Paint + Pipette
A blog on the art & science of creative action.
Commission A Personal AI Project
Many organizations are asking their people the wrong question: “What can GenAI do for our business?” This is the wrong question because most employees don’t even know what GenAI can do, period! Here’s a cheat code to help your people understand its potential.
Block Daydream Days
Innovators ranging from Lin-Manuel Miranda to Jeff Bezos wielded down time as a deliberate strategy. For all our connectedness, being unplugged has never been more important.
Appreciate Feeling Stuck
For all the ink that’s been spilled on overcoming creative blocks, we often neglect an important reality: getting stuck is essential to breaking through! Let’s stop to appreciate the feeling…
Design A Hypothesis
A good hypothesis is one of the most valuable assets in the scientific world. And they’re getting harder to come by. Luckily, this is where design thinking shines.
Embrace Constraints
If necessity is the mother of invention, then constraints are invention’s crazy uncle. Stories as varied as the origins of Wikipedia, Dyson Vacuums, and the ice industry illuminate.
Form A Hypothesis
A good hypothesis is one of the most valuable assets in the scientific world, and they’re only getting more valuable. The question is, how to form them? This is where design thinking shines.
Take Things Apart
If connection is the basis of creativity, anyone who wants to be more creative should ask: what fuels new connections? Michael Dell’s early experiments give us a glimpse at a very unexpected answer…
Be Skeptical
Design is an optimistic pursuit. But can lead to naïveté, if left unchecked. What most designers need is a healthy dose of skepticism to compliment the optimism with which they approach their efforts.
Hack A Creative Calendar
One of the most insidious restraining forces inhibiting professionals creativity is the incessant sequence of back-to-back-to-back meetings throughout the day. The most productive innovators wield their calendar as a weapon that enhances their practice, rather than be a victim of their schedule. So how to structure one’s time differently?
Expect The Unexpected
One of the most surprising things about discovery is how easily overlooked some breakthroughs are. When Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, it was nothing more than an absent-minded, off-handed comment during an after-hours diversion.