invenirinventer

Invenirinventer is a neologism used in design thinking and innovation discourse to describe a reflexive practice in which inventors simultaneously inventory potential needs, contexts, and constraints while generating new solutions. The term functions as a portmanteau of invenir (to inventory or to discover) and inventer (to create), echoing the Latin root invenire meaning to come upon. It conceptualizes invention as an iterative loop in which problem framing and solution generation co-evolve, rather than a linear sequence from problem to solution.

In practice, invenirinventer manifests as methods that couple cataloging exercises with ideation, such as keeping live inventories of user scenarios, unmet needs, and technological affordances while generating corresponding inventions. This approach can be used in product design, urban planning, or speculative design to explore a broad space of possibilities without committing early to a single problem definition.

Critics argue that without clear constraints, the method risks scope drift and ambiguity about what constitutes a viable invention. Proponents counter that the inventory dimension can stimulate creativity and help surface less obvious connections between needs and technologies.

See also design thinking, ideation, speculative design, and combinatorial creativity.