‘Thinking without a box’: Jason Attard sheds light on pushing boundaries to inspire innovation

Game Lounge Group Head of UX and Design Jason Attard has encouraged designers to find “new ways to push boundaries”, saying that it is necessary if they hope to have an impact.

On Tuesday, Mr Attard highlighted the need for exploration beyond constraints in order to inspire creativity and innovation.

He remarked that in his almost two-decade career in marketing and design, he has noticed that each year it is becoming “immensely hard to stand out in any industry”.

“However, every designer can agree that in order to successfully come out as a winner from such a challenge, we must constantly find new ways to push boundaries for ourselves and our teams in order to achieve a unique vision that goes far beyond the definition of ‘thinking outside the box’,” he said.

Mr Attard explained that he opted to start ditching the box entirely, primarily because the whole concept of ‘thinking outside the box’ suggests that there is a box in the first place, “a set of limitations or constraints, that we need to escape from in order to be creative and innovative”.

“If we completely abandon the idea of a box, we open ourselves up to more ideas and solutions that we might have not even considered before,” he added.

“So rather than simply thinking outside the box, your goal should be to think critically and creatively about issues that may have previously escaped your attention to detail and therefore ‘thinking without a box’,” he pointed out.

While he stated that there are “plenty of resources” that can help in this aspect, he listed four key steps that can further encourage such creativity. Mr Attard started by explaining that it is important to “challenge assumptions”, and to also “embrace unconventional creativity”.

Additionally, he said that looking at a vision from different angles can help significantly, even literally for designers, adding that they can “flip and rotate a lot”. Lastly, he added that people should not be afraid to take risks.

“When we enable ourselves to genuinely explore beyond constraints, we produce breakthrough results,” he said, before concluding with: “Are you ready to ditch the box?”

Mr Attard is a UX and design strategist, and has gained a number of years of marketing and design experience from a wide array of companies, including Game Lounge, Gamesys, Jackpotjoy Group, and Keyworld Ltd, as well as on a freelance basis. He states that he is “fascinated by how design may improve our daily lives” and likes making products that are “easy to use, valuable, relevant, and exciting”.