Imagination in the DNA of inventive products

Big leaps and disruptive changes drive innovation and transform our world. It’s when a product or service creates a new category or resets the playing field in an industry by starting with their imagination.

Imaginexxus, Lake Oswego, Oregon based research, analysis and educational firm, just released the Imaginexxus Index. The purpose of the Index is to raise awareness about a broad range of truly imaginative products, services and processes, as well as to educate and inspire others to strive for such achievements. This first Index of their series focuses on imaginative products. Each product had to meet Imaginexxus’ proprietary criteria that emphasize blue-sky thinking and meaningful impact more than just profit potential or investment capital raised. The products also must be available for purchase somewhere in the world. The Index can be found at www.imaginexxus.com.

Products included in the Index range from lenses that let the colorblind actually see colors to a highly reflective transparent paint that can even be used to protect wildlife prone to wander onto roads. There’s a packaging material that’s grown from mushrooms and a kitchen that unfolds like a pop-up book that’s housed in a transportable box on wheels. The companies that developed these products are based in the U.S., Japan, Sweden, Spain and the U.K.

“The Index is all about stories that address the process of getting to the big leap and what we call Imaginexxus Insights that capture the takeaways that others can use,” says Mick Mortlock, co-founder. Gerard Moliné, founder of Bios Urn from the Index, claims that imagination is his team’s most valuable asset. “[It] doesn’t matter if we are talking about design or business strategy, creativity and imagination are always the tools to find a new, unexpected vision,” he says.

Doug Freeman, an Imaginexxus co-founder, points out that the Index isn’t a ranking, award presentation or even an attempt to publish a comprehensive compilation like many other lists developed by magazines and organizations. “It’s a collection of powerful business cases reflecting messages about the value of breaking barriers and making novel connections,” says Freeman. Future Indexes will showcase imaginative thinking in business, education, non-profits and government.

Besides publishing the Index on their company Web site, they’ve produced short music videos that provide snapshots of each product in an engaging way. Live presentations, educational documentaries, in-depth studies and a range of other products are in the works to expand Imaginexxus’ offerings beyond the Index.

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Imaginexxus is a Lake Oswego, Oregon based company that develops products and services to advance the use of imagination within the business, education, non-profit and government sectors. Its mission is to educate, inspire and inform individuals to solve challenging problems and launch groundbreaking products, services and processes.

Contact: Doug Freeman at (503) 479-8367 or df@imaginexxus.com