The Difference Between Slick & Cool
Companies always want to be cool, but few companies actually are. Most are predictable and boring. If you’re predictable and boring, and you ask an agency for cool, what you’ll get instead is slick. Cool requires only one thing: Be unique and do interesting things. Companies that are cool embrace their quirks. They don’t find [...]
An Overlooked Method for Producing Great Ideas: Let Them Steep
Ideas, like tea, need time to steep. Beneath the surface of the water, or the surface of your mind, magical things are happening. Unfortunately, all too often people try to generate great ideas with sheer brute intellect. They suppose if they think about it long enough and hard enough, the answer will come. But that’s [...]
Does Interactive Need A Bill Bernbach?
There are two theories of history. The “Great Man” theory states that history can be understood by looking at the impact of extraordinary individuals over the course of world events (Hitler, Napoleon, Cromwell, etc.). This theory is contrasted with the “World-System” theory. The “World-System” approach proposes that history can only be understood by properly examining [...]
Brand by Committee: The Straight Road to Brand Hell
You’ve probably heard of design by committee, and it’s probably never been in a positive light. Design by committee is one of those stock phrases that you can rely on to explain why there’s so much bad design in the world. “Who approved that?” we think. Everybody and nobody. The truth is, great design doesn’t [...]
The Value of Intensity
There’s an old saying in boxing: “A round is not a round, and not all miles are created equal.” There’s a huge difference between merely going through the motions of your workout, versus attacking your workout as if you’re life depended on it. Two people can do the exact same workout, but the amount of [...]