Last June, we had a series of posts brainstorming possible visuals for metaphors, including: growth, balance, and leadership. In this post, I’ve put together a list of possible images for another theme that I’ve seen in dozens of presentations: INNOVATION.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of innovation is:

1.  The introduction of something new

2.  A new idea, method, or device

In business circles, it also tends to mean a new way of looking at things or a way of predicting what people will want/need in the future. So, with these definitions in mind, here is a possible list of visuals for innovation that have not been done to death:

  • Prism, for prismatic thinking (a huge favorite of Thomas Edison)
  • A turned hat (to indicate looking in a new direction)
  • Glasses with interesting lenses
  • Children’s art supplies (from an age when everything was new)
  • A present (something new)
  • Different kind of light bulb, LED or something more creative looking like with solar powered elements (Incandescent has been done to death)
  • Crystal ball, tarot cards, runes (tools of a psychic or fortune predictor)
  • Someone in a crowd who’s wearing something different/more fashionable so they stand out
  • Young person in a crowd full of older people
  • Someone sitting in an old environment, like a 1800s Wild West town, but is decked out in the latest clothing and with the latest technology
  • Showing the evolution of something, other than a person.  Could be a technology, unique plant, etc.
  • Showing the progression of a way of thinking from a socio-political perspective: women’s in the workplace, gay marriage, minority rights, mixed race groups, etc.
  • Having someone/or a physical representation of an idea being introduced to a group (could be a robot, etc.)
  • Demonstrating how pieces of something that normally would not fit together, fitting together in a new way (puzzle pieces being flipped so the flat sides are against each other instead, square peg fitting in well into a round hole in a way that’s beautiful, etc.)

Do you have any other ideas you’d like to share?

 

innovation