Your first idea is rarely your best. Exploring multiple possibilities, even "dummy" options, is the key to unlocking innovation. Here’s how to maximize your creativity and elevate your problem-solving skills: reject the trap of settling for your initial thoughts.

It’s easy to dismiss tools like mood boards as “designer speak,” but the truth is, they’ve been indispensable to great thinkers seeking to capture inspiration throughout history.

Design is an inherently optimistic field. We are, after all, trying to make the world a better place. But this optimism can lead to naïveté, and can actually hinder real progress, if left unchecked.

Some of the most creative people I know — from Lin Manuel-Miranda to Whitney Burks — share a common, creative secret: “obscene, ostentatious deadlines.”