Working in Small Spaces

From the archives, an assignment for a suite hotel with three major benefits: amenities, size and location. Rather than listing the three benefits in one small space ad, running three ads in rotation and highlighting one benefit per ad proved more effective.

1+1=5?

Creating the illusion of the improbable is the art of many who are far better than I. Photoshop offers talented artists the opportunity to change the visual story from one that is "everyday" to one that may help deliver a message by prompting both interest and retention. (If you're interested, I've added the original photo below...)

How to Keep The Aliens Away :o)

Turtle Time

Storyboarding the Message

While looking though the archives I came across these two 30 second television spot storyboards: one for the Red Cross and the other for Health Canada/Family Service Canada.

The purpose of a storyboard is not to be a work of art (a good thing in my case) but to sketch out the concept, and to present how the audio and visual elements can work together to deliver the message. Once approved by the client, they are used to invigorate the production process from accessing talent, planning locations, lighting, prop and sound needs, and act as a script and a visual guide to shoot and edit through to the final product.

Kudos to mentors and team members Steve Williams, Stephen McGill and Michael Hicks, amongst many, many others...

Scripting Radio - Tell a Story

From the archives: a draft script for a thirty-second radio spot for a telephone company which draws on the history of the country and highlights the efficiency of modern services – in this case, the Bermuda telephone company, Quantum.

Radio is an opportunity to tell a story in 30 seconds. If set up properly at the outset, a spot like this, by subtly mixing in an ongoing, consistent flavor of sound effects and character roles, can be taken over the long term, and be spun off into a long term "brand personality" for the client in order to present updates to the benefit messages.

The Whoosh You Hear...

Reaching people in order to 'plug' (sorry) a good cause and enlist support and donations does not necessarily mean a picture of a woeful child with tears in their eyes. That tactic got old decades ago but remains a mainstay for charities. Fresh approaches can look past that and break through the charity clutter to demonstrate to target audiences 1) the need, and 2) that the viewer can be a part of the solution. Here, hard statistics from a reputable source provide the impact. Imagery provides a depiction of issue/solution.

All that's missing in this rough concept is the contact information. Or maybe it's not missing and is just an overall thought meant to give people the opportunity to choose their own path... hmmm...

Fresh Air...

Capturing a common memory can be an effective way to celebrate the spirit behind a current event. But it's tricky. You can easily overdo it and collapse into stereotypical imagery and sentiments. Plain language helps. Telling a simple story can break the bonds of the predictable. Thanks to Rick for the image that sparked the idea...

An Analogous Communication Technique

In trying to reach busy minds with a new, somewhat complex approach, it is sometimes handy to offer an analogy. This technique, demonstrated here in a somewhat humorous way, allows the viewer to 'see' what may be a challenge in a more friendly, interesting manner and may spark more interest, understanding and buy-in than a normal checklist of factors or benefits would. Photo courtesy of NASA

An Angel Singing

A neighbor of mine passed away this week. It made me think about things. And you know what happens when I think about things...

(Fun) Business Process Mapping

Back to business... Flow charts and lengthy step-by-step business process documents are very important, but when it comes to encouraging the enthusiastic participation of the team, sometimes a fun approach will enable quick reference to the process and overall buy-in of a new initiative. Here, a variation of rough draft of such a process map, prepared for a large organization. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Let The Games Begin

A quick look within to witness Canadian Olympic heart.

Where's Your Groove?

You sleep late and your shower decides cold water is now in vogue. You rush to get dressed in the dark only to discover, too late, that your socks don't match and your sweater has decided to collect all the stray pet hairs in the house. The coffeemaker goes on the fritz, spewing hot brown liquid onto the kitchen walls and ceiling, and your digital cable decides to freeze on the weather forecaster's face (the upbeat one that irks you) just before they can tell you the weather. You rush out of the house without your umbrella and your car won't start. You hoof it to the bus stop. On the way the sky opens up and it pours buckets. While trying to call the office your cell phone slips out of your wet hand and breaks into a thousand pieces. The first and then the second bus is packed and drives right on by. The third bus stops but is so crowded you have to sit beside someone who hasn't bathed in, like, six years. You get to work late, looking like you came via the sewer with that lingering smell in your nostrils. Your allergies kick in and your eyes begin streaming tears and you begin sneezing uncontrollably.

You're in a crappy mood. You know it. The people around you know it. You hate it and you need "the cure". Busy day ahead.

You slip into your chair, take a deep breath, slip on the headphones and push the button. What do you listen to that breaks the spell and puts you "in the groove"? What is THAT powerful?

Celebrating Color

Every now and then someone waltzes into your life and adds a bit of 'something' to it that wasn't there before. No two people are alike. Maybe there's a reason for that... :o)

Prompting Participation

In progress: further rough concept exercising. Objective: to prompt awareness and engage men in prostate cancer checkups - without falling too too far into stereotypical patterns. (Plus, my first and probably last experience as a hand model...)

Hmmmm... whatcha think?

Sticky Applications

... that's my story and I'm sticking to it (sorry) :o)

Sustainability Acts of a Different Kind

A personal thought that one's own perception is often a good place to begin in developing a better personal environment.

A Rare Editorial

A concept prompted by one particular group's recent pie-in-the-face incident in Canada and today's rants against Groundhog Day in the US...

Sunday Playtime

Often, a concept begins with the question "what if..."

What if personal batteries were available and came in flavors to charge you up with your own motivator? Would it be a good book, a scintillating conversation, a night with the inlaws, a tall glass of cold milk, the color yellow, or the ever popular coffee fix? Mine happens to be meatballs. I lust after meatballs. And after getting some, I'm totally charged! (Okay, I'm weird, LOL!)

Coping Playtime

Three-Dimensional Effectiveness

One of the pleasures of my work with academics is being able to help express a complex concept in a graphic form. I've learned, through my work, that evaluating effectiveness is often not a two-dimensional thing, but it is often a three-dimensional 'matrix', where all factors come together to create a whole. Where missing sectors are able to be charted, identified and addressed. (Click on image to enlarge.)

Here, a personal expression - a work in progress and your comments, suggestions and tweaks are welcome. I'd be glad to add the revised version to this post! Have fun!

Web Concepting Deux

How to present a service with a diverse set of offerings? Our own microsite, developed in Flash, borrows the concept of our Service Desk. Scrolling back and forth along the "desk" reveals the different services, represented by various icons. Mousing over the images reveals the service title in the right corner of the top banner. Clicking on the icon sweeps the image to the end of the service desk to reveal a page with specifics... with an animated hand popping in with a post-it note with contact info for each service. See the site here: http://mps.mcmaster.ca

Heartfelt thanks to Steve, Simon, Martin and Tara for their many hours of gnashing of teeth, tearing out of hair and general sweat and toil...

Web Concepting

Linking the visual set up of a website to the concept behind the organization gives you the opportunity to consider abandoning the traditional menu bars and creating an unique experience for the viewer. Here, an early site for a member network, (designed to link researchers from different regions, to share documents, discussions and collaborate on development). The site is clean, showing a menu of interconnected orbs. When moused over, the choices for that section are revealed and the thematic pic changes inside the center of the menu. Clicking on the orb takes the viewer to the general section, while mousing down and clicking on a menu item takes the viewer to that particular page.

Ode to Patrick Nagel

Yakyak Playtime