In his book, “Idea Spotting,” Sam Harrison suggests that one of the strategies for coming up with new ideas is to look to the past for inspiration. He cites the example of a group of architects that used themes and patterns from New York’s old garment district when designing an award-winning restaurant. For another restaurant, they drew on the look of 1930’s municipal buildings, featuring restroom doors with mail slots and menus made from government forms. As the song goes, “Everything old is new again,” and sometimes it’s more useful to harvest the past than to try to stay ahead of the latest trend.
In your arena of interest, what are some now-forgotten products, designs, or ideas that you might be able to revive in a new form? For example, a few posts below this one, I mention how Penguin is issuing a novel in parts, similar to how writers used to release their stories in sections in magazines like The Strand.
(Every month I send out a Brainstorm e-bulletin with five items like this plus an inspirational quote. There's on charge, and you can sign up easily at www.timetowrite.com--naturally, we never share or sell our mailing list.)
