A lot of great ideas start as a ... really, really bad-looking idea.

It’s the messy jumble of words that inspires an entire brand narrative. A hastily sketched logo that leads to the winning mark. The awkward question in a meeting that immediately gets the room to the heart of an issue. I certainly still have my fair share of these clunky, imperfect ideas during the creative process.

But someone has to give those ideas a chance. In a world where everyone has a hot take, it requires an immense amount of courage to put forth a cumbersome, flawed, unfinished idea. And even more courage to defend that new idea so it has the space it needs to become something great.

In their book “Creativity, Inc.”, Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull know this well: "When someone hatches an original idea, it may be ungainly and poorly defined, but it is also the opposite of established and entrenched — and that is precisely what is most exciting about it. If, while in this vulnerable state, it is exposed to naysayers who fail to see its potential, or lack the patience to let it evolve, it could be destroyed. Part of our job is to protect the new from people who don’t understand that in order for greatness to emerge, there must be phases of not-so-greatness."

New ideas need an advocate.

How will you defend the new today?

Stay inspired,

Creative Director

L I N K   R O U N D   U P

1. Smart Brevity for Creative Rationale
Our designer Shay Bocks uses the Smart Brevity approach — championed by the founders of Axios and Politico — in her deliverables to “communicate clearly and get heard faster.” In a video originally recorded for the Focus Lab team, Shay breaks down her communication strategy.

2. Creatives on AI: Gray Hauser
AI is a frequent topic of conversation in Focus Lab’s Slack channels. Matchstic Design Director Gray Hauser shares a perspective we won’t soon forget: “I like the metaphor of sculpture for brand identity work. Constantly chipping away, uncovering truth as you work and making effective beauty in the process. In this metaphor, I think AI can be a powerful hammer or chisel. It will never be the sculpture itself.”

3. Cell Flow Particle Simulator
We’ll see your Windows Media Player music visualizer and raise you a particle simulator that actually looks like living, cellular organisms. Press number keys 1-8 for different presets in the generator, and watch Spherical Sound Society’s video on its creation.

4. How Trust Became the New Currency of Brand Growth
We wrote about the importance of trust in the last issue of Build On Brand. Fast Company introduces the “flywheel of trust”: company creates product, product attracts customers, customers trust brand, brand differentiates company.

C R E A T I V E   S P O T L I G H T

Posters for Jaws 2, The Birds, and Godzilla Vs. Hedora from Danny Dutch

“For a few glorious decades in the 20th century, behind the Iron Curtain, a bunch of wildly talented Polish artists turned the movie poster into something no Hollywood studio could have dreamed up — anarchic, avant-garde, and dripping with hidden meanings.” While art was heavily scrutinized and censored, movie posters slipped through the cracks, resulting in “an unprecedented window of freedom” for Polish artists.

For more, see Film Art Gallery’s collection of Polish movie posters.

N O W   H I R I N G

Director, Brand & Creative at Outreach
Remote, U.S.

Director, Brand and Creative at Salesloft
Remote, U.S.

Staff Product Designer at LaunchDarkly
Remote, U.S.

Senior Content Marketing Manager at Pinpoint
Remote, U.K.

Dialogue Designer at PolyAI
Toronto, Canada

Senior Manager, Revenue Marketing at Merge

New York, NY or San Francisco, CA

Content Marketing Lead at Spellbook
Remote, Canada

Content Marketer at Pocus
New York, NY or San Francisco, CA

Content Strategist at Victorious

Remote, U.S.

I N   C A S E   Y O U   M I S S E D   I T

Inside Totango’s M&A Rebrand and Bold Brand Activation

What does it take to align multiple brands post-M&A and launch a bold new identity that actually lands? In this episode, Focus Lab Partner & CEO Bill Kenney talks with Totango CMO Karen Budell about the strategy, collaboration, and creativity that led to a massively successful brand activation.

Continu Case Study
We rebranded Continu in 2013, and years later we’re still a trusted partner through our ongoing retainer services. Read how we designed a campaign for their Learning Reimagined event with AI.

Branders Magazine Cover Story

Our very own Bill Kenney is on the cover of this month’s issue of Branders Magazine. “Your brand is not a marketing tool,” he says. “It’s not something you deploy within a department. Brand is the foundation you build on. It’s what gives shape and cohesion to every other business decision.”

F O L L O W   U S