Ideore

Ideore is a term used in discussions of ideation and knowledge management to describe the essential core of an idea—the stable concept that remains when surface variations are removed. Although not an established technical term in every field, ideore is used as a heuristic in design thinking and ideation processes to help teams articulate what a concept is fundamentally about.

Etymology and usage: The word ideore combines idea with core, signaling a focus on the central essence rather than its manifestations. It appears in contemporary writing and workshops as a shorthand for the enduring through-line of an idea across different contexts or iterations.

Definition and characteristics: An ideore is imagined as the abstract, transferable kernel of an idea. It is meant to be stable across formats, such as products, messages, or experiments, and can be refined without changing the underlying intent. In practice, teams extract the ideore from a set of variations to guide evaluation and development.

Applications: In product design and marketing, ideores help align teams and stakeholders, enable rapid comparison of concepts, and preserve intent during prototyping. They can guide feature prioritization, storytelling, and IP scoping by identifying what must be retained across embodiments.

Limitations and critique: As a heuristic, the ideore is not a formal standard and can be subjective. Overreliance on a single ideore may constrain creativity or misrepresent complex ideas, leading to simplification or misalignment if not revisited regularly.

See also: core concept, essence, idea, design thinking, minimum viable product.