From The Rooftops

Story Plotting Sustainable Design

What does sustainable design mean to you? That is the question posed by this evening’s AIGA SHIFT event here in Portland. Simple enough, right!? If you think so, then you should probably be presenting in my place!

Sustainability is often discussed by virtue of the United Nations’ Brundtland Commission (1987) definition of sustainable development: “Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” While many alternative meanings have been suggested, I think that the Brundtland definition is a fine place to start, especially since it dovetails nicely with sustainable design in addition to sustainable development.

But I can’t think about sustainability without also pondering John Elkington’s triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit, because I have not seen a better reflection of the complexities associated with sustainability. While the potential for profit often motivates initial product or service design, anything falling short of the above two definitions of sustainability is simply, um, falling short. But how do you know, when you set out to create something, that it will deserve the badge of “sustainability”!? Well, among other things, I think you need some damn thoughtful planning.

Sustainable design should be Considered, Intentional, Rigorous, and Engaged (with the world around us).

So, thanks to AIGA’s prompting, I offer up the following model which can be applied in the initial product/service concepting stages to see just how well your idea stacks up on the sustainability scales. Based on the Story Plotter Framework, originally conceived by the fine folks at On Your Feet and sometimes presented by Gary Hirsch (of OYF) and yours truly, I’ve simply taken the grid, turned it into a gauntlet of doom, and applied it to sustainable design thinking. And I think it could work.

You take your concept or idea, and you insert it from the left in the Sustainable Design Maker 9000, and out the other end comes a screaming, bruised and perhaps totally unrecognizable version of your original idea.

Here’s what to consider at each step:

1. Facts: What are the facts about your current design that make it more sustainable? Perhaps it will be made from a renewable resource? Distributed via bicycle? Improving the efficiency of an existing product? Etc. Continue until you’ve listed all such facts.
2. Contradictions: What are the inherent contradictions in your design? Maybe it requires wasteful packaging? Maybe parts have to be sourced from exotic locales? Continue until you think you’ve explored all of the contradictions in your current concept.
3. Possibilities: What are the possibilities for addressing your contradictions and even going further to improve the sustainability of your idea? Could you find a local source for parts? Create a package that is reuseable? Really reach here. What if…
4. Anxiety: Addressing these issues, exploring the realms of possibility will most certainly lead to anxiety. If we do THAT, then we won’t be able to grow as fast or those mill workers might lose their jobs. Sustainable design comes here to die, so deal with your anxieties and figure out which are real and which are imagined, then deal with them. Don’t let them hold you back!

That’s it in a nutshell. I think it works but it’s just a start. A new way to think or at least some new things to think about. What do you think?

-Scott

Adobe v Apple (via Caesar)

I recently came across a blog post by Olivier Blanchard that combined two of my abiding passions: marketing/business and ancient Roman history. Blanchard drew 10 business/marketing/leadership/etc. insights out of the legendary personality of Roman General and Dictator Julius Caesar. As someone who also follows the tech world, I found a valuable tie-in to the recent goings-on in the Apple vs. Adobe saga and I shared a comment to that effect. This matter, however, has still got me thinking about the future of the web and how simple and shrewd Adobe’s response seems to be.

For those who need some background on the whole Apple vs. Adobe matter, you might want to go here. Back? Alright, good. Clever, eh? Adobe got tons of positive publicity for their response and we can see why: it’s simple, fun and speaks to much of the criticism that is increasingly being leveled at Apple for, among other things, their heavy-handed approach to controlling the app store and the way in which users (and developers) can engage content.

Here is the very clever (fake) response that was crafted by @issaco:

Adobe is in a weaker position: their product, Flash, is at the heart of this controversy and in the opinion of many people, it was/is always a little too buggy and resource-intensive. …but it is widely used and incredibly flexible—it served an important need to the internet at a certain time and place. I don’t think I’m going far out on a limb to say that Flash is in a tight spot with the popularity of iPads and iPhones making web designers think twice about resorting to Flash for their websites, not to mention the 400 pound (it’s not 800 pounds yet, but it’s growing) gorilla on the horizon: HTML5. Adobe has even gone so far as to acknowledge this business threat in recent SEC filings, as discussed by engadget.

