Saul Bass on solving creative problems

The most stimulating source for a solution to a problem comes from the problem itself. This is the real source—the problem defines the solution. It is when you look at what other people are doing that you are liable to come up with a stereotyped answer to your problem. Each problem contains unique elements. No problem is exactly like any other. The only way you can find a good answer is to clearly understand the question. You can’t find the answer by using somebody else’s answer to another question. I am not even saying this is bad. It is merely untrue. It is not so much a moral issue. It just doesn’t work!

—Saul Bass, quoted in Saul Bass: A Life in Film & Design