Category Archives: Inspiration

September’s Quotes

Because we’re starting a new month, I thought I’d change things up a bit. Hence, submitting this month’s quotes at the beginning of the month. As per usual, this post, along with others forthcoming in this blog, center around some aspect of creativity.

 

Everything is reduced to facts and figures but the things that count. — George Gallup, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creativity is no longer about grabbing attention or raising consumer awareness. Its goal is to remind consumers about what is fundamental and gratifying about a brand. — Peter A. Georgescu, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope, and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. — John E. Kennedy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

When we so cheapen the concept of human life that we can be permissive to the occasional bomb or bullet, I think we’ve taken a giant step back into the Dark Ages. And I don’t think there’s a light at the end of that tunnel. ~ Rod Serling

There is a cult of ignorance in the US, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ,y ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. — Isaac Asimov

Advertising becomes a dialogue that becomes an invitation to a relationship. — Lester Wunderman, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

A deadline is negative inspiration. Still,it’s better than no inspiration at all. – Rita Mae Brown

Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. – Richard Feynman

The only means of strengthening one’s intelligence is to make up one’s mind about nothing —to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts. – John Keats

I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant. – Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

Why Play is More Important than Talent for Creativity

This week my creativity blog features an excerpt from a podcast initiated in Japanese, “The Creative Mindset”, with the first guest on the podcast, Ian Spalter (Ian Spalter), the man behind the design of Instagram.

Ian cited this quote during the interview: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

A few years ago, Ian led the redesign of the Instagram app as well as its brand identity as the Head of Design at the company. That process was well documented and Ian was featured in a Netflix special called “Abstract: The Art of Design.” Since then, he moved to Japan with his family to head up the Instagram business there. He’s now leading design at Meta for its metaverse initiative, still residing in Japan, where the podcast episode was recorded.

In the podcast interview with Ian, there were three key takeaways that stood out and can be helpful for, not just designers, but those particularly in a position to manage others:

1. The permission and the freedom to be wrong is essential to creativity.

Ian uses simple activities and games in meetings with his team in order to create what he calls the State of Play. These games might be something as simple as drawing for people who are not typically used to drawing. He says that play is useful in getting people out of their comfort zone and letting people be wrong without, or at least with less, fear. Eliminating the sense of fear is essential to cultivating creativity, especially in a corporate environment, according to Ian.

2. Humility is underrated.

One of Ian’s hobbies living in Japan is to go visit shokunin, craftspeople typically engaged in making traditional daily tools and objects such as sandals, bowls, baskets, buckets, etc., oftentimes painstakingly by hand. Having visited quite a few of them in various towns, he observed that they all have something in common: a commitment to humble excellence. This kind of humility is underrated, he says, and he witnesses that it makes such a big difference in the final product.

3. Representation matters.

When he started his career in NYC, one of his first managers was Omar Wasow, a co-founder of BlackPlanet.com in the 1990s. At R/GA, Ian worked under a colleague who was from the Dominican Republic and a person of color. The fact that his bosses were minorities back then and how they reflected on Ian himself wasn’t lost on him. As a Black designer, he felt and still feels that how he does would reflect on other people that look like him that would come after him. Ian projected a sense of duty in his voice as a leading yet humble designer who happens to be Black.

If you are curious about the conversation with Ian, please listen to this episode “Why Play, Not Talent, Is More Important for Creativity” wherever you get your podcast:

This blog post represents portions of an interview moderated by Rei Inamoto, a designer by trade, a minimalist at heart. Founding Partner of I&CO. Named in “Creativity 50,” “The Top 25 Most Creative People in Advertising.”

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

 

Story is Still King in the Creative World. Here’s Why.

Whether it’s on TikTok, Twitter or television, storytelling is at the heart of advertising. Recently, storytelling mixing with creativity found its way into my inbox. I thought it appropriate to share here, on my creativity blog.

Margaret McGovern, Executive Creative Director of Boathouse, examines the key aspects of an engaging story. 

Heading into a new year always prompts questions: What’s new? What’s trending? What digital platform has risen to the top?

