Blank page syndrome is real. It\u2019s daunting to make something from nothing.<\/p>\n
Luckily, we\u2019re hardwired to take on a challenge\u2014we take pleasure in solving puzzles. Limitations harness our highly-evolved problem solving and logic skills alongside our imagination and survival instincts. They give our tools a purpose. Just look around\u2014we\u2019re often at our creative best when we\u2019re solving problems. In some places, this happens with little fanfare. In India, cheap, quick fixes for everyday problems are called Jugaad, a Hindi term for clever improvised solutions. Think a broken car door handle replaced with a fork, a two-liter bottle cut in half as a planter or a milk crate converted to a kid\u2019s bicycle seat\u2014lifehacks India-style. Websites collect amazing Jugaad. There\u2019s even a documentary film, \u201cSupermen of Malegaon,\u201d about making a blockbuster superhero movie with improvised everything, including a homemade green screen on the street for shooting special effects. Today, global companies look to Jugaad\u2019s frugality and flexibility as inspiration for innovation.<\/p>\n
Limitations harness our highly-evolved problem solving and logic skills alongside our imagination and survival instincts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In outer space, there\u2019s no hardware store, so ingenuity is a must. NASA astronauts have duct-taped a broken lunar rover fender and repaired a stuck power module on a space walk with a modified toothbrush. In 1973, NASA whipped up a solar sunshade overnight on earth to send up the next day with astronauts to repair SkyLab. What can businesses learn from this kind of agility?<\/p>\n
Constraints can feed creativity \u2014 literally as well as figuratively. An unlikely mecca of \u201clocavore\u201d cuisine (which encourages us to eat what\u2019s grown closer to home) emerged in Copenhagen, Denmark. Noma, a local restaurant, developed a menu based on geography, featuring delicacies created from foraged and indigenous ingredients sourced mainly from the wilds of Norway\u2014 scurvy grass, samphire, beach beets, arrowgrass\u2014some not unlike what Vikings ate. With unusual flavors like smoked bone marrow, wood ants and sea cucumber\u2014plus trusty local fish, Noma set the culinary world on fire.<\/p>\n
Artists and designers see the benefits of limitations\u2014even self- imposed. Economic constraints can lead to creative problem solving and ingenious ideas. In a quest for record sales, Motown Records used an in-house band and team of songwriters on its singles and recorded them upstairs from its offices\u2014all for efficiency and quality control. Its inventive engineers maxed out the possibilities for analog technology on complex recordings. The result? An unmistakable signature sound.<\/p>\n
Punk rockers exploited the cheap and available medium of Xerox art and collage for their handbills, even record sleeve designs, resulting in an organic visual expression of its DIY ethic. It\u2019s still influential today.<\/p>\n
When architect Richard Meier refers to each limitation as an \u201copportunity,\u201d he\u2019s onto something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Constraints and workarounds are a fact of life. They can be irritating, but often they lead to creative problem-solving and ingenious ideas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12492,"featured_media":9029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"topic":[14324],"class_list":["post-9027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","industry-workplace","topic-culture-talent"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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