The Inventive Thinking Project is all about taking the time to reflect on the process of creativity.  Mirror Tic Tac Toe is therefore the perfect symbol of both the premise, and the purpose of this site.  Oh, and it’s a nice take on Attribute Dependency, Division and Task Unification.

(via DVICE)

Inventive thinking may not save your business, but it will always make a statement.  Check out this clever moment of Subtraction from Restaurant Florent;

(via Gawker)

The novelty of the square watermelon is of course, an Attribute Dependency change.  The story behind the square watermelon is just as interesting;

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their  US counterparts and therefore don’t have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach.  ”If the supermarkets want a space efficient watermelon,”  they asked themselves, “How can we provide one?” It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn’t nearly as difficult to solve for those who didn’t assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box.

Read more about the lessons of the square watermelon at Hard Knox Life.  Or, learn how to grow them yourself here.  We don’t suggest trying to buy one, as they cost about 10,000 yen ($90).

Most layman’s knowlegde of the facial tissue industry begins and ends with how the Kleenex brand literally redefined the tissue (i.e. people ask for a Kleenex).  Well, Kleenex better watch out for Daishowa, a Japanese brand overturning color conventions by offering black tissues.

Clearly, a case of Attribute Dependency change, but why?  According to the Japan Trend Shop;

Black is back in Japan, with everyday household items and health goods taking on a darker tone to show casual luxury and sophistication.

We admit, these tissues do look pretty sleek.  Plus, the color black certainly suits American cultural associations between tissues, mourning, and funeral attire.  Kleenex is currently running a “Let It Out” campaign, can black tissues for American consumers be far behind?

It’s interesting that when an Attribute Dependency crosses international borders, the meaning of the Attribute change can well, change, but it can still produce a meaningful innovation in the end.

The Hands-Free Umbrella is a great idea, not to mention a great example of Subtraction.  It’s also kind of interesting to note that it’s invention was preceded by the need for a hands-free mobile phone. Legislation can speed up the process of Inventive Thinking, but that even a 4,000 year old product can be improved by applying one of the Five Patterns.

(via swissmiss)

Musical Furnishings might seem cheesy at first, particularly since this Task Unification seems to be targeted towards adults.  On second thought, is the “Musical Rumba Series” (pictured below) really all that different from Microsoft Surface?  Aside from the fact that you can actually eat off of this table.

(via Coudal)

The informing premise behind our framework for Inventive Thinking is that it’s much easier to come up with new ideas within the confines of Five Thinking Patterns.  Limitless brainstorming is rarely successful.

A real world example of this premise, and the pattern of Task Unification is the ironing ladder, available from Tiny Living.  Anyone who has lived in a pint sized apartment knows that the confines of four close walls almost forces the issue of creativity when it comes to arranging furniture.  The ironing ladder combines two functional products in a space saving format ideal for living of any size.

T-shirt design, though creative in scope, is a surprisingly systematic enterprise when it comes to seeking source material. This process is best described as a type of Attribute Dependency, whereby designers rely on trends in advertising to inform new fashion trends for mass consumption.

As the ad industry’s preoccupation with facts, figures, and numbers becomes more even more severe, t-shirt designers are wont to keep pace with their Madison Avenue counterparts using sophisticated measurements. No longer will it suffice to be a walking advertisement in faux retro branded cotton apparel; all the cool kids are walking statistics.

There is really no other explanation for StatAttak (a StolenShirts SubBrand). Each design makes some manner of pointed social commentary, typically using an alarming statistic about life in an African nation as a metric. Of course, like all good t-shirts, these designs are not without an element of irony; they are printed on American Apparel products. There’s no better way to make a statement about poverty in Zambia than by wearing a $25 t-shirt.

(via How About Orange)

Nothing is as entertaining as a witty quip, or scholarly quotation sampled from a dense, wordy work of literature. That’s what makes the Reclam Literature Döner (yes, as in döner kebab so inventive, and such a clever instance of Division.

Similar in principle to the tag cloud, a flash animated cylinder of key literary terms and themes rotates at an eerily realistic, if not hypnotic rate. Clicking on any of the keywords will reveal a quote “fresh from the skewer,” which can be added to your personal Döner, or in other words (no pun intended) to your personal quote library.

The Reclam publishing company has a history of producing literary masterpieces in smaller, more “digestable” samples. Some 140 years ago, Reclam was known for publishing pamphlet versions of multi-volume works, and has managed to remain on the cutting edge “[w]ith an interactive idea that appeals to the generation YouTube, for which even the small books are too wordy, too classical, and too one-dimensional.”

Reclam even makes reading Virgil, or Gunther a social experience; you can recommend your favorite quotes to friends. The only thing missing is an Attribute Dependency change for the English speaking world; those whose German is not up to par will have some difficulty with the Döner. (via Coudal)

The engineers and designers at Delta airlines must have finally taken their first long flight in Economy Class. There’s simply no other way to explain the belated flash of inspiration behind the “Cozy Suite” seats, soon to be installed in Boeing 777’s and 767’s.

A major attribute of the air travel experience, for those “fortunate” enough to snag a window seat, is resting against an unforgiving vertical surface in the vain hope of passing out for the duration of the flight. It’s an easily observable phenomenon, and particularly memorable when some poor soul sitting in an aisle seat tries to take an in-flight nap, only to end up with self-induced whiplash.

Finally, after 80 years of commercial air travel, the Cozy Suite seat enhances the possibility for some shut eye on the red eye by “creating a space for weary travelers to rest their heads.” All it took was a “contoured shoulder area specifically profiled for sleeping,” and a staggered aisle layout, the best Attribute Dependency change at 42,000 ft in the history of aviation.

(via Gizmodo)