Idea to Prototype

An idea is not yet a thing to build. Between them is a sequence of alternations: open it up, then close it down, then open the next layer, then close that.

Collapsing too early kills what was interesting. Never collapsing produces a beautiful idea nobody can start. The skill is knowing which motion the moment calls for — and being willing to have the idea die along the way, which is a success, and cheap compared to finding out later.

Hold it in superposition first

At the start the idea is several things at once, and the version worth building is often not the one first said.

Entertain what it could be before deciding what it is. Gather what it is adjacent to, what it reminds people of, what feeling it is reaching for. Nothing is being committed to yet, and premature specificity here is expensive — it forecloses the versions nobody has thought of.

Ideas are fragile at this stage. Analysis dissolves them like dreams on waking. Hold judgement.

Find the compelling angle, or let it go

Then close: why this? There are always more ideas than time, so the question is not whether it could work but why it is worth the room.

What is the sharpest version — the one someone would be excited about in a sentence, without preamble? If several sentences of setup are needed before it lands, the angle has not been found yet.