I’ve worked in a number of public relations agencies.
We held brainstorms regularly – when we pitched for a new client, received a new brief, or perhaps just ideas for the Christmas party.
We (the designers/programmers/copywriters) would often suggest some crazy things – based on a random story we’d recently read or a weird amusing fact. However silly it sounded, the idea would be welcomed and added to the list.
Often, someone would add to the idea, or it would spark off another thought, which ended up growing into a practical application – something the agency would then pitch to the client.
It felt like a competition for who could suggest the best idea first. There was a lot of ‘but that won’t work because…’ language.
Unsurprisingly, new ideas rarely came out of these sessions.
It is a fragile thing, creativity. It doesn’t like to be pressured, asked to appear on cue, and it definitely doesn’t like to be judged.
I describe it as a fabulous, but unreliable friend – a person you love catching up with, but who rarely arrives on time and at the right destination.
Surprisingly often, creativity shows up when you least expect – staring out the window on a bus, while you’re in the shower, or when you’re walking the dog. Pay it the close attention it deserves, because that creative idea will disappear in an instant.
“He treated the process of creativity with a rare and a wonderful reverence.
You see, I think he better than anyone understood that while ideas ultimately can be so powerful, they begin as fragile, barely formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished.”
If you’re looking for a graphic designer who loves hearing about your crazy, wacky, out-there creative ideas, say hello.
I’ve kept this magazine article since 1993, and now I know why. On the cover, Jeff Kennett (the Victorian Premier at the time) stood naked, addressing a crowd of people. My eyes were telling me one thing. My brain was telling me it couldn’t be true.
ELMO’s 2024 HR Industry Benchmark report is live. The report surveyed HR professionals across Australia and New Zealand to uncover trends, challenges and opportunities for 2024.
Compare the two artworks in this post. You might recognise the artist as Keith Haring. On the left is his Unfinished Painting, created in 1989.
If you want people to open something you’ve mailed them, use this simple trick. It’s our signature move. And it’s so simple.
For the VIP event, we created invitations, menus, wine list, table numbers, place names and illuminated paper lanterns, which decorated the long tables.
Why? You need a timeframe. Let’s look at another example. You spend two hours cleaning outdoor teak chairs. You bought them 30 years ago, second-hand.
Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter — Brand News — filled with Design tips, Creativity hacks, Brand news and Design-related goodness.
It’s short and sweet. Estimated reading time < 90 seconds…
