Why "Thinking Outside the Box" Isn't Enough

✨🪐 THE MAIN POINT

Why just think outside the box, when we can reshape it?

You’ve probably seen this tagline already and I come back to it here because so much about what the vision for The Dreamers is, and what a Dreamer is by definition, is rooted in this simple question.

For a long time we've used "thinking outside the box" as the ultimate approach to problem-solving, innovation, creativity. But to me this mindset is inherently flawed because it assumes that the box itself— in this general case the conventional wisdom, the established models, etc —that we are working with or around are fundamentally correct, unchangeable, or sacred.

But what happens if the box is where the problem starts?

What if the box itself needs to be rethought?

Shouldn’t we think ABOUT the box, before trying to think outside of it?

Why is the box untouchable?

The “think creatively, but not about the box” approach just isn’t enough anymore to help us solve big problems in the quickly changing world, culture, and creative industries we work in. More often than not, the box that once did a fine job is no longer the box that is needed.

Metaphorically, the box can represent many things— you can decide what this means for you. In the context of The Dreamers, the box is “the way it’s always been done”, regardless of industry.

THE DREAMERS DNA

A Dreamer is someone who questions the box before accepting it as flawless. This is inherent — we think about whether we understand the root problem before we start trying to solve it. We poke at it, ask why it was built this way to begin with, and if it still makes sense. If the box is part of the problem, we keep poking to see beyond the limited solutions its current state delivers. If the box can’t be changed, we try to build another one that does what we need or want it to.

In other words, we pursue our dream, idea, or vision and create, test, and prove new models for creation, success, and collective progress instead of accepting the box that no longer works and spinning our wheels to make it so. We might not know we’re doing this, but in the process of solving the “real” problem we break the box. And inadvertently, the mold in regard to what’s possible for our (and others’) industry, business, and lives.

There are many characteristics that make someone a Dreamer, but this one is really important. Because we know it doesn’t matter if our strategy, plan, or idea is great if it’s not solving the right problem to begin with.

THE APPLICATION

A great example of how this applies and manifests in the real world is in last week’s THINKTANK section, where we ask some questions about the increasingly difficult path for emerging brands and independent designer in fashion and whether we’re actually helping them or not.

Simply put, is it that we need new ways to help them navigate the industry and wholesale models as they exist (thinking outside the box)?

Or is it time to start trying to adjust the model or build a new one (break the box or build a new one) that doesn’t stack all of the cards agaist them from the start?

More on this in this week’s THINKTANK below.. 👇

As always, thanks for reading and for being here,

✨🪐 Teodora

P.S. — you can always reply to these emails or email me directly at [email protected] with feedback, thoughts, ideas, feelings, hopes….wishes…dreams.

#INSPO || ART x TECHNOLOGY - Synthetic Photography, Art & 3D, and the Question of (Virtual) Reality

Giuseppe Lo Schiavo’s WINDOWSCAPES

I discovered Giuseppe Lo Schievo’s WINDOWSCAPES a few months ago and was captivated by his approach to contemporary art, which not only tries to redefine the medium of photography but also reflects a broader artistic vision that combines technology, science, and art. A combination driven — or perhaps fueled— by the intention of transforming our understanding of reality.

Windowscapes poses some never-more-relevant-than-now questions — can (and if so, when will) technology-powered imagery ever match, “beat” or “outperform” reality? What part does human creativity and input have in this result? Does this mean technology can now create more “better” or more “realistic” imagery (or art) than…humans or our existing tools?

Lo Schievo uses advanced 3D software to create hyperrealistic simulations of views through windows, pushing the boundaries of resolution and challenging traditional photography and what can be currently captured with a camera, a technique he refers to as “synthetic photography”.

The WINDOWSCAPE series includes works such as “Selene and the Ocean,” “Ceres and the Garden,” and “La Notte di Notte,” each designed to blur the lines between what is real and what is virtual.

To me, this is not a testament to technology’s impending overtake — it’s the opposite: a prime example of how technology’s power is in human input and our wielding of it. Technology’s value is not inherent, but rather created by what we do with it. In WINDOWSCAPES, Lo Schievo’s input — from the idea, the vision, the meticulous design of every element of a virtual space using 3D, and the piecing together of the right elements to create an emotional connection — is the art.

More below, here @giuseppeloschiavo, and here giuseppeloschiavo.com

That’s it for this week, with one last note to say that if our mission resonates and you want to tap into the ideas and insights we’re sharing here every week, or if you just want to show some good ol’ support, you can subscribe below and get our editions and updates straight to your inbox 👇