Evolutionary Ideas

In this study, Johns Hopkins researchers tested the PullClean at a ward in Baltimore, finding that hand hygiene compliance increased from 25% to 77%. By making sanitation a defaulted and more automatic behaviour, instead of expecting people to go out of their way, their design builds the assumption – the default – that every time you open a door, y

To support the mechanisation of mail in the 1950s, the UK needed a postal coding system that could not only divide the country into small areas but also be read by a computer and understood by a postman, all the while allowing a maximum number of permutations. As easy as that.

However, in this book, rather than being inspired by evolved biological solutions, our focus is on how innovation can be accelerated by better understanding our evolved psychological solutions.

For humans, as it seems with bees, the clearer the cue, the lighter the cognitive load, the easier and faster it is for us to decide.

In total, the TRIZ methodology recognises that there are 40 inventive principles that can be drawn upon to inspire innovation.

Although I can’t recall my order ever being placed in advance (I always seemed to order again at the counter!), the fact I had a coffee cup lid in my hand committed me to the transaction.

This isn’t an accident or coincidence but a result of a carefully designed postcode system, with an appreciation of our evolved psychology at its core.

take them to the bank, every cheque was hand signed by Oasis frontmen Liam and Noel Gallagher. With pen and ink alone, the band saved themselves a fortune.

We increased perceptions of value without changing the price.