The factors determining whether radical innovation gains traction in the market are many and complex. This paper focuses on the choices designers face as they seek to balance a new product’s distinctiveness, i.e., appealing differentiation from alternatives, with familiarity, i.e., appealing similarity to past alternatives – as they seek optimal distinctiveness (OD). Research on OD has often treated it as a holistic concept. Our approach is more granular in that it examines individual product attributes. We suggest that designers act strategically to present intrinsic and extrinsic product attributes in ways that enhance potential adopters' perceptions of product distinctiveness. In contrast with common assertions that clarity of presentation and ease of use are key to adoption, we propose that the controlled use of confusion and selective masking (camouflaging or concealing) of product attributes can facilitate adoption by preventing cognitive overload. Drawing on information processing theory, we construct a typology of such tactics employed by designers to guide the optimal distinctiveness of a product. Our study provides a novel perspective on crafting radical innovations, identifying digital mechanisms that underlie optimal distinctiveness for such innovations.