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Photo credit: Ricardo Liberato

We need right-brain creativity paired with left-brain analysis  if we are to innovate in turbulent times. This is the conclusion reached in a recent Harvard Business Review article where  companies that are structured to support left-brain/right-brain partnerships sustain creative breakthroughs year in and year out.

The idea of bringing together opposites, or at least merging disparate disciplines in order to realize innovation, has my juices flowing. Take for example, the emerging field of biomimicry. Biomimicry is a discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. This is design thinking at its best, where “thinking outside of the box” yields real business breakthroughs. In her TED Talk, Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first.

Along with biomimicry, I’ve recently become quite enamored with the steampunk movement. Steampunk can best be described as Victorian style combined with fictional technology, and while it is true that this fantasy genre is more fiction than science, steampunk is an interesting concept where the lines between art (right-brain) and engineering (left-brain) have blurred in order to realize a better future through technology.

I’m sure there are better examples of multi-disciplinary design and partnerships between creatives and analysts. But the examples of biomimicry and steampunk design really resonate with me. I’ll continue to look for seemingly unrelated disciplines that have merged to drive innovation.

Does your organization have creative individuals paired-up with analytical types? Is design thinking the new buzz word du jour, or are designers now  tackling intangible strategic issues to help drive innovation? Love to hear your thoughts.

I’m completely fascinated by the Utilikilt. Besides being quite comfortable (I own three), I’m less interested in their fashion-forward appeal and rugged, everyday riff on traditional Scottish garb, than I am in how these male un-bifurcated garments have become a growing social phenomenon, inspiring debate, creating a common symbolism among its wearers, and who’s growth has been primarily promoted through their rabid fan base (Note: You will not find a picture of me in a Utilikilt anywhere on this site, so you can stop looking now).

The Seattle-based Utilikilt Company, and its “alternatives to trousers”, is a unique study in product innovation and customer loyalty. Men’s skirts, despite their association with Mel Gibson’s Braveheart, would not be considered innovative nor widely accepted in today’s fashion world. Commonly found at traditional wedding ceremonies or Highland Games, Steven Villegas and Megan Haas have successfully re-invented the traditional dress of Scottish men and boys, and introduced a functional piece of apparel with a cult following.

Through a blend of cultural cool and blue-collar machismo, Utilikilts have taken something old, and made it new again. They’ve built a community of loyal fans (not just customers), and they have found success promoting the traditional as alternative.

I admit, I love my Utilikilts. Nothing beats “the breeze between the knees”. Sporting my camouflage Original, Workmans, or Survivalist, I wonder about other examples of re-engineered products where “form follows function”. Do these examples also have cult followings, or do customers predominate? What does it take to build or modify an original for the next generation of users?