The image on the right is “noisy” because the photographer used a higher ISO, permitting the camera to interpret too much information as valid. Innovation as a Camera: Part 1 By Greg Cobb, ITG Facilitator Photography is the art of taking billions of scattered photons and creating an ordered image that tells a story, evokes emotion—or is just plain pleasing to the eye. In the same way, idea generation at Ideas To Go is the high energy art of taking the chaotic cloud of ideas in any organization, and refining them into a strategy with a clear purpose and feasible next steps. Over the next few posts we’ll delve into this photography-inspired metaphor as a practical and helpful way to think about the innovation process. ISO—What’s noise? The International Organization for Standardization (or ISO) provides the standards used to represent film speed—or the equivalent sensitivity of a digital camera’s sensor. The term hails from the days of film when the chemical composition of the film determined how much light was absorbed during the exposure. In today’s digital camera, this setting allows the photographer to decide how much of the light absorbed by the camera’s sensor should be kept as the picture, and how much should be dismissed as noise. Lower ISO settings produce clearer images by filtering out unwanted light and electromagnetic interference, but require longer shutter times—requiring that the camera be completely still, and wreaking havoc with the focus if the camera is not on a tripod. Higher ISO settings will perform better in low light, but are more susceptible to noise caused by the electromagnetic radiation produced by the camera itself—resulting in tiny specs of color and a grainy appearance. A low ISO will help the photographer capture very fine detail, while a high ISO will help the photographer capture a scene in difficult conditions. Application: Objectives and Project Purpose Deciding what counts as quality input—and what to filter out as noise—is the first step in ordering the chaos. It’s important to set these standards early on, so that the end product not only captures the fine details, but does so before the whole image goes out-of-focus. At Ideas To Go, our initial conversations with clients are designed to identify clear objectives, while creating a project purpose—which acts as the framework and filter for all of the remaining work to be done. These objectives not only set guidelines for the client team, but also apply to idea generation, target area identification, idea selection, concept development and refinement. These objectives provide the basis for well-aligned decision-making—creating a mutually agreed-upon list of criteria with which to judge, without being so restrictive as to throttle creativity. Additionally, the project purpose serves as an effective filter for outside input—in our case Creative Consumers® associates—providing a structure for ideation that allows them to stretch while staying aware of the project’s limits.

The image on the right is “noisy” because the photographer used a higher ISO, permitting the camera to interpret too much information as valid.

Innovation as a Camera: Part 1

By Greg Cobb, ITG Facilitator

Photography is the art of taking billions of scattered photons and creating an ordered image that tells a story, evokes emotion—or is just plain pleasing to the eye. In the same way, idea generation at Ideas To Go is the high energy art of taking the chaotic cloud of ideas in any organization, and refining them into a strategy with a clear purpose and feasible next steps. Over the next few posts we’ll delve into this photography-inspired metaphor as a practical and helpful way to think about the innovation process.

ISO—What’s noise?

The International Organization for Standardization (or ISO) provides the standards used to represent film speed—or the equivalent sensitivity of a digital camera’s sensor. The term hails from the days of film when the chemical composition of the film determined how much light was absorbed during the exposure.

In today’s digital camera, this setting allows the photographer to decide how much of the light absorbed by the camera’s sensor should be kept as the picture, and how much should be dismissed as noise. Lower ISO settings produce clearer images by filtering out unwanted light and electromagnetic interference, but require longer shutter times—requiring that the camera be completely still, and wreaking havoc with the focus if the camera is not on a tripod. Higher ISO settings will perform better in low light, but are more susceptible to noise caused by the electromagnetic radiation produced by the camera itself—resulting in tiny specs of color and a grainy appearance. A low ISO will help the photographer capture very fine detail, while a high ISO will help the photographer capture a scene in difficult conditions.

Application: Objectives and Project Purpose

Deciding what counts as quality input—and what to filter out as noise—is the first step in ordering the chaos. It’s important to set these standards early on, so that the end product not only captures the fine details, but does so before the whole image goes out-of-focus.

At Ideas To Go, our initial conversations with clients are designed to identify clear objectives, while creating a project purpose—which acts as the framework and filter for all of the remaining work to be done. These objectives not only set guidelines for the client team, but also apply to idea generation, target area identification, idea selection, concept development and refinement. These objectives provide the basis for well-aligned decision-making—creating a mutually agreed-upon list of criteria with which to judge, without being so restrictive as to throttle creativity. Additionally, the project purpose serves as an effective filter for outside input—in our case Creative Consumers® associates—providing a structure for ideation that allows them to stretch while staying aware of the project’s limits.

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