of the solution
- Enhancing - Eliminate the weak points while enhancing the strong ones
Read a quick summary of the six steps here. You can also get more information at this website. But don't stop there - by all means pick up a copy of the book and explore it deeper - and you will find yourself looking at creativity in a whole new light.
Got a challenge staring you in the face, and looking for a solution. Why not follow the steps above by "borrowing some brilliance" and formulate your own unique solution?
