The Imagination Emporium Duncan Wardle Book Review

Details: By David Aughinbaugh II; 29.Oct; October 29, 2025; Last Updated: October 29, 2025

What if there was a business book that could change the way you view creativity and innovation?

Innovation is what drives the world forward. I’ve always been fascinated by the new products and services that have made the world a better place. When I came across a book that covered real-world innovation from one of The Walt Disney Company’s key innovators, I knew I had to get a copy. After reading the book, I was not disappointed. It’s a master guide on how to channel creativity and turn that into innovation.

The book is The Imagination Emporium: Creative Recipes for Innovation by Duncan Wardle.

The Author

Duncan Wardle is an Innovation Keynote Speaker and Creativity Consultant at id8 & innov8, where he helps organizations create a culture of innovation that allows their team members to understand creativity and implement innovation. Duncan is a contributor to Fast Company, Forbes & the Harvard Business Review and an established TED speaker.

Before his current role at id8 & innov8, Duncan held several high-impact roles at The Walt Disney Company. He served as Vice President, Press and Publicity, Disneyland Resort and Vice President, Global PR, Disney Parks in the 2000s. In his last role, he served as the Head/Vice President of Innovation & Creativity for the entire organization. At Disney, he led the creation of an Olympic swimming pool built on Main Street USA at Disneyland, sent Buzz Lightyear to the International Space Station and successfully brought him home, and fostered innovation at numerous Disney subsidiaries including Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Walt Disney Imagineering.

Through The Imagination Emporium, readers get all of Duncan’s key insights around creativity and innovation from his 30-year career at The Walt Disney Company.

The Book Itself

Before even reading the book, the quality of the book itself is excellent. It is a flexibound book printed in full color with solid graphics and visuals. One page folds out to make three pages. A map is included on the last page of the book inside a pocket. Duncan also includes numerous digital materials, including music, via QR codes throughout the book. I’ve never come across a book like it, so it’s truly an innovative book in itself.

Above: The Imagination Emporium: Creative Recipes for Innovation Front Cover.

Book Content Review

The Imagination Emporium is Mr. Wardle’s recipe book to help business people be innovative, even when confronted with a busy workload every day. To counter the day-to-day focus on role-based tasks, or as Duncan calls them, Rivers of Thinking, Duncan provides the reader with a comprehensive toolkit to drive creativity and innovation in their organizations.

Above: The Imagination Emporium Book Map Pocket.

Not Your Typical Innovation Book

Duncan starts off the book with a statement explaining how The Imagination Emporium is not your typical business book. After reading the book, it became clear to me that this is not even your typical innovation and creativity book. Unlike other books on innovation, Duncan has created a clear pathway to spark creativity and channel it into innovation. At the front of the book, Duncan defines creativity as the ability to have an idea and innovation as the ability to get it done. With these set definitions, Duncan then provides the reader with a framework on how to travel from creativity to innovation. The Imagination Emporium framework starts with Mastering Your Mind and then continues with three characters named Zing, Spark, and Nova. Each of these characters represents the elements that develop creativity and generate innovation (The Energizers, The Creative Behaviors, and The Innovation Toolbox). The four elements, and their presentation in The Imagination Emporium, clearly shows how an individual can foster creativity and drive innovation within an organization.

Key Points

There are numerous key topics in the book; however, here is a list of the ones I felt were important.

Defining Creativity and Innovation.
- Creativity = The ability to generate an idea. Innovation = Bringing that idea to market.
- This creates a clear understanding on what innovation really is.
Walt Disney Quotes.
- An excellent selection of Walt Disney quotes that tie into the topics presented in the book.
- “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney quote featured in two sections of the book (Invigorate and Investigate). One of my favorite Walt Disney quotes.
Not forgetting your inner child creativity and coloring outside the lines.
Mastering Your Mind
- Understanding the “River of Thinking” and how to exit from it. It is easy to get stuck in a standard way of thinking that aligns with the role you are in.
Zing
- Gifted Moments: An interesting way to generate imagination by gifting imaginary gifts.
- Everyone is a Picasso: A way to build confidence and create laughter through drawing.
Spark
- Bravery: “Remember this. The opposite of bravery is not cowardice. It’s conformity.”
- Duncan gives a real-world example of him getting NASA to bring Buzz Lightyear back from the International Space Station instead of tossing him out the window into space.
- Momentum: Key ways to keep momentum going and turn visions into reality.
Nova
- Initiate
  - Why? A key question that easily gets lost during the innovation phase.
  - Reword it: Rewording a project title using creativity will help to generate enthusiasm for a project.

Rating

Considering the wisdom and quality of The Imagination Emporium, I easily give this book five out of five stars. Duncan’s book is the best book I have read regarding innovation. It also reminded me of a book that I purchased on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort, The Imagineering Way: Ideas to Ignite Your Creativity. That is also a great book written by key Imagineers and complements Duncan’s book. The Imagination Emporium, however, gives the reader all the information they need to develop creativity and innovation from start to finish. At the time I wrote this article, the book was retailing for US $29.95, which is an outstanding price for just the quality of the book itself. I 100% recommend this book to anyone who wants to be creative and deliver innovation in their line of work. The recipes that Duncan has put together will significantly help the world innovate further and make the world a better place. “I decided to see every problem as the opportunity to find a solution” – Walt Disney. Featured quote in the book.

Where You Can Find the Book and Duncan’s Work

The Imagination Emporium: Creative Recipes for Innovation is published by Amplify Publishing and can be purchased directly from The Imagination Emporium Website or through major booksellers, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. I ended up buying several copies directly from The Imagination Emporium Website and a copy from Amazon.com. I did find that the packaging of the books was much better through the publishing website; however, it took a little longer to ship than Amazon.com.

You can find Duncan’s work on his website, duncanwardle.com, and The Imagination Emporium site. Links to his social media accounts can also be found below.

Duncan's Social Media Accounts