There are multiple types of "uniqueness". Two might be: 1. Individually unique, i.e. is this new *for you?* 2. Globally unique, i.e. is it new *for eve

There are multiple types of "uniqueness". Two might be: 1. Individually unique, i.e. is this new *for you?* 2. Globally unique, i.e. is it new *for everyone?* But the only important one is uniqueness within your industry or stategic group (à la Michael Porter) This is shown in studies that examine how designers reach "creative" solutions. If 10 people are given the same brief, half might propose the same idea, even though they each believe "it's unique" and "no-one else will think of this". But that's not a bad thing! It's proof of progress with exploring the problem space. What was the core idea they're trying to fix? If you drop all your assumptions, what other solutions can you come up with? "Creative" and "unique" ideas are always a synthesis of existing technologies or processes. What is stale in one industry may be unique in another, and vice versa. Your customer segment wants to do something. Your product (whatever it is) will provide value insofar as it helps them achieve this "job". The more value, the better. Consider the following equation: What + How = Value If you know your customers (and you should!), then you know what "value" they want. You just need to solve for the what and how. Work with "frames". Fix a specific part – like "what" or "how" – and think about what can fill the gap. <Directory of dog walker contacts> + How = <Healthy dog> What + <an app> = <Healthy Dog> This is a form of abductive reasoning. This is how we believe creative people optimise complex systems – there is a combinatorial explosion of possible solutions (when combining existing things), but this gives us a way to work through them. This is overly simplified, but I hope it gives some direction!