During the lecture with Haibo Li he talked about how to come up with an idea. A great idea starts with problem solving and an excellent solution. His suggestion was that you first have to define the problem you're about to solve. Without a carefully prepared definition it's difficult to come up with the ideal solution. When you have the definition you have to think of a realistic solution, there may be others that are more creative but if you can't realize them, there might not exist a solution in the end.
Realistic might sound boring, and sometimes I think it might stop people from realizing ideas and therefore block the creativity. I agree that you have to be somewhat realistic but you also have to think outside the box. An idea could sound crazy in the beginning but when you start breaking it down in smaller pieces it might be realistic, when you have the problem clearly presented in front of you. Li said during his lecture that to come with the best solution you should spend 90% of your effort in defining the problem and the remaining 10% in actually solving the problem. The definition is the foundation which supports the idea.
Designing for users, demands a realistic approach but also creative, innovative ideas. In the end you have to catch the attention of the users and there's where the creative, crazy ideas make their entrance. So what I really learn during this week's theme was that I have to focus on defining the problem and think realistic but also outside the box, it's not easy but it's doable. If you don't think it through, you will fail.
Innovative ideas are mostly successful but as Haibo showed us in the lecture an idea does not need to be innovative to be successful.
SvaraRaderaFor instance Zuckenberg defined Facebook a new idea based on a old platform, the most famous social media is nothing more than what Myspace was in terms of technology, he just managed to make it look more compelling and in some way addictive.
Hi. The thought of having a great but yet realistic idea can make one feel locked up and stuck, so I really agree with you that it blocks people from getting into action and realize their ideas. The ideas might feel "too boring", "too unrealistic", "too similar", etc. So an advice should be to screw such criticism and "just do it", as Haibo Li also said, and see where that leads you! Also as Matteo said in his comment, Facebook is an example. Although there were similar social media platforms out there already, somehow it still managed to appeal the masses.
SvaraRaderaAnother thing I want to say is about what Li said, regarding 90% vs 10%. You wrote that 90% is for defining the problem while 10% is for solving it. I don't know if it's just me misunderstanding him then, because as I understood he actually said the opposite?