Archive for the ‘Creative Process’ Category

A Recipe for Better Brainstorming

Posted January 26, 2012, by Kelly Mazurkiewicz

How do you break out of stale, established patterns of thinking? What’s the best way to develop new ways of looking at things? And how on earth do you overcome the many issues that can make group problem-solving unsatisfactory processes for all involved?

Through fun brainstorming sessions of course! 20090512-165126-whiteboard

What you need:

  • Any writing utensils you are most comfortable with
  • Highlighters, colored pencils, markers, or crayons
  • Blank sheets of paper – could be lined, graph or plain
  • Laptops/computers (if available, you never know when you’ll need to Google something.
  • And most importantly, a subject/problem to brainstorm

Best brainstorming practices:

  • Take lots and lots of notes
    • Use a white board
    • Record conversations
    • Draw pictures
    • Encourage Participation
      • Ask questions – there is no such thing as a stupid question!
      • Clarify everything
        • Sometimes people view things completely differently than what you have in mind.
        • Draw out your ideas, make graphs or charts – anything to help you get your point across.
        • Do not judge -

What to do with all your notes:

  • Categorize
    • Once you have lots of ideas written down, it’s time to categorize them all and group them into similar groups.
  • Reduce
    • Now that things are categorized, take out all of the groups that don’t make much sense at all to the subject you are brainstorming.
  • Analyze
    • Now take a look at what you have left! I guarantee you’ll have some pretty unique, fresh ideas.

Marketing that Makes the World a Better Place

Posted January 5, 2012, by Emily Caswell

Getting 20 people to agree to have their photo taken at a certain time on a certain day isn’t the easiest task. MOD_SignatureChefs_Auction_Program_cover

Add to that the fact that these 20 people are chefs with local restaurants to run, and the task gets about 100 times harder.

But if there’s one thing that can make it worth the effort — it’s babies. More specifically, babies who benefit from funds raised through the March of Dimes.

That’s why when Tiffany Dowling was selected as the 2011 March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction co-chair she didn’t hesitate to say “yes.”

Serving as the co-chair may sound easy enough (if you like planning events for 500 people — which we happen to love), but in taking on that role Dowling also volunteered the agency to do public relations, social media,  event planning and marketing materials including all of the print promotions — tickets, invitations, RSVP cards, envelopes, table and event signage and the program — which included individual photos of each and every one of the local chefs involved in the event, for the auction.

From start to finish — along with a team of volunteers and the entire Signature Chefs Auction committee — a lot of the talent at Motion Marketing & Media had a hand in the planning and execution of the event.

M3’s design team of Lisa Twenter and Julie Becker developed and executed the awesome hand-made cocoa powder rendering of the March of Dimes logo, which served as the catalyst to the rest of the design and color palette for the evening. I scheduled the chef photos and gathered their bio information to be complied into the program.

M3 also helped to secure the Bone family as the 2011 Signature Chefs Auction ambassador family.

We worked to gather items for both the live and silent auction and, of course, the entire team collaborated with the Lansing March of Dimes office to be sure they loved everything we were doing.

In the end the Signature Chefs Auction raised more than $65,000 for Mid-Michigan babies in need. And frankly? It doesn’t get much better than that.

The March of Dimes project was just one of the pro bono projects that  M3 assisted on in 2011. All in all we donated more than 400 hours to various causes. Other pro bono clients include:

In addition, in 2011  Capital Area Women’s LifeStyle Magazine’s Lady Classic raised more than $4,000 for the Lansing City Rescue Mission center for women and children and the CAWLM ‘80s Flashback Fundraiser raised more than $4,000 for the Westside Commercial Association Youth Mural Art Program.

While the scope of our 2012 pro bono projects hasn’t been entirely determined, we are looking forward to giving back to the community and causes we love.

Left Handed in a Right-Handed World

Posted December 22, 2011, by Julia Kloeckner

Ms. P was a fifth grade teacher who had light purple hair and carried a wooden ruler. “Whack!” Suddenly the knuckles on my left hand stung as red welt marks branded me. She was determined to convert her southpaw student to right-handedness. I was to conform or else! how-to-do-left-handed.

