Comments on: Can you rescue your ideas?

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:32:11 +0000

"Amateurish" and "sophomoric" all in one article! Wow... I really out-did myself this time! Typically I aim for one or the other.

Sorry to disappoint Greg. For you, I suggest a big box of band-aids. Better?

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:44:09 +0000

Look, I'm glad this was helpful to everyone. But I'm not sure I've come across a more generic, trite article. The title talks about rescuing ideas, but I'm getting 101 presentation tips for designers. Then again 'Everyone's a critic' right? Or in this case, amateurish advice. Seems like the idea of this sophomoric article needs rescuing.

By: Chris Ritke

Chris Ritke — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 05:10:15 +0000

The 1st paragraph says it all. You could have left it at that. Perfect.

By: PrintPlace.com

PrintPlace.com — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:40:28 +0000

Iâ€™ve found that listing the clientsâ€™ objectives and then writing the solution(s) right next to the objectives works well. Itâ€™s clear for the client, but it also keeps my team on track while weâ€™re brainstorming. If we donâ€™t have a concise solution that can be easily explained, itâ€™s back to the drawing board. And I agree that handing out visuals for clients to better understand what you're saying makes a lot of sense. This approach will work well for both visual learners and less-visual folks.

By: » Tips Designers Must Use When Working with a Committee :: Positive Space Blog

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:00:00 +0000

[...] Setting goals (which you should be doing anyways) is what will help you avoid those infuriating hidden agendas and conflicting views. By having measurable goals to relate design decisions to you can avoid personal opinion and being outnumbered by group think. For help setting goals check out Eric Karjutoâ€™s article â€œCan you rescue your ideas?â€ [...]

By: » Design Processes & Why Every Designer Needs One :: Positive Space :: The Graphic Design Blog

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:34:24 +0000

[...] Behance Magazine - Tip: Focus on Results, Not Time Ideas on Ideas - Can you rescue your ideas? [...]

By: Zinni

Zinni — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:23:00 +0000

Eric,

It is exactly the way I have been leaning, we did this with one client who was completely uneducated in process of working with a design agency and it turned out for the best. I also like the idea because it forces us to make a justified decision and really own it, I like accountability because it forces people into critical thinking...

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:06:25 +0000

Hi Zinni,

We used to present multiple concepts, but ultimately found that it wasn't very productive to do so. Instead, we generate many concepts in the studio, and then edit down the options to the one that solves the problem best.

Some clients find this difficult. These people want multiple flavors to select from. Unfortunately, what instead tends to happen in such situations is a lack of focus.

Since starting to present only one option, we've found that our projects run much more smoothly. In part, this is because we're all talking about the same thing, and not a collection of different possibilities.

I highly encourage you to do the same. It has made a world of difference for us and our clients. :-)

Cheers!

Eric

By: Zinni

Zinni — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:02:05 +0000

I was reading over this article again and it made me wonder whether smashLAB presents 1 concept or numerous ones. I am trying to get our team to do more of this and the question of "should we still show 3 concepts or just our favorite?" has come up quite a bit.

By: Ginger Conlon

Ginger Conlon — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:16:45 +0000

Eric,
Great advice. I think anyone who presents ideas--salespeople, speakers, etc.--could pull elements from this to improve their results. (I know I will!)
Thanks.