Monday, June 21, 2010

One Minute Wisdom from 'Rethink'

Good insights can be found in interesting places...

The Rethink Scholarship is awarded to art directors and designers on the basis of a sketchbook containing the applicant's most interesting ideas.

You can use their one minute video as a prompt for fresh thinking.

There's wisdom in the points they make, like:

- Don't fall in love with your first idea.

- Show people your work, see if they get it (repeat, repeat, repeat ....)

and the way they make them, including:

- Layered messages.

- Use of anticipation.

- Novelty combined with simplicity.

Their selection criteria (see How We Pick the Winner) provide self-checks to use as you prepare to present new ideas, highlighting the importance of:

Clarity: of your ideas, and how they are conveyed.

Relevance: speaking to what's most important to your audience.

Freshness: what's new and exciting?

Salience: no need to show every step or possibility, quality trumps quantity.

Craft and execution: how you present communicates as much as what you present.