Ms. P’s lacquered ruler smacks had a profound effect on me.

This educator was teaching me that I wouldn’t be socially accepted, guaranteed not to excel and I wasn’t in my right mind – to know any better. I did know better. My young, intuitive self knew that if I changed my writing hand for her I’d turn out to be a dissimilar thinker. Her ferocious physical method of conversion never made me cave. No big, fat, green pencil would find its way between my fingers – in my other hand.

Ms P. would roll over in her grave to know that today I possess the skills of being mixed handed. With all the standard clichés about left vs. right and who’s in their right mind, how about the acceptance of others just as they are.

Why was I supposed to change such a significant part of me? I didn’t want her to change her purple hair. The swift smacks kept on and I kept on with my lefty edge. So with my left hand in a hook position and the paper sporting a mean right tilt, my fancy cursive handwriting became special and superior – the best in the class! My cursive writing is beautiful, to plainly print – not so much. Cursive writing feels more natural in that various senses awaken. The phenomenon of explosive imagination, vibrant colors and a stillness of white noise happens in my head. My mind’s eye comes forth in high gear as I take pen to paper; and more so when I tilt my head to the right (a true dreamer tilts her head).

From fifth grade on, I’ve callused my hands to a world set to accommodate right hands. Every day items all around you can be slapped onto the righty list: office equipment, home appliances, note pads (this one drives me crazy!) and most things in between. Thus, I’ve resolved to problem solve the right way for me. No matter who or what may drive you to change your ways, establish your own boundaries in creative thinking and in ways to navigate your future.

To this end, I am graciously left to write….

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.” Jim Rohn

Creative Traditional Shouldn’t be an Oxymoron

Posted December 8, 2011, by Julie Becker

As an advertising professional, I pride myself in ideas that push the envelope – ideas that make people feel a little bit uncomfortable, evoke emotion and ultimately motivate consumers to behave in a certain way. That being said, I’m not sure if I’ve come to terms with industry leaders using social media as a crutch for creative execution.

On more than one occasion in recent history, I have heard marketing VPs resort to the phrase, “This is great … but not for TV. We can put it on our YouTube channel, though.”

At the American Advertising Federation (AAF) District 5 and 6 conference this fall, Andrew D. Sarkisian, Manager for North American Safety Planning and Strategy at Ford Motor Company showcased Ford’s Doug social media campaign. Across the board there is a clear understanding that Doug was solely built for digital advertising. Whether by design or otherwise, even a Mashable article on the campaign states, “The Doug campaign’s humor is edgy in a way that a traditional TV campaign couldn’t be.”

Why? Or better yet, why not?

When asked why YouTube and social media channels are a better fit for tongue-in-cheek advertising, such as the Doug campaign, many advertising and marketing professionals answer similarly: it’s where our target audience spends most of their time (meaning, young adults in the 18-24 age demographic). Others say it’s expected with social media; there is a different creative standard for online advertising.

While I tend to agree with the latter statement, it’s important to examine the data and purchasing power of social media audiences.

purchasingpower_youtube_graphs

Research proves that creativity doesn't need to be limited to online advertising.

In a 2009 study of buying power and markets conducted by SalesandMarketing.com, the 0-17, 18-24 and 50+ age demographics held more than 65 percent of the total buying power in the West North Central region of the world. The same age demographics held more than 70 percent of the total buying power in the East North Central region of the world.

Flash forward to 2011. Research conducted by ingitesocialmedia.com shows these same demographic brackets collectively accounted for less than 33 percent of all YouTube viewers around the world.

When you boil it down, TV viewership reached all-time highs in 2009 and continues to grow; as does social media use. The same people who spend an average of 66 hours per week on their computer outside of work are the same people who spent an average of 38 hours in front of their TV. So why are companies only marketing creatively on one platform?

People who watch TV still like to laugh, feel inspired and enjoy clever strategy. It’s the reason the Super Bowl garners so much attention for advertising. Furthermore, those who hold buying power are consuming product information through traditional and non-traditional mediums alike. To achieve a truly integrated messaging strategy, creativity must be implemented across all platforms, not in digital advertising alone.

