Jessica DeJong, Managing Director of Design, discusses the tension between chaos and control. She argues that some of the best breakthroughs occur when designers are forced to innovate around constraints. Too many constraints make it difficult to be serendipitous; but too few, and you find a lack of focus to make progress. She suggests maximizing on the following three pillars to fuel creativity:
Inputs
Anything that constrains what gets put into solving a problem. This could be time, money, people, and resources—noting that there is a point of diminishing returns.
Process
Anything that constrains how something gets done. This could include tools, technology, or methodology.
Outputs
Anything that constrains what the final solution looks like.