Great ideas can also be found inside the box!

How do you solve your problems? Where do you find ideas for these solutions?

Great ideas and solutions don't come from thinking outside the box. They come from thinking inside the box.

To illustrate this point, here is a little bit of design history. In 1942, the president of American Tobacco Company was looking to increase the sales of Lucky Strike cigarettes. He challenged a young designer, Raymond Loewy, to come up with a solution that would do just that. The reward: $50,000 (and that was in 1942!). Mr Loewy not only succeeded, but his solution survives to this day, practically unchanged. First, he stripped the package of its green background. Then he repeated the recognizable red target on both sides of the package. This "simple" solution had three benefits. It lowered printing costs by eliminating the green. It increased the contrast of the target, improving brand recognition. And finally, it doubled each pack's advertising potential. If the pack was thrown out on the street, the brand would always be visible. It would stand out from the greyish concrete and asphalt surroundings.

At MachalekDessign, we like to think inside the box. We believe that a problem often defines the solution. Understanding a problem often becomes a solution. Being creative isn't about looking elsewhere for solutions. Being creative is looking elsewhere for inspiration to further enhance a solution. That is different, because it isn't possible to enhance an unknown problem.

Is your designer finding real solution to your problems? Or is she just selling you what is popular or what others have done? Does she really understand your unique problems and challenges? Ask her.