Archive for Creativity
Why Can’t Graphic Designers and Their Clients Ever Agree?
Posted by: | CommentsI decided to ask designer and blogging buddy, Dennis Salvatier, this question — having worked with many designers over the years. Here is our conversation.
Jeannette: I’ve worked with many graphic designers over the years. These are designers whose work I’ve really admired. Strangely, though, when working on a project, some designers do not seem to grasp that the objective of the work is usually to sell a product or service. Sometimes, they fall in love with a design and try to sell it to the client even if doesn’t work.
By the way, I love my company logo design and masthead. A designer with whom I’ve worked on other projects created it. And I love your work, Dennis. But why is there this disconnect between design studios and their clients?
Dennis being playful
Dennis: Thanks, Jeannette. The biggest problem with the client/designer relationship is that there is rarely a conversation about the relationship itself. Roles need to be defined before any work is done and that is the responsibility of the designer.
A good designer starts the conversation, but a great designer provides a design brief. This is a short questionnaire that includes questions about the brand, competitors, target market, budget and goals. Read More→
Lucky to Be Alive and Blogging
Posted by: | CommentsA few posts ago I wrote about an infographic from copyblogger that listed 20 ways to find inspiration for your next blog post when you don’t have a clue what to write. I don’t ordinarily publish a blog late on a Saturday night. But I’d like to add a 21st idea that I’ll reveal momentarily.
The weather has been gorgeous in New York and those of us who live here have heaved a sigh of relief that we had such a mild winter compared to last year’s piles of snow and freezing temperatures. I took a long walk and when I entered my apartment lobby I was enchanted by the vase of flowers — they are changed every week. I took out my iPhone and snapped a photo. Of course, if I lived in the ‘burbs the image would be of a flower bed in my back yard. But this bouquet is inspiration enough for me.
So tip number 21: blog about something that makes you happy.
The Secret to Telling a Story
Posted by: | CommentsI was just browsing through the McKinsey Quarterly, and stumbled upon an interview with the authors of The Dragonfly Effect, Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith, in which they discuss the secret to telling a successful story.
Create Tension
Jennifer Aaker
As a blogger, I am always telling stories. It’s at the heart of what bloggers do. So, let me lift a quote from Jennifer Aaker:
Good stories have three components: a strong beginning, a strong end, and a point of tension. Most people confuse stories with situations. They’ll tell about a situation: X happened, Y happened, Z happened. But a good story takes Y, the middle part of the story, and creates tension or conflict where the reader or the audience is drawn into the story, what’s going to happen next.
A Compelling Story
In their book, they describe a case study of 28-year-old Scott Harrison, a nightclub and fashion promoter, earning lots of money. But he felt spiritually bankrupt and gave it all up to volunteer on a floating hospital while he figured out what to do with the rest of his life.
He came back with a renewed sense of passion, and formed a foundation charity: water to help bring clean water to millions of underserved populations around the world who don’t have any.
In the McKinsey piece, they describe his story – about asking friends to donate $31 to his charity instead of buying him a gift for his 31st birthday. To date, the charity has raised $20 million and provided clean water to more than 1.4 million people spanning 17 countries.
Read the Middle
I just gave you the beginning and end of the story. If you want to find out the point of tension in the middle, go to the interview on the McKinsey Quarterly
Brainstorming Still Works – When You Know How to Use It
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Brainstorm ideas
Over the years the term “brainstorming” has fallen out of favor.
An image of people throwing spaghetti against the wall to see if it will stick – meaning throwing out ideas to see if they have any merit – is likely to induce fond memories among old-timers who remember when brainstorming was all the rage.
But, done properly, brainstorming still works.
What is Brainstorming?
Brainstorming was the creation of Alex Osborn, a founder of my former agency, BBDO (formerly Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn). He posited that a group could generate more creative ideas for solving a problem than an individual. There’s been a lot of controversy over the years about his methodology, with research both for and against it.
The New York Times last Sunday carried a very long story entitled The Rise of the New Groupthink in which the writer, Susan Cain, debunks the current trend of people working in teams in open space – or possibly cubicles if they’re lucky – as they collaborate on projects. She champions the introvert who needs quiet and privacy to be creative. I think she makes some valid points
When Brainstorming Works
Where Cain and I diverge, though, is when she writes, “Conversely, brainstorming sessions are one of the worst possible ways to stimulate creativity…people in groups tend to sit back and let others do the work; they instinctively mimic other’s opinions and lose sight of their own; and often succumb to peer pressure.”
I beg to differ. I’ve participated in, and facilitated, numerous brainstorming sessions, which I prefer to call group problem solving sessions. They generated many original ideas that were successfully implemented. Read More→
