Why would my twisted mind make that kind of a leap? Well, I’ve had the pleasure to work with the folks at Slim Jim many years ago. And that headline is (almost) on-brand for them. Remove the “Kills Three”, and it’s 100% on brand.
What is Design Strategy? Why are ideas more important than insights?
Design and innovation consultants Continuum have put together this entertaining and informative 11 minute video to give you a look into their process and philosophy.
The real challenge lay less in the technical problem but often…in trying to solve the human problem. It’s about understanding their needs and their aspirations and meeting them in some way. So, we are serving them. But sometimes their needs are to be surprised and delighted, and they can’t tell us how to surprise and delight them. That has to come from us, as creative people in our profession.
The family and I took a trip up to The Park Avenue Armory today to catch the Ernesto Neto installation.
The Armory space is cavernous and the installation feels right at home here. It’s a very experiential piece - you can walk right through it, taking in the aroma from spice-filled fabric “stalactites”.
We’ve become accustomed to associating “digital” with interactive experiences. It’s always inspiring to experience something that isn’t.
There’s some great photos on the Armory’s website, including a time-lapse of the installation. The Times wrote a piece on it as well.
I’ve included a few moodier shots taken with my point-and-shoot.
I remember as a kid not understanding what my mother did as a career. And then transitioning to an adult and her not understanding what I did as a career. I used to chalk that up to a generational thing - the older folk just don’t get all this computer stuff. I then realized that when speaking to people outside of my industry (and the clients we serve), that I was struggling to articulate what exactly it is I do.
Scene: Get together with new parents in someone’s backyard
Interested Person: So, what do you do?
Me: I’m a Creative Director for Interactive
Interested Person: (furrowed brow) What’s that?
Me: (quickly defeated and cutting to the chase) I make websites.
“I make websites” is a pitiful way to describe the scope and love that I have for my craft. And from a personal branding perspective it grossly undersells my value. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about businesses over the years (any business) is that they always struggle to practice what they preach.
The answer to my predicament is really not that tough - lead with the value you provide, then talk about how that value is manifested.
When you’re frequently surrounded by people who do what you do, or buy your services, it’s easy to put off creating your elevator speech.
My homework assignment:
develop a short statement of what I do that Interested Person can understand
develop a simple way to articulate the value of brand experience, user experience and design
Does this situation sound familiar? I’m curious to hear about your challenges and successes in this area.
I’m constantly surprised at the lack of attention that large companies put into their search experience - even the “technology leaders”. Search is a major interaction that many have with a company’s brand, yet search results are treated as a undifferentiated list of links (read: Google).
Many companies cite the huge undertaking it would take to properly tag their mounds of content. Fair enough. But why not try to be a little creative with this problem. Let your employees and visitors help you. Employees whose jobs are linked to the retrieval of this content will certainly be incented enough.
Search results need to be looked at as an opportunity not a utility. Publishers and retailers get this. Funny how those selling them the solutions don’t.
