What Does Designful Thinking Mean?
I read the below excerpt by Holly Willis, a Design Educator who spoke at a recent AIGA conference and thought it was a really good way of explaining what I mean when I say “Designful Thinking” — a term being used a lot lately to describe how design can be applied to all aspects of business and, well, life in general.
Willis says, “A vital next step in design education centers on taking seriously the notion of systems and systems thinking, which are inherently trans-disciplinary, holistic and focused on the interrelationships and patterns of things, not on fixed and isolated parts of a larger process. This means embracing dynamism and emergent possibility…” or what I see as experimentation and innovation. In today’s marketing and communications climate, there is so much noise and inauthenticity that it becomes difficult for organizations to get their message out effectively. What they so often do is just blast content out to their constituents rather than taking a step back, looking at the larger picture, and planning an integrated and more interesting strategy.
With some of my clients we talk, think and just “try” things, seeing what works and what doesn’t—almost like we are “playing” communications/marketing strategy. This might sound like a strange way to describe it, but if you are looking at an organization in its entirety and want to build a sustainable community to support it, then you want your stakeholders to feel a apart of the process and that participating is fun. This is especially true in the non-profit world where you are asking people to donate their time and resources openly and freely.
So what does “Designful Thinking” mean? It means applying a new lens to all that you look at. It means experimenting with the unknown. It means integrating all moving parts so that they play together fluidly and effectively. Above all, it means being a smart and graceful, maverick.
Chance Favors the Connected Mind
I find myself so often telling clients that the most important thing they can do is to share ideas with other experts in their field. Partially, I say this because the internet is “word of mouth” and is the most powerful grassroots tool available. I also say this because as they read, share and interact with their peers and competitors, they provide the most valuable content and knowledge available to their clients. As I have been saying a lot lately, only 20% of what you talk about should be marketing your product, the other 80% should be sharing your knowledge…because that is how you ultimately sell your product and better your community.
The most important reason to do this is exactly what is shared in this video, and my hope is that we are all Social Entrepreneurs at heart!
The Unending Binge: How “Nutritional” Advertising Can Drive Sustainability
Oversimplified and Out of Touch, Current Advertising Lacks the ‘Nutritional Value’ Consumers Are Desperate For
When I think of “going on a binge” it usually involves mass consumption of something that is not healthy over a short period of time, like “binging on junk food”…or in this case, inauthentic advertisements. They surround us everyday, saturating us in products that have negative impact on the world and advertisers expect consumers to continue their blind and uneducated purchasing. However, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of sustainability issues and they are looking for products they can ideologically support and, in turn, advertising that is not trying to “trick” them into buying something they don’t believe in. Consumers are hung-over from their binge and are looking for something truly nourishing to snack on.
As a society we are getting fed up with products and propaganda that I would classify as “junk food.” Trying to get a consumer to buy a product in today’s economic climate that quickly becomes waste is increasingly ineffective. Terms like ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ draw as much skepticism as they do support from consumers these days. A simple ‘eco’ label doesn’t fully answer questions such as, “What will happen after I dispose of this product? Is this really recyclable? How much better for the environment is ‘organic’? To what extent are my habits having an impact on the earth?
I think the future of advertising lies in products that create brand loyalty because they are thoughtful of their impact on the world. We need products we can believe in. Zipcar is a great example. Based on utilizing excess capacity, Zipcar is an incredible innovation that capitalizes on people’s diminishing need for a full-time car. Their advertising is intelligent, thoughtful, and teaches consumers that there are options to car ownership. They seamlessly encourage their customers to evangelize the environmental, health and cost benefits of car sharing and in return, 30% of their new members come through referrals. But the fact that they hit all 3 bottom lines (people, profit, planet) is what makes them truly “nutritional.” They are profitable, sustainable, and focused on their consumer’s needs. Even more impressive is their mere presence provides a space in consumers’ minds to think differently about how they choose to consume…ah hah…they educate!
I appreciate when advertising is thoughtful, informative, and selling me a product I can feel confident in. I want to know it was made by a company who is not only wanting to be sustainable, but is authentically “eco-efficient” as well. I appreciate when I am nourished rather than filled with junk food. Marketing and advertising (communications) are teaching methods, and ultimately, we (the consumer students) can tell when our food is unhealthy. If companies changed the kind of products they produced, then a trend of positive consumerism would ensue—people would WANT to buy more products because they would feel they were making the world a better place by doing so.
Advertising must authentically guide consumers toward the products that will help nourish and restore balance to our global society. We so desperately want to do “right” by the world—we just need advertising we can trust to show us how.
re-posted from www.triplepundit.com
What is Design Strategy?
There are many definitions depending on discipline, but here is how I define it for strategic communications:
Building a visual language that connects a company’s vision and messaging to their marketing deliverables. This includes their brand, identity, web development and collateral materials. So often websites and print materials are designed without deep understanding of what an organization is and what it is wanting to become—the materials lack an authentic vision and end up looking “templated” (ie. this is what a “social activism” logo looks like, this is what a “medically related” NGO or foundation looks like, etc.) The design “strategy” is not there and even if a consumer can’t verbalize what is missing, they still recognize it is not as authentic as it could be.
Beyond Facebook: The Future of Games (and the path along the way)
I thought this was a really great talk. Even though it is technically about the psychology of games and how they are being used to generate huge amounts of revenue (through facebook, online, etc.) I thought Jesse Schell presented some really good observations about the role of technology and games in our society as a whole. Check out minute 13ish where he talks about the book Authenticity, by Gilmore and Pine.
Another Great Animate from RSA – Motivation
What really does motivate us?
Is it intrinsic or extrinsic?
I think you would be surprised….
Educated Out of Creativity
One of my schoolmates posted this in our forum this morning, I thought it was great and wanted to share.
“Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.
Music, Creativity and Art all go hand in hand.”
This I think the quote I liked most was “educated out of creativity”.
When I was teaching I found this to be the most frustrating part. Yes, I was an art teacher and I kept trying to create lessons where my students could explore, innovate, etc. but all they wanted to do was “exactly what I (the teacher) wanted to get a good grade.” They were 9th-12th graders. ‘nough said.
21st Century Enlightment
I highly recommend watching this video. If you are interested in how we need to change the way we consume and think about the world in today’s mass media and “social networking” society, this is a great place to start. It is a great talk on innovation with a awesome animation as the backdrop.
Strategic Leadership
One of my dMBA collegues wrote, “Michael Jordan was able to bring out the best in everyone.”
I would argue that the real question of what makes a good team is, what was Jordan doing in order to bring out the best in his teammates? How did he help his teammates rise to their best potential (or his own for that matter)? What was the “strategic choice” that was made? And furthermore, what are the actual behavioral changes that need to be made in order to achieve this kind of synchronicity. I would say…humility, strength, honesty, wisdom and more than anything else, the ability to listen and absorb the needs of others and act upon those needs in a meaningful and genuine way.
People flippantly throw around buzzwords like, “collaboration” and “behavioral willingness”. But do we really know what it means to do and be these things? Ultimately, the more grounded you are in your own internal strength and self-understanding, the more open and honest you can be with others. And in turn, the greater a leader you can be. This might sound very “oogie woogie” as my mom and I like to say, but I think it is true nonetheless.
My favorite quote, spoken by Nelson Mandela but written by Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us…And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”