And there’s a lot; from vertical format to generative AI. And shorter… everything keeps getting shorter. Six seconds! How can you capture someone’s attention in six seconds in a compelling way, and without sound? 

Plus, it’s hard to predict anything anymore. From the rise of TikTok and the creation of the metaverse, to whatever is going on at Twitter, it’s all up for grabs. But, if there’s anything all of this change has shown, it’s that storytelling will be front and center because it’s the one thing that ties it all together

We still have a long way to go 

What we are seeing is a rise in inclusivity and equity. Voices that have been marginalized in film-making, and in all creative fields, are finally being heard. These inequities are finally shifting and trending in the right direction. Toy companies are removing gender labels, fashion brands are embracing a non-binary world, welcoming anyone to wear their clothes. My hope that this uptick in acceptance and inclusivity of truly all voices continues.

The metaverse is trying to TikTok its way into the hearts and minds of Gen Z and the generation that comes after that or, basically, pretty much anyone who will pay attention to it. There will always be a new digital stage to perform on but one thing will remain the same, the extraordinary power of telling a great story. Be cutting edge, create something we haven’t seen before, put it on a platform we are just starting to understand but, without a story, it all falls apart. 

We are in the business of capturing hearts and minds. It is our job to meaningfully connect people, brands, products and culture. Storytelling will always be front and center, it’s the one thing that ties it and us all together. Without a story, we come up short.

Narrative and storytelling

If a story is compelling, delivers on a universal truth or just makes us laugh or smile for six seconds, then it is a great story and will result in quality creative work, regardless of whether it has been shot on a phone, in someone’s dining room, or by a film crew of 30 people with a six-figure budget.

Never has it been more important to stick to the core of storytelling to help work stand out amid the proliferation of video. The world is full of video; we are living in self-created and curated bubbles and consuming more video content than ever before. But there is a reason for this; it drives engagement like nothing else. 

However, attention is a limited resource, and we need to get the right message in front of the right consumer at the right time. Media is fragmented and attention is at a deficit. Narrative pulls it all together and lets us focus on what story needs to be told, when and where. Plus, AI is helping us understand what’s out there, what is working, and why.

New ways to tell essential stories

The pandemic taught us that stories can be shot on smartphones, or even filmed over Zoom. Who would have thought that a Zoom-created commercial would ever be a thing? But, however they were captured, riveting stories emerged, tapping into universal experiences shared by all of us. This approach to film-making, doing whatever it took to tell a story, helped to revolutionize and re-imagine the standards for quality content the industry had created. And the consumers came along with open minds, willing to engage, watch, digest.

Probably key to this work created in serious times was the notion of authenticity, and it has increasingly become an important component of marketing. Content that is too slick or too branded will be dismissed. The savvy consumer knows when they are being played and information needs to be imparted in a clear, concise manner. Messages can be entertaining and humorous, but most of all they should simply be human. We humans fall for humanity every time and we use story to understand our world and all that happens in it. Authentic storytelling, inclusive of all voices, is what we need in the politically charged, troubled and climate-challenged world we live in. 

The opportunity for creativity and storytelling has never been greater. Our digital, always-on culture means we are consuming content at breakneck speed, which means there are countless opportunities to make powerful work that connects between brands and their audiences. Contrast this with the way work was created 25 years ago, when brands had such limited channels and opportunities, and 2023 is looking pretty good.

While brands may have countless opportunities, as Margaret points out, they also have more competition and more eyes and ears among which they must travel. Bud Light is finding that to be true as they endeavor to change the transgender story to a story much more positive. Today’s storytelling mixed with the right amount of creativity can make for a rather nice  and appetizing recipe. Bon appetite!
 
 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

 

Quotes for May, Graduation and Enlightenment

Tis that time of year again when graduation ceremonies and insightful speeches are given to enlighten the crowd. Other notables are included here for their wisdom and foresight within the advertising industry and beyond. So, take note; it’s time for May quotes!

