Outwit.

Some creatives think that creativity just happens. They believe inspiration cannot come on demand; they must patiently wait for it to drop onto their laps from the ether. Couldn’t be further from the truth. An idea is a result of the new combination of existing memories, thoughts and concepts. The creative who invests in opening his or her mind to new things will enjoy a stream of fresh combinations every time. The creative who does nothing to feed his mind will end up with nothing ideas.

Fresh ideas are premium in an age of stale, derivative stuff. Fresh ideas that outsmart competitors and break away from convention are what every client, no matter how conservative, secretly wants from you. They may kill your fantastic concepts 99.99% of the time but take heart: if you keep trying, one killer idea will get through.

Outlast.

Creatives are usually taught how to churn out ideas on a daily basis. Few are ever taught how to persevere. This is why some have given up trying to raise the bar for themselves. They are always complaining about how weak-minded clients are, how clients never buy anything good, or how great things were in the Nineties (or Eighties depending on their age).

So how do you stay in the game for the long haul, creatively?

First, take your work less seriously. Remind yourself that it’s only advertising/graphics/webpage/radio/TV – stuff that’s fleeting at best. Even the best campaigns in the world are replaced with new ones over time. This will reduce your blood pressure and ensure you don’t end up in an asylum or become a real bitch/arse to work with.

Secondly, keep abreast of the latest. Know what’s happening in the world. Read. Listen. Watch. Share what your discoveries with others and they will share their goodies with you.

Thirdly, have a conscious desire to want to do better work. Like an athlete, don’t settle for second place. Be the best you can be for your clients and yourself. Dream in lightyears and take each day as a small step towards that dream.

Outplay.

Take time-outs regularly to invigorate your body, soul and brain. You aren’t a robot: if you keep trying to outdo yourself without taking a break, you will burn out – I can guarantee this from my own experience. Once burnt out, it can take ages for you to get back into the game. And this doesn’t do you, your company and your clients any good whatsoever.

So go play foosball. Take up kickboxing. Sleep for a week. Read a good novel. Have sex on a secluded beach. Forget about work. Just go play. If you come back to work and you immediately feel tired out, you haven’t played enough.

These tips will help you be a creative survivor in the fast-paced, competitive creative industry and come out on top.

A brief overview of key data and factors will be enough to give the strategist an understanding of the major issues of the design problem. Rapid prototyping lets the strategist spend more time thinking of the solution (‘iteration zero’). It will allow for an evolution of the first draft of the solution through a recursive process of rapid team and user feedback and amendments.

During the presentation of the latest iteration to client, the strategist will make further adjustments. Only when final solution is agreed upon by team and client should the strategist begin documentation and proceed to information architecture.

Possible application of Rapid Prototyping for Cru Digital clients:
1) Engagement Review – Content, Context, User, Competitors, Engaging Proposition.
2) Engagement Recommendation – Points of Engagement (or user experience scenario), Homepage elements and layout, paper prototypes.

Tools for executing and facilitating Rapid Prototyping:
- Large sheets of paper
- Markers

Benefits of Rapid Prototyping for Web Design:
- Time savings.
- Ability to react to changes quickly
- Multi-skilled input (designer, strategist, developer, client, producer, etc).
- Keeps internal and external project stakeholders on the same page.
- Faster and easier client buy-in resulting from collaborative process.
- Forces all parties to see the big picture and not waste time on non-essential details.

Potential pitfalls and how to avoid them:
- No consensus: Strategist makes final decisions to move forward or suggest time-out period to rethink.
- Lack of focus: Strategist guides collaborative process. Engagement Proposition defines parameters.

That 5% is what I list here:

1. Collaboration in design process between IxD, designer, writer, and developer can lead to creative and engaging outcomes. However, there should be a guiding vision (at Cru – Engaging Proposition) that informs the process.

2. Map out the user experience (at Cru – points of engagement) and journey to help design team and client understand the interaction/engagement strategy. Activity Scenarios are another way to do this narratively.

3. Subject matter experts on client side can help write content or provide information for content. Find them. Guide them.

4. Ensure all social media sites employed by client are moderated and that clear instructions and expectations are communicated to moderators.

whitevoid.

Click on image to go the site where this simple and imaginative shelf is featured.

(Joel: Ikea better sit up and take note.)