If everyone were a genius, what’s the next wrung on the ladder? Marty Neumeier may believe that genius is within everyone’s grasp by following his 46 rules, but he also knows that only a genius (or otherwise bright light) will follow all 46.
The rules to which I refer are a weekly series of insights that began running on the Liquid websiteyesterday and will continue until May. The rules are adapted from Neumeier’s book on business creativity, Metaskills: Five Talents for the Robotic Age. Read the rules here.
The first installment was “Break the rules.” Here’s a sneak peak at next week’s:
Rule #2: Wish for what you want.Wishing is a warm-up sketch for problem solving. When you let your mind wander across the blank page of possibilities, all constraints and preconceptions disappear, leaving only the trace of a barely glimpsed dream, the merest hint of a sketch of an idea. To start wishing, ask yourself the kind of questions that begin:
How might I…?
What’s stopping us from…?
In what ways could I…?
What would happen if…?
From there you can ask follow-up questions like:
Why would we…?
What has changed to allow us to…?
Who would need to…?
When should I…?
At this stage there’s no reason to place limits on your wandering. What’s the can’t-do that you wish were a can-do? The future problem you could start solving now? The half-baked notion you’d like to see a reality? Where is the place where the suddenly possible meets the desperately necessary? Wishing allows you to leave the realm of limitations, if only for a few moments, to imagine a future worth pursuing.
Print’s February IssueDon’t miss the newest issue of Print, the Sex & Design issue. Take a tasteful look at issues surrounding sex and design. Read Steven Heller’s feature article that explore the relationship between sex and advertising through the years and much more.