I have this big whiteboard in my office at work. I originally put it up with the intention of posting deadlines and other details, so I could recall them at a glance. It worked pretty well, but it was really boring to look at, let alone maintain. And it kept getting erased for more important things - like brainstorming or lewd sketches.

So now I use it as an inspiration board. Sometimes I’ll have a big thought and say “Oh, that’s good. I should write that down.”  And then I do. Other times I read or hear something insightful and jot it on The Board. And then there are the ideas I encounter, forget about and remember later but assume they are original thoughts. So I apologize if I fail to properly credit someone. For certain, Faris Yakob, Alex Bogusky and Josh Linker deserve credit for what’s on The Board right now.

A recent photo of the board is on the right. It’s a mix of phrases, complete statements, partial outlines, arrows, circles, etc. If someone wanted to know what I think about when approaching a new project or my thoughts on best practices for our industry, The Board is a glimpse inside my head.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s depicted on The Board right now and what it means to me:

“What we do defines our brand” - We can talk and talk about talent, capabilities, and accomplishments but it’s the actual WORK that defines us. You know the old saying “Put up or shut up?” It’s quite true.

“Human-centered vs. Technology-centered” - There’s been a lot of discussion about the ongoing struggle between these terms. Human-centered always seems to win. But it’s an unfair competition. Technology is merely a platform for ideas and creativity. Sure, technology can turn what was previously impossible into the possible, but it’s still a platform. The ideas and creativity come from our humanity. Which brings me to this…

“The 3 Steps of Illustration” (credit: Serena Lin Bush) - “1. Send us a picture, 2. We draw the picture, 3. We send you a bill.” It may not be the original meaning exactly, but for me this is a lesson in what happens when you deny the human-centered aspect of our industry and just focus on the platform. You start with a picture and you end up with the same picture. Where’s the value-add in that? It’s how bad creative and commoditization occur.

“The Value of Spec Work and Pitching New Clients” - What new and exciting things are going on that you want to be a part of? Is there a client you’ve always wanted to work with? Identify the client and go after them with gusto. You get to dive into whatever it is that is inspiring you, take some risks you can’t normally take and in doing so could end up with an exciting new client. Win-win-win.

The primary item on The Board right now is a partial outline on how to do great creative (with nods to both Bogusky and Linker):

“Establish the Objective” - As I’ve blogged about before, every successful project begins with a CLEAR establishment of the objectives.

“Understand Consumer Culture” - This takes research and insight. We need to really understand our audience. Go way beyond demographics and basic psychographics. We’re not trying to tell them what they want or what they want to hear. We’re trying to create something that can itself become part of the cultural fabric - something that will RESONATE with our audience.

“Understand Category Conventions” - category convention is an aspect of something that is the way it is just because. Everyone unknowingly follows these conventions. Find them, understand them and then break them (Bogusky). This isn’t a simple matter of creating shock value or doing something offbeat. Wacky creative with the pure intent of being wacky is lazy and unintelligent in my opinion. Breaking convention is actually an extremely difficult thing. If you can identify a convention and break it, your message will resonate. The blog I wrote about “The 5 W’s” can help in the identification and breaking of those conventions.

I’ll close with one more thought on category conventions. Our industry has conventions just like everything else. The work we do can pretty much be broken into two categories. There is for-profit work and public service work. Most of what we do is the for-profit work because it pays the bills. And I believe there is a wide spread assumption the two are mutually exclusive. This leads to complaints about how we convince people to buy things they don’t need or manipulate emotions to create demand - evil capitalists we are! But in reality, I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. Other industries are already figuring this out. Look at Wal-Mart’s decision to partner with local produce farmers or social media that empowers consumers (ex: Groupon). Our clients are starting to recognize the tremendous value in business models that improve communities. Imagine if we find ways to do the same thing with advertising. And I’m not talking about creative that talks about the good our clients are doing. I’m talking about creative that does good all by itself. That’s a game changer.