Here is an excerpt from an article written by Marty Neumeier for the Liquid Agency website. In it, Marty explains why and how, in an age of nonstop innovation, companies and individuals with original ideas have a distinct advantage over those who don’t. Why? Because original ideas are at the heart of innovation, differentiation, and brand transformation. The Originality Scale is a simple way to categorize your ideas according to the knowledge and imagination that informs them.

To read the complete article, please click here.

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Depending on the quality of knowledge and the level of imagination applied to it, an idea can fall into four categories, listed from the least to the most original: 1) an idea adapted from the same domain; 2) an idea adapted from a different domain; 3) an idea that is new to its creator; 4) an idea that is new to the world.

If you apply a small amount of imagination to a small amount of knowledge, you can achieve a small amount of originality by simply adapting an idea from the domain you’re working in. For example, you might “steal” an idea from a competitor, making just enough modifications to create a minimum of difference. This is how most of us learn our professions. We stand on the shoulders of more experienced practitioners.

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To read the complete article, please click here.

Marty Neumeier is a designer, writer, and business adviser whose mission is to bring the principles and processes of creativity to industry. His latest book, METASKILLS, explores the five essential talents that will drive innovation in the 21st century. His previous series of “whiteboard” books includes THE DESIGNFUL COMPANY, about the role of design in corporate innovation; ZAG, named one of the “top hundred business books of all time” for its insights into radical differentiation; and THE BRAND GAP, considered by many the foundational text for modern brand-building. He has worked closely with innovators at Apple, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, HP, Adobe, Google, and Microsoft to advance their brands and cultures. Today he serves as Director of Transformation for Liquid Agency, and travels extensively as a workshop leader and speaker on the topics of innovation, brand, and design. Between trips, he and his wife spend their time in California and southwest France.