Innovative Thinking
In the final week of Design Research, we are updating our Mastery Journals to describe our progress and reflect on the course. The overview will include documentation of what we’ve learned and how we’ve met the learning objectives. To demonstrate Innovative Thinking, we must compare our work to others in the industry. Professor Argo noted that innovative thinking can be applied even if the product isn’t 100% innovative. For example, our place branding research uncovered unique qualities to neighborhoods that are unremarkable at first glance. The comparative analysis was an important tool for discovering differentiation and “finding the zag” as recommended by Marty Neumeier (2006). This innovative thinking helps us understand the choices we must make to create more effective designs.
Differentiation in Place Branding
Innovative thinking is necessary for strong Differentiation. It requires looking at the status quo, then doing something different. However, there should be reasoning and purpose behind the differentiation. We compare our work to others to know WHY they did what they did, not to imitate them. The article “5 Place Branding Principles for Successful Brand Development and Management” states that “Place branding is above all about the distinctiveness of a place” (Editorial Team, 2019). This month’s research was about discovering the unique qualities of our chosen place that make it stand out in comparison to its competitors. Professor Argo encouraged us to find an “Onliness” statement about our place:
_____ is the ONLY neighborhood that _____.
This differentiation will help set the voice and tone for the visuals we will create in the next class.
APA Formatting
Like all academic writing in the Media Design MFA program, this month’s Mastery Journal and paper must be written in APA format. Professor Argo recommended the Purdue Online Writing Lab as a valuable reference for proper formatting. He also noted that the APA paper templates included with Microsoft Word may not necessarily use the correct font, so it is important to check the minor details. Specifications are there for a reason. They demonstrate attention to detail, a requirement for mastery and professional success. In the book Mastery, Robert Greene suggests that artists’ works suffer when they “think in large brush strokes” (Greene, 2013). Attention to detail demonstrates a deeper understanding of the work, helping it connect with the audience.
References:
Greene, R. (2013). Mastery [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. New York: Penguin Books. Retrieved from vbk://9781101601020
Neumeier, M. (2006) ZAG: The Number-One Strategy of High-Performance Brands. Retrieved from https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/zag-the-number-one/0321426770/
Team, E. (2019, June 1). 5 Place Branding Principles for Successful Brand Development and Management. Retrieved from https://placebrandobserver.com/5-place-branding-principles-to-guide-brand-development-management/
Joshua Siegel's Mastery Journal 