Today, we celebrate that Albiral Display Solutions has been granted with 33 patents and utility models validated in several countries. This is an important figure for a small company like ours: we have one innovation per worker!
Creativity is the mother of invention and it isn’t about being the first or the only person to think of an idea but about connecting ideas. And although its process can work in different ways, these are the basic common steps: preparation, incubation, illumination and implementation.
The truth is that ideas don’t arise in an intellectual vacuum. If we want our brains to come up with innovative concepts, with need to feed them with materials to work with; we need to gather information, we need to immerse ourselves in the subject and we need to prepare an environment where ideas can grow. This information might come from talking to customers, from visiting exhibitions, from talking to colleagues, from exploring what other manufacturers and partners are doing. We need to identify a need and to be curious about how to solve it. It is the time to research, talk and brainstorm.
The incubation step is really important and it usually works on a subconscious level. It is the time to examine what we have learned by looking at the facts from different angles and experimenting by fitting various ideas together. We need to synthesize and to start constructing a creation and we might even have to walk away from our ideas and do something else: take a walk, read a book, listen to music, do other productive things, to be able to come back later with a fresher mind.
The illumination is the scientific name for that classic “aha!” moment. You are like: “Oh my God! That´s the idea! The obscure thing becomes clear. And it happens that this moment arrives unexpectedly. Suddenly, we see clearly how the product should look like! The unfortunate thing about illumination is that it often hits at the most inconvenient time: in the middle of an important meeting, in the middle of a presentation, while walking, driving or even in the shower. The implementation is when we begin the process of transforming thoughts into final products; the idea sees the light of the day. For creativity to reach the market we need to think about the users and craft our message or idea; we need to verify if our solution is satisfactory and if not, go back to the beginning.
