Ideas + Makers

bright ideas for 2008

Our Greenwashing Index -- a partnership Kim Sheehan and I undertook with Enviromedia in Austin -- was just named by Brand week as one of Brandweek's Bright Ideas for 2008. They said:
“So what are some of the hot new ideas in 2008? We went hunting and came back with the ones featured here. Granted, this list is hardly comprehensive, and these ideas might not all be right for every brand. But each contains the ingredient critical to any good marketing, cleverness, which solves any problem you've got.”

finding your brain

Gratuitous show of beautiful garden we've done in our backyard.

Two important notes: first, theory and anecdotal creative literature discuss how when you're involved in creative tasks, you often involved yourself in "other" while you figure it out.This backyard represents Dan and I working through a book, multiple creative projects, freelance writing, etc. Also: he took multiple shots then sewed them together with the photoshop tool that lets you do this. wowser. Anyway, it's a wonderful place.

and 5 things you should do

1 -- 20 questions
Interesting life questions mixed with illustration. Elizabeth Moore is a freelance journalist in Portland and keeper of the 20questions site.

2 -- create an inspirational vector political poster a la sheppard fairey
wow.

3 -- submit to art-in everyone sumbits to an art-in all over the globe. inspiration

4 -- enter the green earth design competition

5 -- make your own

5 ideabook assignments

In our continuing journey for getting content into ideabooks that might be used later to produce great ideas, a few exercises:
1 -- Write a story in mind map form. Start with a core idea, explore characters + plot + place + themes through small images and few words.
2 -- An ABC list of brands that you admire.
3 -- Type study of one letter (hand drawn!) in 25 fonts. Enjoy the form of the font and see how it moves to join other letters or make a statement visually.
4 -- Imagine 5 facebook applications -- sky's the limit -- that you would invent that would make the world better (or more fun or helpful, etc). Your ability to adapt what-if? ideas into reality, explaining relevance and usability.
5 -- Mashups: make new things/ideas/beings out of two separate images. Find ways to cut and craft to have them work together as one image. The purpose is to invent new from two interesting different images. If you can do this with images, why not with ideas?

another book that's a must read

For all of you looking for that inspiration book that gets down to "how you do this" (in other words, a great strategy for creating work if it is mixed with the right brain and readiness) then you have to read The Advertising Concept Book (Pete Barry, Thames + Hudson 2008). It simplifies the conceptual process and gets to the simple moment of roughing ideas for their meaning rather than glitz. I'm making it part of the new Writing Design Concept course we've invested at Oregon.

5 books you should read now

I just looked through each of these and they're in my library asap.

1 -- (duh) Idea Industry. Robbs + Morrison It really is good.
2 -- The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures. Roam
3 -- Handwritten: Expressive Letetring in the Digital Age. Heller
4 -- 1000 Artist Journal Pages. Sokol
5 -- Logo Savvy: Top brand Design Firms Share their naming and Identity Strategies. WOW Branding

ideabooks and the summertime drill

A bunch of you are traveling the farflung stretches and write back for advice on what to do with this ideabook during the summer. Others -- I'm on it -- want me to remind gently (some of you even expect me to go mothermode on your butt...that's okay) about what you might be doing. So I'll list 5 today and most days will give 5 more ideas, things to read, observation ideas. Let me know how it's going and I'll post some of the best. Cool.
So for today:
1 - Make a few venn diagrams -- you know how I love these -- and look for relationships on who you are, what you love, what your friends are doing. Name that sweet spot in the middle. You can also do the same with your favorite brand and best attributes or the voice of the brand. Look for insights in how you describe the middle point.
2 -- Storyboard a 1-minute movie on the best day of summer. Or the best day of your life. Storyboard not with the idea you'll do this but for absolute best and most interesting ways to look at that day. You'll use this later, I swear.
3 -- Make a flipbook of something you do very well. Like juggling. Or whistling. Or napping. 30 frames and let one action happen, all handdrawn.
4 -- List all the jobs you've ever had -- say from third grade on -- and how they affect the way you look at the world. This might be resume material. Or at least a great line or video.
5 -- Name all the blue stuff you own. Could be that in here are relationships, associative moments, idea-joggers that let you flip into an essay or concept.

More tomorrow.

isn't it lovely? idea industry

Brett Robbs and I announce the publication of our Idea Industry :: How to Crack the Advertising
Career Code, published by The One Club. Great advice for juniors and juniors-to-be who want to understand how to  think about and build a career.

We think we've brought together the best thinking for job getting (and keeping) and career planning whetehr you want to be a writer or an art director, a media planner, a brand or account manager, an account planner, or  producer. We talk digital culture, interviewing, etiquette, salary questions, and agency life.

Read it and tell us what you think. Actually, buy it and read it and tell your friends.

 

Remarkable work

Had a great talk with a group of people dedicated to doing smart work. When you look at branded work that moves beyond obligation, who are the players? One that comes to mind is Liberty Mutual's Responsibility campaign, which has grown The Responsibility Project. (Note: Wonderful print placement on the Ethicist column in the NYT Magazine.) Short films are exceptional, make sure to look at The Lighthouse and see how a branded message can take wings into content that transcends. Can you plan such a remarkable outgrowth of a strong concept? Maybe not. But what you can bring to the game is a sense of how what we do can solve problems, change attitudes. Not only for clients but for culture. My friend Glenn Griffin has named it Brand Heroism.