Make another day on a leap
"Step, Jump, Leap" can be a useful way to develop new and innovative ideas.
It's a flexible innovation management framework that uses a 3-step iteration process.
It follows the idea that the best way to come up with a great idea is to start small and to build on larger and more ambitious jumps and leaps to discovery.
Step: Take a small step away from an existing solution on the market or an idea concept. This creates iterations that develop through small deviations. Materials and form should be similar to the original idea.
Jump: Think outside the box, but core elements of an existing idea remain intact. Appeal to the same or a similar market without deviating from the problem you're trying to solve. Form is different, function is similar.
Leap: Brainstorm radical ideas that could appeal to indirect markets and may not resemble the original idea. Your ultimate solution may not be a leap, but you may generate inspirational forms and trains of thought.
I find it most useful early in ideation when I'm sketching thumbnails. Sometimes a jump or leap idea is good, so you conduct another Step, Jump, Leap exercise from your newer idea. This can keep going and going, iterating off each better idea.
There are a few different names for this method and there are different applications which go beyond ideation.
Medium has an in-depth article with good infographics on New Product Development (NPD).
IDEO simplifies this idea further by repeatedly diverging from and converging ideas.
Step, Jump, Leap is a useful and versatile framework used for problem solving, product development and wherever structured deviation is needed. Use it to discover new solutions and to provide structure for telling your story about your process later.