Innovation in Practice Blog
Academic Focus: Drexel University’s MS in Creativity and Innovation
Drexel University has launched a new Master of Science in Creativity and Innovation. The 45 credit graduate program provides a strong foundation in creativity and innovation. There degree requires 33 credits of core courses and 12 credits of electives. From their website:
The Online Master’s in Creativity and Innovation is designed to develop student’s abilities to recognize problematic situations within various settings (e.g., corporate, educational, military, etc.), and generate a sufficient number of plausible, creative and innovative solutions to address them. Students will acquire the skills to conduct a methodical analysis of these creative solutions and devise and implement the best possible solution to problematic situations.
The LAB: Innovating the Treadmill with S.I.T. (May 2011)
In 1817, Sir William Cubitt innovated the treadmill as a method of reforming prison convicts who got out of line. Today, that “torture” continues. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, fifty million Americans use a treadmill. Sales of treadmills are $1 billion annually of the total $4 billion fitness equipment industry. For this month’s LAB, we will use the corporate innovation method, S.I.T., to create new-to-the-world concepts for the ubiquitous treadmill.
S.I.T. works by taking one of five patterns (subtraction, task unification, division, multiplication, and attribute dependency) and applying it to an existing product or service. This morphs it into a “virtual product,” which is an abstract, ambiguous notion with no clear purpose. We then work backwards (Function Follows Form) to find new and useful benefits or markets for the virtual product.
Innovation Sighting: Street Art Without the Paint
Here is a nice example of the Subtraction tool of the corporate innovation method, S.I.T.. Imagine painting a picture without the paint. From PSFK:
From metal to billboards, Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils is regarded for his work across a variety of mediums. However, his “Scratching the Surface” style (which we first noticed here) is particularly remarkable. Using decrepit city walls as his canvas, the artist carved faces from the concrete, unmasking the beauty inherent to even the most neglected spaces. The pictures below are taken from Moscow, London, and all over Italy.
To use Subtraction, start by listing the components of the situation, product, service, process, etc. (The method works with just about anything that can be conceptualized into components). In this case, the innovator (artist) would create a list something like this:
Proto Labs Launches Cool Idea! Award to Support Tomorrow’s Innovators
Proto Labs, the world’s fastest manufacturer of CNC machined and injection-molded parts, has announced the launch of its Cool Idea! award, a new program designed to give product designers the opportunity to bring innovative products to life. Proto Labs will provide $100,000 worth of prototyping and short-run production services to award recipients.
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