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How to Spark Creativity in 2025 and Solve Any Kind of Problem

With the quadrant method, innovation is inevitable.

Mike Curtis
The You Design System
8 min readJan 1, 2025

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the problem-solving quadrant
The problem-solving quadrant

I’ve spent over two decades of my career watching great ideas die.

And not because they weren’t brilliant ideas — they often were. But because they missed crucial pieces of the innovation puzzle. A designer might nail the user experience but forget about business scalability. A product manager might have the perfect business case but misunderstand technical limitations. A developer might create an engineering marvel that solves the wrong problem.

But what does it mean to be a problem solver?

Being a problem solver means accounting for the whole picture when others only see fragments, and then knowing what to do with the information. It means understanding that every challenge or problem to solve exists at the intersection of four vital areas:

  • The realities of the business
  • The depth of craft
  • The complexity of human needs
  • The possibilities technology grants us

When these forces align, innovation is inevitable.

The Four Quadrants of Innovation

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The You Design System
The You Design System

Published in The You Design System

Helping businesses & individuals apply their UX skills to how they’re experienced by other people. Mike Curtis, Sr. UX Designer and author of The You Design System, has 21 years of experience in design, UX, marketing, e-commerce & sales.

Mike Curtis
Mike Curtis

Written by Mike Curtis

Senior UX Designer / New articles weekly on design & self-improvement / Helping you design the "UX of You" / 22+ years in design, marketing, & sales.

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