Scarcity: Mother of Innovation

On May 12th, we had our first ever design week event in our new office in Brooklyn.

While Brazilian treats are always a good way to start conversations, the theme of our event got people eager to learn more and come listen.

The objective of our event Scarcity: Mother of Innovation was to challenge ideas of scarcity and apply different lenses to it. Through different perspectives, the panelists showcased how we can use it as an enabler for creativity and disruptive innovation. The event brought together a crowd of students, professionals and enthusiasts who were eager to interact with the three speakers who came from diverse backgrounds ranging from sustainability, technology and design across schools, communities and corporations.

Some of the lenses that were explored was the scarcity of time, resources and experience. Elisa from Columbia University spoke about how they are exposed to and have access to a lot of resources. One of their biggest challenges as students however is the scarcity of time. However, coupling these two aspects gave rise to their first ever ideation lab or ‘social enterprise hackathon’ where they spent 21 hours trying to come up with solutions to the water and sanitation crisis in Nepal post their 2015 Earthquakes. Claudia on the other hand brought her rich immersion and understanding of the Brazilian communities and favelas around the culture of kite fighting. Harnessing this social activity she was able to collaborate with children and youth alike to introduce technology through smart kites and enable children to truly become makers and collaborators. Here the lack of experience or exposure actually got the kids more excited to learn and create new things more creatively. Finally when we move from the construct of an individual or community to a corporation or business, things get very different. Decision making is more strategic as the kind of scarcity they have to deal with is usually that of resources. In these instances, they are actually forced to make more from less. Léo from Questto|No spoke about a popular project the company worked on for Natura Sou. It was one such example of how the creative process can enable companies to create a sustainable design system that will prove beneficial to them but also create a positive impact and empower the consumer.

“My favourite part of Questto|no’s event was being able to observe the thoughts of the designers and better understand their process. I was inspired by their ability to take unique perspectives and use it to assess and solve unique, complex issues. Sometimes projects manifest themselves in physical products, and sometimes it’s more conceptual. As designers we are experts at everything and nothing, and I’m really inspired by the process of figuring it all out.” - One student said.

While the discussion was opened up to the audience, the speakers enjoyed being challenged with smart questions from an interesting crowd. I think the most important takeaway for me is that people have for eons innovated their way out of scarcity. The way to go about personalising that journey is to use these tools to solve problems in our immediate environments. These lenses are specially crucial as they will help us truly create a frugal, flexible and inclusive approach to any problem that we face in our lives and at work. It is the fast expanding idea of ‘ Jugaad’ in India or ‘Gambiarra’ in Brazil that is being incorporated by some of the biggest companies into their innovation processes for this very reason. Scarcity will always be a key driver.

Anjali Chandrashekar
Innovation and Design