Re Tooling Milestones and the Art of Sustaining a Design Enterprise

Here in 2011 we're underway dealing in the era of data. 

I had the pleasure spending time with a faculty member today from my design school who dropped in at our offices. This meeting was impromptu however a welcome opportunity to get perspective on the ideology and thinking from someone immersed in helping young people transition into the business world.  

My commute before arriving at the office was spent listening to the latest App. introduced to me by my strategic counsel, Louise my wife, who uploaded the technology onto my iphone. 

The app called Radio Paradise functioned without a blip during the 30 minute road trip to the office. Uninterrupted music streaming off the internet along the way to work. Streaming music rather then sponsored local radio is another example of the game changing brought about by online technology and how new or emergent technologies have people facing dramatic re tooling within different organizational models. Certainly in the design business we've been witness to some core shifts in market, primarily brought on by technology. 

The colleague who stopped in this morning engaged me in great conversation about the new crop of graduates entering the workforce, we shared thoughts about the realities they face navigating the online emergent environment today. One on one conversation among people together within shared space remains a genuine, rich, unimpeded temporal experience especially when the conversation is free of binary intervention. The temptation to refer to devices specifically ring tone disruption, incoming emails or other sensory broadcast online remains constant. Turning things off is always good. 

I enjoyed my trip to Kingston taking part in the St. Lawrence College design exhibition a few weeks back. I'm also pleased to be engaged on the school advisory committee. 

We covered many subjects, reflecting over the years past highlighted a number of core events that involved adapting new tools and tactics. The chart above is a retro view of some of those re tooling milestones. Milestones that certainly have made the fast changing, innovation and design business dynamic.

Note: Tactile last of Gutenberg refers to print losing its dominant channel specifically the distribution of information.

Express yourself

Perce, Gaspe

Storytelling can be achieved through crafting a simple email exchange or perhaps from years of study and research culminating in a thesis that relates to a special field of interest.

Joseph Campbell a scholar wrote extensively on the subject. His work informs the reader about how stories deal in characterizing culture and how those characterizations through the ages have been remarkably similar. Stories based on themes or references that are consistent with similar patterns from societies around the world.


The similarity of story elements to different groups that are profiled in Campbell's books suggest a phenomenon or order of influence that perhaps underscores people's need to frame or cast their existence through remarkably similar context. Moreover, analysis of symbols, myths, deities, archetypes, legends including other elements such as those derived from nature, for example trees, water, wind the sun and the moon emerge consistently across many groups. 


Universal representations integrated into storytelling.

The Campbell texts are useful reference for those developing effective and meaningful brand frameworks and tools. A practical resource for those interested in solutions intended to withstand the test of time and bridge cultural differences. Campbell’s writings are an invaluable resource for effective storytelling.

A profound aspect of his work emphasizes the need to separate physical appearance from ones verbal expression or the act of expressing oneself.

I remember seeing a Greek company perform Oedipus Rex. Oedipus ends up tearing his eyes out, the kind of physical action the Greeks loved. The chorus had their backs to the audience, and shortly after the display of this horror, the members turned around and opened their arms, and there you sensed that going past the human suffering to the majesty of what is contained in that play that is, of the mystery of life showing itself through the action of life. There lies the key to art. It is beyond the pairs of opposites, beyond desire or fears. (Campbell, 2001)

This passage is a short example of Joseph Campbell’s brilliant thinking. Within his books the philosophy and thought leadership formed the basis for George Lucas’ Star Wars Trilogy, blockbuster movies that garnered universal appeal using the foundations of the hero myth.

Write and Record

"Write and Record" pronounced by Simon Dubnow an individual who as an elder met his fate at the hands of the Nazi's during the second world war in Latvia.

This individual's legacy is referred to within the book “Earth into Property” The book is authored by Anthony Hall. Anthony’s remarkable work of history has been my source of reference and insight for the last couple of months. 

The stories within the 800-page odyssey provide descriptions in the simplest of terms about crude edge policies and actions. The book poignantly chronicles the relationships over the ages among societies with an emphasis on Canadian Indigenous culture in perspective with First Nations internationally. Context about how nation states and their co-opted industrial partners have extended a myriad of unfortunate interventions upon people.  

Corporations aligned with governing bodies engaged in expansionist actions, they used a parade of remarkable invention and strategic thinking to the detriment of many people in their path.


The book covers the Columbian conquests onward to 9/11 and recent outcomes within the 21 century. Analysis about centuries of relations and disparities among nations, organizations and people. 


While reading the book pages in Cuba last month I found the details on, Castro and Che Guevara compelling and informative. The text includes much about that Nations history and international influence .

SONY NEX-VG10

It looks like a video camera and plays like a video camera, check out the frame

Thoughts on Social Media

This week I took part with a colleague from my organization at a local conference sponsored by a bank. The subject of the conference was Brand and Social Media. A representative from a large advertising agency conglomerate based in Toronto Canada took the floor for three hours to offer insight on brand. He also included for the audience in the Real Estate Development business a primer on social media.

The presentation also validated for me that many of the strategies and related brand tactics we’ve been offering our clients by extension their various stake holders, internal and external audiences are not unlike or different from what is being professed from the multinationals out of the big centres of commerce globally. The speaker validated to the letter in some cases much of what we’ve been sharing in our efforts with clients for the last decade. His talk was a parallel conversation to gordongroup's ideology and brand leadership models. This made the event worthwhile for me. 

My quest for learning continues, I was interested in hearing about the social media model being offered from the Toronto large agency perspective. It's exciting times on the internet after all and the potential for organizations to embrace, leverage and grow their online market share seems to me remains an uncharted phenomena. Again the speakers’ ability to introduce and engage the audience was intriguing and prompted some very relevant questions. Core ideas introduced contributed to my appreciation of ways to take advantage of this new opportunity.

Letting the ideas flow from followers either good or bad turns out contributes to an upside for the organization that remains transparent and responds in a humane and intelligent way rather then censoring or filtering negative commentary out. This is open to jury review on case by case from my perspective.

The opportunity has emerged today to gain competitive insight from young people who bring convictions and sensibilities about how their success and winning outcomes using different social media platforms have proven effective. This "staffing" trend offers organizations and management opportunity to introduce multi generational collaboration. 

1. Content remains king

Your investment in content, that is content constructs specifically to do with your unique personality within the vast sea of noise called social media. Content that “cuts through” the tremendous amount of information online is required today for social media campaigns. This is truly what separates the leaders from all the masses online. Good content like a good photograph, illustration, house or aircraft is not derived from testing things out. You will be judged on your weakest link, a fact of the design business. Once you launch your campaign ensure you can keep feeding the beast with the best possible content. This points to how you plan to sustain your brand online.

Great content comes from years of experience refining, measuring and continual improvement. For some, this may come naturally yet, with resources limited in most organizations specifically for market outreach, “content” is often the weak link. Management will have to invest in great content.

2. ABC company now does publishing

Social Media bottom line, to do this you have to operate a publishing unit. You may build homes, aircraft or buses but a function of the company has to begin publishing. In fact rather than social media, the name may be more representative if it were known as publishing media. Organizations small or medium sized may not have design units or writers on staff, yet “cut through” online will require a minimum level of craft and discipline to effectively compete with those who leverage these skills to drive their business. Keeping a vital and steady brand building program starts with management's commitment to ensure regular, smart, and meaningful communications remains constant for months and years ahead. A publishing unit that creates smart narrative that is sent to followers and others who have influence. Influencers or customers who will make a difference on your organizations bottom line.

Identify who within the administration will effectively run the publishing unit.