Others argue regulations to traditional media keep creative strategy off the airwaves and on the Internet. However, campaigns like Doug pose no real threat to television audiences and would likely pass FCC standards with ease. As online viewership continues to grow similar standards will be implemented and the playing field will be leveled once again.

Creative costs money, lots of it. Creative strategy and execution is clever, smart and above all, effective. So let’s put the money where our mouth … and our audience is.

Business in the Blogosphere

Posted November 3, 2011, by Lisa Twenter

As I sit here prepared to share my thoughts on this week’s edition of the M3 blog, I immediately think back to why we blog and why it has become a crucial step in reaching out to our visitors and potential clients.

Our agency happens to be particularly multifaceted. Every morning, we have an extraordinary amount of talent walk into M3 and get to work on a variety of projects. To someone just becoming familiar with our agency, our large staff can seem like a complicated family tree of skill sets and responsibilities. Blogging helps to break a large, well-oiled machine down to its most important parts. When a reader is able to gain a better understanding of the individual strengths, interests and talents brewing at M3, they are better able to understand what M3 as a whole can do for their company or project.

Blogging can be beneficial to companies of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds. By regularly blogging, a business can establish itself as invested in its clients and dedicated to staying up-to-date in their industry. To get the most out of a blog, posters should make an effort to stay current. Sharing helpful tips and discussing industry news is a great way to engage readers and keep them checking back for updates.

Once you have some awesome, solid blog posts under your belt, it’s important to remember to keep the momentum going. One blog post per month is not going to be enough to keep regular readers. Creating and regularly maintaining a blog for your business is meant to allow you to appeal to your customers on a personal level and to establish your business as cutting-edge within your industry. A blog with a virtual-tumbleweed rolling through it can make your business seem unapproachable and behind-the-times.

When starting a blog for your business, start with a plan. Make an effort to regularly post, be enthusiastic and get your visitors excited about what you do. A blog is a great way for you to regularly interact with your customers on a massive scale, and more businesses than ever are using this powerful tool to engage current and future clients. Blog, rinse, repeat.

The Inspired Journey

Posted October 13, 2011, by Mary McElgunn

Finding inspiration for a project is the key to creativity.  Where do you find that inspiration? Well, that’s different for each person.  But how do you find it? Follow my foolproof guidelines along your creative journey and discover inspiration at every step.

Walls can speak volumes. A major trend in Corporate America is to create inspiring places for your employees — a cool place to work. The idea is that when you create a stimulating environment, you stimulate creativity in your employees. So, when you need to feel inspired, your first step to getting there is surrounding yourself with the environment that speaks to your inner-creativity.  The best part? You don’t always have to leave your house to find it.  By simply organizing your space, you can organize your mind. De-clutter your workspace, light some candles, wrap up in those comfy clothes and put some coffee on. This prep time also helps clear your mind and allows for some delightful ‘thought showers’ to develop before you even get started on your project.

Your sixth sense. When you sit down to start a project, you can’t always dream up that wow factor on your first try.  This is where your sixth sense steps in.  Ouija boards and spirits aside — in the creative realm this refers to your journal.  If you don’t already, start carrying a travel-size journal everywhere you go because you never know when a good idea will come along that needs capturing (I recommend the brand Ecosystem).  Now when you sit down to start a project you have pages filled with notes and doodles to reference during the thought shower process.

Surfs up. It’s okay to turn to outside sources for inspiration. Surfing through publications and websites or watching documentaries can help trigger waves of creative ideas. Some of my favorites include Communication Arts Magazine, ffffound.com, pinterest.com, graphic-exchange.com, colourlovers.com and the Art & Copy documentary. Just remember, this is inspiration, not the final answer for your design.  Find something that sparks your interest, whether it’s a color, a treatment, a typeface, etc. and then make it your own. Now it’s time to move to your blank canvas … and keep in mind these last few tips as you begin your exploration.

