It’s well known that some of the greatest innovations occur when two seemingly different domains join together to spawn something entirely new. There is a great article here discussing the role of metaphor and analogy in creative design.
Unfortunately, sometimes those different domains don’t lead to anything particularly special – the various domains crash together and the end result is a tangled, interwoven combination. Nothing new gets created. What does get created is what I call, Fauxnnovation...
I attended the Chicago Flower and Garden Show last week. The theme for this years show was, “The Sport of Gardening.” It was clear that the theme paid homage to Chicago professional sports teams, especially to the Stanley Cup champion, Chicago Blackhawks. You would think that the clash of the sports domain with the gardening domain would lead to some really creative, innovative displays. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. Instead, the majority of the displays were actually stellar examples of fauxnnovation.
The best (worst?) case is pictured below.
Seriously?
Two tablecloths? Plastering the walls with hockey cards and pennants? Flowers in traditional settings?
This arrangement SCREAMS fauxnnovation. There is no creation of Read the rest of this entry »
