How to Create & Protect New Ideas

Where does creative inspiration come from? Is it a seed planted in the ground that grows with sunlight as in a desire met with practice? From originals to the remakes with new twists counts as a new creation in our culture. The people who paved the way during the print revolution for a precursor to the digital age is what it’s all based on. By reviewing the past, a future remix if you will, can be created from open-source materials. 

Everything is a Remix 

Have you ever been upset that someone stole “your idea” and then some time down the road find yourself taking a piece of someone’s idea and making it your own? How do you face this moral dilemma of hypocrisy? The documentary ‘Everything is a Remix’ takes this topic head-on. Where do ideas come from anyway? The documentary is brilliant in explaining how most inventions are people taking three different concepts and mixing them up and making it into something new that is all of their own. For example, patens can be used to use as a base to build upon, which technically creates a new invention.

Be authentic. Who you are is what people buy into. There is definitely more than one type of company that compete with each other such as restaurants, dental places, etc. The reason that you choose one over the other might start off as price or maybe you found a deal online but ultimately you stick with them because they’re your type of people or your tribe. There’s something about that owner who is those that culture that you matched with that builds repeat customers.

Study the Greats

I highly recommend investing in graphic design books for inspiration from the greatest graphic designers of our time. In addition to great coffee table decor, they’re great for getting yourself into a creative mindset. Each of them is packed full of the most creative logos, how the process was done, photography, and more. These books are great not to copy but it tends to inspire ideas of my own. May make your mentors study where they do reverse engineer it. What did you learn to help improve your creative skills? In other words, what made them so great? Break it down into smaller pieces and practice doing this yourself with your own ideas. Here are a few recommended for your collection here.

Test the Market

Another point is that sometimes if you’re having an innovative idea and someone steals it and they bring to market first, there’s almost an advantage for you there. You can watch what they do and make them pave the way. In other words, they can make all the mistakes first. Then you can start your own business with your own brand after you see if the innovation is successful in the current markets. Even if it’s similar it was still your idea and your creation in your heart and your passions will shine through.

Protect Your Artwork 

If you are the type of person to create new ideas, put them into something tangible. For example, you have an idea for a company name and create a logo and trademark the logo and register your business name. You have to know and understand your intellectual property rights and how to protect yourself with trademarks for your artwork in creations in the country you live in. The rules for copyright notice for the US link is here.

Keep things offline until you’re ready to fully launch because people who steal do it consistently are always watching what you do. You may even want to post and share a bad idea or something that you thought of that you don’t care if someone else copies just to see who does it. You always find a pattern in behavior if you’re paying attention.

I came up with the dance studio idea for toddlers and I posted my idea online and even made my own logo. Years later I found it is available as a franchise for people to open up their own business. I am glad that someone is doing it because I decided that after doing the financial forecast that the income to debt ratio of costs and profits were not worth the effort. The financial information was not put online but if someone is more passionate about this idea.

I’m happy if it brings people joy. I’ve already moved onto seeking what I’m passionate about that would cause me to work hours on end and it only felt like a few moments have passed by. That sweet spot of creative flow where time does not exist.