 

Attract attention, maintain interest, create desire and get action. — E. Elmo St. Lewis, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live — lives. — Theodore Francis MacManus, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. – Isaac Asimov

It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them. – Steve Jobs

The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless. – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Click on the image to get a better view of the quote

Commencement Address/ Ithaca College May 1972

The place to start in advertising is the basic selling appeal. An appeal that fulfills some existing need in the prospect’s mind, an appeal that can be readily understood and believed. — Morris Hite, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

I have learned that any fool can write a bad ad, but that it takes a real genius to keep his hands off a good one. — Leo Burnett, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Art is not just our expression of life and of ourselves. It is not just our internal cry: Art is the lie we need about the world and ourselves. When we write or paint or act or compose, we are imposing an order, yes, but we are also crafting a world we can control, and usually it is one we can admire–or at the very least recognize. Art is not elite; art is not on a high shelf for a chosen few. Art is, like religion, a primary narcotic. — Marlon Brando

We have a need for an enlightened, watchful articulate opposition. We have no need for semi-secret societies who are absolutist, dictatorial, and would substitute for a rule of law and reason an indiscriminate assault on the institutions that must be held sacrosanct. — Rod Serling

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

Creativity + Constraints = A Good Pairing?

When one adds any sort of constraint to the creative process, one gets bogged down, right? Um, not necessarily. In fact, it could be just the opposite. From a variety of perspectives, constraints can open up dialogue and creative opportunities not originally thought or considered.

Portions of this blog post, originated by one, Lee Duncan, got me to thinking about just that. In the early stages of writing a short story, I jotted down some thoughts on my iPhone, knowing they would be automatically “copied” to another application (Notes) on my laptop so I could continue at some later date. When that later date came and I went to access them on my laptop, the additions I had made were nowhere to be found.

Oh, the horror!

I discovered a major constraint! Now, I had to rely on memory to reconstruct the few paragraphs I had previously written. I realized I couldn’t remember everything word for word so I revised my thinking a bit to write new dialogue based around what I did remember. All in all, it turned out okay (so far).

In his post, Duncan cites that designers, artists, writers, and creatives of all kinds are often told to “think outside the box” and let their imagination run wild. He asserts that creativity loves constraints. That limitations can actually enhance our creativity rather than hinder it? I tend to agree.

Both he and I agree that the idea that constraints can fuel creativity is not new. In fact, it has been embraced by some of the world’s most innovative thinkers, including Dr. Seuss, who famously wrote “Green Eggs and Ham” using only 50 different words. Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

Thinking Differently

Constraints force us to think differently. Or “newly” as in my case. They force us to look at a problem from a different angle and approach it in a new way. When we’re faced with limitations, we’re forced to be more resourceful, more innovative, and more creative.

Duncan cites an Instagram example: In the early days, the platform’s co-founders were faced with a constraint: they had to build a photo-sharing app for the iPhone using only the phone’s built-in camera. Rather than seeing this as a limitation, they embraced it and created a platform that revolutionized the way we share and consume visual content.

The Brain on Constraints

Research has shown that constraints can actually stimulate the brain and enhance our problem-solving abilities. When faced with a difficult problem, our brains tend to default to familiar solutions. But when we’re presented with constraints, we’re forced to explore new solutions and think outside the box.

One study conducted by the University of Amsterdam found that participants who were given a set of constraints to work within were more creative in their problem-solving than those who were given no constraints at all. Another study found that imposing a deadline on a creative project actually increased creativity, as it forced participants to make decisions and move forward with their work.

In my view, this wouldn’t necessarily increase creativity but it would increase the possibility of failure or at the very least, some new ideas. Creativity would then evolve.

Ideas and Constraints

Constraints can therefore help us generate better ideas. When we’re given a blank slate and no direction, it can be overwhelming and difficult to know where to start. You’re sort of blindly throwing the dart at the board and seeing where it lands. But when we’re given a set of constraints, we’re forced to work within certain parameters, which can actually help us come up with more focused and relevant ideas.

When a group of designers was tasked with creating a new line of office furniture, they were given a set of constraints to work within, including a specific budget and a requirement that the furniture be modular and easy to assemble. Rather than hindering their creativity, these constraints helped them generate a range of innovative ideas that met the client’s needs and exceeded their expectations.

