When I was three-years-old my mom walked into my playroom to find me sitting at my Play School table getting ready to color. But not just sitting. Sitting with my chair at a 45-degree angle from the table and my legs propped up on the table, crossed ankles resting on the corner. When my mom asked what I was doing, I replied, “Mommy, this is how I think the best,” as if it was obvious.

She snapped a picture of me that morning, which has remained framed and infamous primarily because that is still “how I think the best.” Throughout high school, college and even here at Willow, when I have a difficult task to complete I push my chair back a bit, turn to the side and clear a space on the corner of my desk to rest my ankles.

I also have noticed that my fellow shrubs have their own habits to help optimize their productivity. Some like to get here early, crossing jobs off the To Do list while the office is still quiet. Others prefer to stay later wrapping up projects after the dust of the day has settled. Headphones, used to listen to music and disappear into one’s own world of thought, are an utter necessity for some shrubs while others enjoy sitting at the coffee bar brainstorming and bouncing ideas off those that pass by. For some, this “productive pose” changes from project to project, but for others it’s a life-long habit that never fails.

So what’s your secret recipe for success? Are you particularly productive in the evening, or do you do your best thinking when the sun is coming up? Does standing on your head while eating a bologna and pickle sandwich help you focus? Tell us what works for you so we can give it a try. (But if it’s that upside-down pickle sandwich thing, we want to see photographic proof first…)

Recently when I’ve been a part of a brainstorm in the office, or just have heard the word “brainstorming” I’ve thought of a (surprisingly appropriate and clean) lyric of “Motivation” by Kelly Rowland and Lil’ Wayne in which Lil’ Wayne raps “Rain on my head, call it brainstorming.” Well, Wayne, I’d have to say it’s raining brainstormin’ up in Willow.

At Willow, it takes place at the coffee bar or the conference room, with the life-size easel pad or each Willow shrubs’ notebook. But what is brainstorming? As is done whenever information is desired in this day and age, I Googled said activity. One simple definition called brainstorming (n): intensive discussion to solve problems or generate ideas. I’d have to agree– simple and to the point. Another calls a brainstorm (n): a sudden impulse, idea, etc., which I imagine as a light bulb drawn over a cartoon characters head, or an “Ah HA!” moment. But my favorite definition of a brainstorm (n) would have to be: a fit of mental confusion or excitement.

This last definition conjures up a scene of pure chaos and madness, loud and sudden insanity, with smoke and broken glass. A bit dramatic, yes, but to me the most helpful definition for all those brainstormers out there.

Supporting the latter definition, my additional Google search find of “Step by Step Brainstorming” seems a bit comical. How can you put a guide, one through ten, on “a fit of mental confusion?” In my opinion the insanity aspect is the most useful way to generate a crazy idea today, which could possibly be the most genius idea in the future.

I’d say there is one rule in brainstorming, no idea is a bad idea, and in my experience brainstorming at Willow, I have heard that very “rule” in every session. Most things/ideas/inventions/innovations don’t make too much sense at their beginning, but now we can’t imagine life without them. So, the crazier the better. Think outside the box. The sky’s the limit. And Lil’ Wayne may have been right. Occasionally our brainstorming sessions do include a bit of “rain on my head” as the roof above the coffee bar is known to leak now and then.

Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/brainstorming

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Those of you who have been regular readers of my blog posts know that my approach to creative is simple. Know who you are talking to and clearly define the benefits of your product or service in an effective, decisive manner. It’s the old KISS principle: keep it simple, stupid.

I want to share with you another tactic that may, at first glance appear to go against this KISS principle. It’s the idea of force-fitting creative. A kind of massing together two unrelated topics or ideas. The best example that I can give you to illustrate this concept is from the television show “Glee”. They take a rock ’n roll song and put in a totally different context.

Recently my 14-year old daughter was watching a reality show called “The Glee Project” where contestants compete to win a role on the parent show “Glee”. In this episode, the contestants performed that 70’s glitter-rock anthem ,“Were Not Going Take It (anymore)” set in the context of social outcast (losers) trying to fit into the defined hierarchy of a school cafeteria. The underlining and uplifting theme was that you don’t have to try to “fit in” you just need to be yourself.

Now take that basic concept and apply it to your design. It’s the idea of selling a high-tech device using a retro look or the parents acting like kids. It’s somewhat unexpected to mesh opposite ideas together, but it will help develop additional or alternative concepts and reshape the way you think about image selection for print or web designs. One key element to remember is that you don’t always have to show your product or service as the main element—unless it’s some brand new item, people will get it. Focus on the benefit and then twist it so the answer to the problem will be the product or services. Try it. I think you’ll find that it will expand your creative arsenal.

I recently downloaded the free set of symbol signs made available by AIGA. These symbols are termed an “inventory of symbol systems… for use at the crossroads of modern life.” They are standardized icons we see daily with effective iconography for several languages, yet still modern, and don’t forget, adorable. I’m a fan of anything tiny, but more than their size, I appreciate that these symbols were designed with the goal to “communicate the required range of complex messages, addressed people of different ages and cultures and were clearly legible at a distance.” In the design world, the term “segmentation” or “target audience” is thrown around a time or two. While these are very important, at times it seems there must be one very direct, general purpose for a piece or message to reach a wide group of people, or dare I say everyone. Whether it be a specific ad campaign to an age group under 30 with a similar interest of golfing, or a wide, bold message stating a cause or stance to everyone that hears, Willow is available to help you communicate that message clearly. If you’re lucky, we may even design an icon or two for you.

Source:
http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/symbol-signs

It sure has been a busy week in the news world! A friend of mine summed it up pretty well: “It’s been a week straight out of a Disney movie! The prince married the princess and the bad guy got caught in the end.”

I’m not going to go into politics, but there has been quite a bit of buzz in the social media world around celebrities and their views on Osama Bin Laden’s death and America’s reaction to it. Which lead me to think about the online footprint we leave.

We all post a good amount of opinions and images online; some good, some we tend to regret later, and I think we forget to realize that once it’s out there on the world wide web it is pretty hard to completely remove it again.

With so many businesses utilizing the power of advertising via social media, it is vital that owners sit down with their employees and create a social media policy.

I read a great article about this on Mashable by Maria Ogneva. One of her suggestions was to create a solid process: “Make sure that every part of the organization is looped in. Find a way of sharing information and collaborate around it.”

We have set that in motion here at Willow. Only select people have access to our Twitter account, keeping our brand voice consistent and ensuring that we monitor what we post. We follow the same process for the hand full of client social media campaigns we manage. Tweets and Facebooks posts are planned out, proof read and run by our clients for approval, making sure we are all on the same page regarding how our clients are perceived in the social media world.

How are you using social media at your company and how do you avoid PR blunders?