Think Small. These are the brilliant words of the worldwide advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) in their 1959 Volkswagen Ad. Rated No. 1 in Ad Age’s Top 100 Ad Campaigns, this is the perfect example of the effectiveness of white space and simplicity.  ‘Less is more’, while cliché, couldn’t be more exact when it comes to design. Pull back on the design reins and eliminate unnecessary components. Negative space is positively essential to a visually interesting composition. volkswagenAd_WebPhoto

Lay the gridwork. When you have to lay components across a blank canvas, it’s easy to fall into a standard composition. Pull out the grids from your design toolbox and discover a surprising and fresh layout.  Start with your blank canvas and draw in random lines, from edge to edge.  Now you can start to compose your elements using the lines as a guide (of course, you don’t have to follow them exactly).

Not your type. Check out our Graphicsionado’s blog titled Not Your Type.  She explores different typefaces and the power of using typography as a design element.

And last but not least, we’ll talk about you. Computers are great tools, but too often people work only in the digital outlet.  Some of my favorite projects are composed of parts that I have assembled by hand, photographed and scanned in. Construction paper, a painting, chopped magazine pieces, etc., create an interesting depth to your digital design.  I created a poster (shown below) for the MMCA Studio Crawl using a two-step process of first designing a bottle label, then assembling it and photographing it alongside other props. How fun! Never let the computer handicap your creativity.

StudioCrawl_FinalPoster#CEB

Now you know how to find your inspiration, but where you find your inspiration from along the way is what makes the creative journey unique and exciting every time.

READY

SET

CREATE.

Not Your Type

Posted March 31, 2011, by Lisa Twenter

Although I have a special place in my designerly heart for photography and illustration, I am a firm believer that most messages can be communicated largely with typography and with very little, if any, imagery. I often begin designs with thoughts of typography alone – I find that imagery often plays a secondary role in my design process.

As with most facets of the design world, while ultimately subjective, there are standards – things you just know are either acceptable or unacceptable. As a professional creative, it is important that you are able to identify a font that is just plain taboo.

If there’s anything you should know about me, I love type. I have an outrageous collhelvetica_weightsection, 90% of which I have yet to put to significant use. With hundreds of thousands of typographic art in the world, it’s a lovely, yet anxiety-inducing, experience to try to choose the perfect set of fonts for any given project.

After looking through my personal font collection, I put together a list of my favorite and least favorite commercial fonts and why they should or should not be considered for a place in your type arsenal.

Helvetica

Seeing as it is possibly one of the most overused fonts in the design world, it almost seems as though Helvetica should have made its spot on the “absolutely never” list by now. It’s just entirely too perfect. Applicable in almost every situation, it can be dressed up or down. The documentary, aptly-named Helvetica, led me to realize that Helvetica just works. That’s its nature.  It has worked for many years and I feel it will work for many years more.

Geometric Slabserif

When I’m just not able to solve a serif vs. sans-serif debacle, Geo Slab jumps in and changes the game. With a variety of weights and styles, it can be used with the distinction of a serif font, yet possesses everything I love about a sans-serif. At its heaviest weight, it has similarities to Rockwell. At its lightest, it’s an adorable, no-frills serif that I often find myself using when I want to achieve a certain “crafty” feel in a particular project.

Garamond

Garamond is a catch-all serif. Although there are a multitude of other serifs that I love dearly, Garamond is one of those widely-used typefaces that has maintained its charm and has stood the test of time. Use it for body copy. Throw it in a headline. Embrace its multipurpose-ness!

What I love about truly well-designed sets of type is that the possibilities are endless. The right font can transform any design. When it comes to their overused and abused counterparts, there’s really only one rule I follow: don’t use them.

Mistral

I know it looks fancy and I understand that it looks handwritten. And I also realize you may want to use it to appear both classy and relatable. Mistral will not accomplish anything remotely like that – unless you want to appear as though you’re a hair salon whose print material last received an update in 1992.

Comic Sans

There was a point in my life where I used Comic Sans for everything. It was 1996. I was seven years old, and I often used it in conjunction with Curlz. Shortly after, I reached the age of reason and realized there is no excuse for the use of, quite possibly, one of the most abhorred system fonts the design world has ever known.

Papyrus

From whole food stores to the film, Avatar, I cannot seem to escape the font that never does anything short of make my skin crawl. Cafés are obsessed with it and it somehow makes its way onto nearly every product deemed “natural” or “organic.” Designed to mimic how English language texts may have looked written on papyrus 2,000 years ago, it has a distinct calligraphic, antique look that establishments from churches to restaurants go ga-ga over. I simply don’t feel the same.

