Thoughts

Reflections on design, business, and culture

Examining Intersections and Innovation

 
 

Recently, my work travels brought me to Amsterdam. As a first-time visitor and designer, I couldn't think of a better place to find myself. I've long loved the Netherlands and its rich design heritage and was insanely curious to experience it firsthand.

Working around the day's meetings and workshops, I took every opportunity (early mornings and late nights) to experience as much of the city and culture as possible. And everything was just as picturesque as I had imagined. Aside from the beauty of the canals, row homes, and touches of design all throughout, the street intersections caught my attention. I know, this feels like the start of a 99% Invisible, piece…but hear me out.

As I found myself exploring the world's bicycle capital, I saw how the city had intentionally designed its intersections to provide cyclists and everyone, no matter which mode of transportation they chose, more safety. If you'd like to learn more about protected intersections, look at some of the design decisions in this short TikTok video.

The protected intersection's purpose is to reduce the possibility of collisions—and they do so masterfully. But, in design and innovation work, it's beneficial to encourage collisions at intersections. Innovation is all about combining two or more things and developing something new. This could be broad, such as fields of study/work, disciplines, or cultures. Or it could be more focused: say the feasibility, viability, and desirability of a specific solution. Either way, the intersections are where innovation happens.

The trouble is people or groups tend to develop expected solutions to problems, fall victim to paralysis by analysis, or lack imagination. If you find yourself coming up with the same idea, or your team suffers from groupthink, I have a tool to help expand your thinking. It's called the Creative Matrix.

What is it?

If you haven't ever used one, it's pretty simple. It's a standard grid/matrix. Along each X and Y axes, you note different variables; where those X and Y axes intersect at a specific cell, you note an idea that combines the two. By intentionally intersecting two unexpected variables together, you generate more innovative ideas.

So, for example, let's say you're a downtown restaurant owner that serves traditional, plated Italian food. And while customers rave about your dinners, hardly anyone stops by for lunch because it's not portable enough for busy people on the go. So, one problem you may choose to solve is developing new ideas to make your dishes more transportable. On the X-axis, you would list the various types of portability (on a stick, in a wrap, in a box, make it bite-sized, in a cone, in a pouch, cup-holder friendly, one-handed use, etc.), and on the Y-axis you would list your top five dishes—let's say lasagna is your top spot. What ideas can you come up with that combine lasagna and on a stick? Or how might you make bite-sized lasagna? By intersecting these two variables together, you're forced to think outside the box about how the food is prepared, packaged, and consumed, which is different than what you do today.

Because it's straightforward, it's a great tool to use with a cross-disciplinary set of people. No one is intimidated by the structure or feels they must learn something to contribute. They mix X with Y and see what new ideas emerge. And because you can submit multiple ideas per cell, you can generate multiple solutions reasonably quickly.

When should you use it?

Regarding the process, I'd place it within the stage where you've identified the problem, and you're beginning to identify solutions. You don't want to do it before the problem has been defined; otherwise, you'll be developing solutions for something far too ambiguous/widely scoped, and you won't be able to focus appropriately. Innovation does need some constraint after all. Alternatively, you don’t want to wait too long and try it once you've begun developing one or more solutions. In that case, you might have already invested too many resources to have the company agree to hitting reset, stopping plans, and going backward in your process. Ideally, the output of this exercise, and the more significant phase of work it sits within, should be a set of prioritized ideas to take to a prototyping stage.

Tips for a successful Creative Matrix session

  • Write a problem statement you’re looking to develop solutions for. This could be phased as a “How Might We…” question.

  • For the sake of time, it's best to keep the matrix no larger than a 10x10 grid.

  • Don't forget plenty of writing utensils and post-it notes, or instructions for the online tool of choice.

  • Spend no more than 10-15 minutes generating ideas. (It's best to keep the time short enough, so people don't overly edit their ideas—the point here is to embrace divergent thinking, not convergent.)

  • Once the time is up, allow everyone time to share their ideas.

  • This activity is about collaboration, not competition. Avoid killing ideas prematurely by avoiding comments like, "that'll never work," "that is a terrible idea," or "we've done that before..."

  • If you have more than one great idea, great! Prioritize them via dot voting before moving to prototype.

  • This doesn’t have to be a one-and-done exercise. Feel free to revisit as necessary to generate additional ideas.

A Creative Matrix helps you generate many ideas quickly, avoid wasted time ideating in circles, or stop developing slightly different versions of the same idea again and again. And, by thinking and working more innovatively early in the process, in the end, you're able to give your customers something far more unique than the status quo they might expect from you or your competitors.

If you are stuck trying to develop a new idea, feel free to try this exercise and let me know what you think.