Applying Constraints to Facilitation

Constraints can also be applied to facilitation, or the process of leading a group through a creative problem-solving process. By imposing constraints on the group, the facilitator can help guide them toward more creative solutions.

For example, a facilitator might ask a group to brainstorm ideas for a new product, but impose a constraint that the product must be made entirely from recycled materials. This constraint forces the group to think about sustainability and environmental impact, which can lead to more innovative ideas.

If no constraints were added, the group might generate hundreds of new ideas but would have to undergo a due diligence exercise to decide which ideas were better and then further decide how to proceed. That’s another exercise entirely but well worth the time invested.

While it may seem counter-intuitive, constraints can actually be a powerful tool for fueling creativity. They force us to think differently, stimulate our brains, help us generate better ideas, and can be applied to facilitation to guide groups toward more innovative solutions.

When constraints happen, and they will, gather your thoughts and let your imagination roam, exploring new opportunities and possibilities. I think you’ll find that paired together, creativity and constraints make for a viable coupling.

 

This blog post is based upon an article by Lee Duncan, an IBM Enterprise Design Thinking Leader.

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

 

Quotes for Inspiration, for Knowledge, for Laughter

Here they are. Quotes about creativity, morality violence, mental attitude. Quotes from a variety of hall-of-famers in advertising plus a pretty well known writer. Here they are, the quotes for April.

 

Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom while discouragement often nips it at the bud. — Alex Osborn, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Regardless of the moral issue, dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable. — Leo Burnett, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Attract attention, maintain interest, create desire and get action. — E. Elmo St. Lewis, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Violence does not spring from a vacuum. It’s born out of other men’s violence. It gets nurtured and it grows in a soil of prejudice and of hate and of bigotry.~Rod Serling

Rod Serling

Advertising promotes that divine discontent which makes people strive to improve their economic status. — Ralph Starr Butler, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Creativity is no longer about grabbing attention or raising consumer awareness. Its goal is to remind consumers about what is fundamental and gratifying about a brand. Peter A. Georgescu, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You’ve got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don’t feel it, nothing will happen. William Bernbach, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

No company that markets products or services to the consumer can remain a leader in its field without a deep-seated commitment to advertising. – Edwin Artzt, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Success or failure in business is caused more by mental attitude than by mental capacities. — Walter Dill Scott, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. – Rod Serling

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

The Season of Creativity

As each of our seasons progress, my good friend Felix Scardino passes on a seasonal message meant to inspire and provoke thoughtfulness in each of us. As Spring has arisen, so, too, has the Season of Creativity. Felix’s message for this Spring is as follows . . .

In our winter message, The Season of Inwardness, Thomas Merton urged us to Trust the winter when the plant says nothing. He was reminding us that, although things appear dead, hidden within them are resources that lead to new life. With its burst of color and growth, spring validates that concept. Let this season be your teacher. Spring can remind you not to jump to dire conclusions when all seems lost, when you can’t see much in your future, or when you feel that your reserves have dried up.

Take a lesson from nature. Our resources for new ideas and insights are often so hidden that our lives look like dead branches. If you find yourself in a personal winter of doubt, confusion and fear (what Shakespeare calls the Winter of our Discontent), rest assured that there is a creative source within you. You will begin to see shoots of life and hope, which usher you into your spring. But be prepared to work for it!

In spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt. ~ Margaret Atwood

‘Smell like dirt’ means be willing to do the work, take a chance, experiment, risk disapproval, fall on your face, start over! New biomedical research suggests that you will thereby activate your healing system. We feel most alive when, acting from our deepest nature, we allow what lives inside of us to come out.

Don’t wait for the big bang of colossal insights before you roll up your sleeves. Trust the “still, small voice” of your quiet inkling and hunches–not by thinking about them, but by acting on them.

Honor them, work with them, shape them as you would clay. Speak them, write them and teach them in your office and at school. Stir them, mix them and chop them in your kitchen. Hammer them, sand them and paint them in your workshop. Make bold strokes. Make a mess. You can always clean it up and start over.

Welcome spring and your new creative self!