I’m sure all of these typefaces had their glory day. They all had a purpose within the world of typography – perhaps they still do, however, I have yet to find it. Perhaps Papyrus was never designed to stand the test of time as Helvetica has.

The rise and fall of typefaces certainly highlights the importance of staying current, maintaining a unique sense of style and staying a step ahead of the fast-paced, whirlwind world of design.

Whichever fonts you choose to employ on a regular basis, you should always be sure of two things:

1.) Why you are using it and 2.) That it’s not Comic Sans.

Lisa Twenter is the newest addition to the M3 family. She loves typography, design and cupcakes.

Bill Rabe and the Unicorn Hunters

Posted March 10, 2010, by

Unicorn Hunters

In 1971, Bill Rabe was hired by Lake Superior State University as their new director of public relations.  Shortly after, along with some English professors, he started the Unicorn Hunters, a small group dedicated to executing unique PR efforts.  Bill has become a PR legend.  His quirky PR stunts at LSSU have lasted four decades and have been going strong for 20+ years since Bill retired along with the Unicorn Hunters.

When Bill was hired, LSSU had just split off from Michigan Technological University and become its own college.  Bill’s job was to create significant PR efforts for the new university to brand itself.

The Unicorn Hunters got to work on their PR efforts.  Some of their PR efforts included:

  • The annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-Use, Over-use and General Uselessness
  • Burning a snowman on the first day of spring
  • World Sauntering Day
  • International Stone-Skipping Tournament, held annually on Mackinac Island
  • Unicorn Questing Season

Unicorn hunting

And yes, there are actually unicorn hunters.  In one epic example Bill was able to get a TV crew from ABC News to film students on campus and their quest to find a unicorn.  There are many regulations to unicorn hunting.  For starters, you’ll need a unicorn hunting license which can be downloaded online.  Some of the other regulations include:

  • The only recognized legal unicorn bait is a virgin
  • Areas open to hunting are Earth, the moon (unexplored areas only) and the Milky Way (SE Rim is closed odd years)
  • Some recommended tools include: a bottle of hoof and horn polish, a pair of hoof trimmers and a small flask of cognac
  • Questing hours are also limited: unicorns may be taken during daylight and dark, except for those hours when the Tooth Fairy is about. She was once frightened by a grumpy unicorn, and in deference to her attitude, they make the exception

Snowman burning

On March 19, LSSU will celebrate the 40th annual Snowman Burning Day as they mark the end of winter and beginning of spring.  Starting in 1971, this was one of the Unicorn Hunters’ first established PR tactics.

“Some people hold that smoke rising from the fire is supposed to ward off blizzards and usher in spring-like weather. The Unicorn Hunters capitalized on this theory during the second or third year of the event. At that time, after the snowman was burned, a blizzard passed through the eastern Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula but missed Sault Ste. Marie.” — LSSU Web site

The snowman burning is traditionally accompanied by poetry readings.  Along with other Unicorn Hunters events, local and national news pick up this story on a yearly basis.

Banished Words List

Perhaps Bill’s most well known PR effort, the Banished Words List, has existed since 1976.  Each year, the list is released on New Year’s Day.  Every year since, LSSU’s phones start to ring on the first of the year.  Dozens of news articles are posted year to year, radio and TV interviews are conducted and the University is represented across the world.  All from creating a fictitious list of banished words.

The words are typically inspired from trends and events taking place that year.  For example some of the words on the 2010 list include:  czar, tweet, sexting, bromance, and chillaxin’ (I am guilty of using this one frequently).

One word you should be sure not to use is “basically”.  This word has made it on the Banished Word List in three different years: 1984, 1986 and 1993. Banished words can be submitted by anyone through the LSSU Web site.

Crazy ideas are welcomed

Bill created a number of traditions that are going still strong today. These traditions, resulting in 40 years of news coverage, started from a few crazy ideas.  Often times the wackiest ideas are overlooked and LSSU was wise to allow Bill Rabe and the Unicorn Hunters to run with theirs.

I challenge you to think about how you can create a brand new PR effort from scratch and build it into a tradition.  Do something that nobody else is doing.

Derek Sivers: weird, or just different?

Posted February 17, 2010, by Emily

How many times have you gotten bogged down to thinking that there is only one way to do something? How many times do you use the same object over and over again not even realizing it could be used for something else?  How many times have you overlooked another person’s point of view without even giving it much thought?  How many times have you become so deeply enveloped in a theory or a way of doing something that you just simply can’t see the other side?

Throughout the years the world has become very black and white and people have become accustomed to just accepting what is around them.  Assumptions are made all too often, and we live in a world based on habit.

Here, in his TED talk, Derek Sivers points out cultural differences from around the world.

This two-minute talk opened my eyes to many different things. Don’t just limit yourself to thinking about cultural differences.  It can be related to anything: how important it is to keep an open mind, to look at the world from different angles.

It makes me think back to when I was a kid.  I loved Where’s Waldo, I Spy, and those search and find puzzles. Anything that had me looking for something small and unique in a huge picture full of different things would have me quiet for hours. (Well, maybe not hours, but long enough to keep me out of the way.) Whenever I was doing one of these kinds of puzzles and I couldn’t find what I was looking for I would always, always, flip the book upside down.  Sure enough, after a few minutes or so, Waldo would be looking me square in the eyes.

Who would have thought something so simple like turning a picture upside down would be so successful?  I wasn’t worried about looking funny, or doing it wrong, I just wanted to find Waldo.  And I did.

Looking at things from a different angle can lead to a whole new world of opportunities.  In fact, the other day I learned that Charles Darwin, the man who came up with the theory of Evolution, was actually a geologist.  That’s right, a guy who studied rocks for a living, was able to come up with what today is known as Darwinism.  We can’t be afraid to be wrong.  If we are we, won’t ever come up with anything original.

First, is worst.

Posted January 25, 2010, by Julie Becker

clients-from-hellA group of team members at M3 have recently become something just shy of obsessed with the Web site Clients From Hell. The site is tragic, hilarious, painstakingly true and reflects the plight of designers and Web developers the world over.

There wasn’t a single post I couldn’t sympathize with. Well, that was until last Friday when this “client from hell” was posted:

“Hate it. Try again.”

At first read, yes, this is never something an agency likes to hear. But anyone on the inside will tell you, agencies that produce award-winning design pay creative directors to replay this prerecorded phrase to lowly design monkeys over and over. The best design and art instructors I ever had would tell me this time and again, pushing me to move past my first, second, third idea.

Great designers know the first idea/concept/design is never the best. (Sometimes the 27th isn’t even that great.) To express this point further, please enjoy a short list of other things that aren’t so great the first time, but get better as you push yourself to move past the bad parts:

  1. First day on the job
  2. First French kiss
  3. Trying wine/beer/alcohol
  4. First time you get behind the wheel (some never really get better)
  5. First day of school/class
  6. Preparing a new recipe (some of these never really get better, either)
  7. Anything athletic
  8. Wearing a new pair of heels
  9. Dancing
  10. Public speaking
  11. Riding the CATA, figuring out public transportation in general
  12. Playing a video or arcade game, (specifically DDR, for Justin)
  13. Anything to do with hand-eye coordination
  14. Learning to read
  15. What to tweet when you first set up your account
  16. Becoming bilingual
  17. Pulling off a good prank
  18. Making coffee
  19. Remembering to feed your pet, (specifically Emily and her cat)
  20. Grand theft auto

(You really only get one chance at the last one; if you’re not good enough to pull it off you don’t stand much of a chance to try it a second time.)

Essentially, everything we attempt to do in life gets better as we invest ourselves into that particular thing. The difference between life experiences and idea/design generation is the degree to which we push ourselves. In the fast-paced world we live in, it’s a lot easier to run with our mediocre ideas that took 15 minutes to conceptualize than spend another 45 and produce something outstanding.

So, if only for today, push yourself to redesign, rethink, reinvent; see what your ideas and designs are capable of achieving. Chances are, it will be more brilliant than what you started with. And when you show to the higher-ups, I hope they say, “Hate it. Try again.” You will be better because of it.