Felix Scardino, LCSW

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

And, check out creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

Einstein on Free Will and Imagination’s Power

This week’s post highlights a very intriguing article by one Maria Popova who features an interview of Albert Einstein from the early 20th Century and gives us some background into his thinking and feelings of free will and its impact on our imagination. Since imagination and creativity go hand in hand, I felt it appropriate to include this blog post in my creativity series.

 

“Human being, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to an invisible tune, intoned in the distance by a mysterious player.” — Albert Einstein

We are accidents of biochemistry and chance, moving through the world waging wars and writing poems, spellbound by the seductive illusion of the self, every single one of our atoms traceable to some dead star.

In the interlude between the two World Wars, days after the stock market crash that sparked the Great Depression, the German-American poet and future Nazi sympathizer George Sylvester Viereck sat down with Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879–April 18, 1955) for what became his most extensive interview about life — reflections ranging from science to spirituality to the elemental questions of existence.

It was published in the Saturday Evening Post on October 29, 1929 — a quarter century after Einstein’s theory of relativity reconfigured our basic understanding of reality with its revelation that space and time are the warp and weft threads of a single fabric, along the curvature of which everything we are and everything we know is gliding.

Albert Einstein by Lotte Jacobi. (University of New Hampshire Museum of Art.)

Considering the helplessness individual human beings feel before the immense geopolitical forces that had hurled the world into its first global war and the decisions individual political leaders were making — decisions already inclining the world toward a second — Einstein aims in his sensitive intellect at the fundamental reality of existence:

I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew… I believe with Schopenhauer: We can do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must. Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act is if freedom of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a responsible being.

When asked about any personal responsibility for his own staggering achievements, he points a steadfast finger at the nonexistence of free will:

I claim credit for nothing. Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as for the star. Human being, vegetables or cosmic dust, we all dance to an invisible tune, intoned in the distance by a mysterious player.

For Einstein, the most alive part of the mystery we live with — the mystery we are — is the imagination, that supreme redemption of human life from the prison of determinism. With an eye to his discovery of relativity, he reflects:

I believe in intuitions and inspirations. I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am. When two expeditions of scientists, funded by the Royal Academy, went forth to test my theory of relativity, I was convinced that their conclusions would totally tally with my hypothesis. I was not surprised when the eclipse of May 29, 1919, confirmed my intuitions. I would have been surprised if I had been wrong.

I am enough of an artist to draw freely from the imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

Complement this article with the thoughts of neuroscientist Sam Harris on our primary misconception about free will, and then revisit Einstein on the interconnectedness of our fates.

 

Many thanks to Maria Popova, Editor and Publisher of The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) for her due diligence in publishing this interview so folks like me can further share it with our creative brethren.

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

Feel free to review various creative selections from my website.

Jolan tru!

Top Tips for Kick-Starting Creativity

Albeit some years back, I came up with a list of tips for kick-starting one’s creativity. These are tips I’ve learned over the years and have put into practice. May they serve you as well as they have me!

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.

 

Feel free to review various creative selections from my website.

Quotes Anew

Well, it’s that time of the month again when I present a variety of quotes from different personalities from the worlds of creativity and advertising, among others. Take to heart but also take time to think. They’ll serve you well! Enjoy!

 

Creativity is no longer about grabbing attention or raising consumer awareness. Its goal is to remind consumers about what is fundamental and gratifying about a brand. — Peter A. Georgescu, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Meetings are all too often the burial grounds of great ideas. — Keith Reinhard, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Every area of trouble gives out a ray of hope, and the one unchangeable certainty is that nothing is certain or unchangeable. — John E. Kennedy, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. – Carl Jung

Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see. – Edward de Bono

Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your destiny. – Carl Schurz

The self you know, the you deep inside, is obscured by a stack of untold stories.
Janet Mock, writer, television host, director, producer and transgender rights activist

The person who knows HOW will always have a job. The person who knows WHY will always be his boss. – Alanis Morissette

To think is to practice brain chemistry. – Deepak Chopra

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. – George Bernard Shaw

 

Hopefully making a ruckus, one blog post at a time!

Be sure to check out my other blog, Joe’s Journey, for personal insights on life and its detours.