Because of this, it’s wise for Adobe to take a conciliatory open market tone, since it gives them a position from which they can either graciously bow out if and when HTML5 renders it nearly obsolete, or a means to reassert themselves (however unlikely) after winning a fair fight against yet another contender.

Here is my comment:

A key point that I’ve always taken away from Caesar’s savvy political (PR) toolkit is: to play for keeps but, nonetheless, be gracious with your competitors.

Over the course of Caesar’s military career and political ascendancy he made a great effort to be (or at least appear) a magnanimous victor. Throughout his military conquests the leaders of the losing army (or even the Senate!) would often expect to receive very harsh treatment (death, torture, expulsion from Rome, etc.) and, with the exception of his triumphal celebration over his defeat of fellow Romans, Caesar usually responded with open arms and fraternal love. This beneficence was received by the public as being indicative of a strong leader who was generous to a fault. In those bloody times they ate it up…

Let’s apply this for a moment: Look at Adobe’s recent response to all of the vitriol it has been receiving from Steve Jobs and Apple. They got tons of positive press and, on a certain level, affection from the tech world for responding to Apple’s hostility with a more cooperative and open message. With public sentiment as on-edge about tech firms having a distinct shortage of old-fashioned probity (for instance: Facebook overstepping its boundaries, Google inadvertently(?!) retaining user information, Apple refusing to sell a disabled woman an iPad when she only had cash, etc.), this was a smart move on Adobe’s part, and a welcome departure.

Ultimately, Caesar’s shrewdness and ability to curry public favor in the face of hostile challenges was, I believe, one of the many lessons that he passed on to Octavian and allowed Augustus to steer Rome out of the civil wars and (for better or worse) onto the track of Imperial rule that would ultimately see it conquer much of the known world. While this one kerfluffle won’t be garnering any triumphal arches for Adobe, it is certainly a move to be studied and celebrated.

Alright, yes, I did just compare the tension between Adobe and Apple to the epic civil war that surrounded the demise of the Roman Republic … overdramatic? Certainly. A good excuse to pull out my pleasure reading in the name of “work”? Damn straight. I think there are some merits to this, though, if only to give me cause to share the back and forth and allow us to revel in a smart response on Adobe’s part and a brilliant (fake) rebuttal.

But you can see why this matters. In their open letter on the matter, Adobe’s co-founders, Chuck Geschke and John Warnock write:

Adobe’s business philosophy is based on a premise that, in an open market, the best products will win in the end — and the best way to compete is to create the best technology and innovate faster than your competitors.

Many generals (and business leaders) understand this fundamental dynamic: be the best and the fastest, or be done. With HTML5’s writing on the walls, this statement allows Adobe to subtly acknowledge that Flash mightn’t be the best product any more, but restating that the decision is for the market to make, not Steve Jobs. Just as Caesar often made broad gestures appealing to the will of the people, Adobe’s shrewd efforts have effectively tried to extract the (sizable) challenges facing Flash from the heavy-handed ‘technocratic’ knockout punch that Steve Jobs keeps trying to lay upon them. Though I don’t envy their position, they are wise to shift the field of battle such that the decision is placed back in front of a public who is feeling increasingly wary of their tech decisions being made for them. -Caleb

Branding Insights for Start-ups

This weekend, I was fortunate enough to participate as an “expert” in an immersive event for idea-stage companies called LaunchPad. My contribution was as a member of the Branding/Marketing panel, and I was lucky enough to get to sit alongside some great marketing minds, including: Brent Hieggelke, the founder and President of Second Porch; Ken Westin, the founder and CEO of GadgetTrak; and Peter Weiss of Weiss Ideas.

Finding the time and money to be an effective marketer is obviously a huge challenge for start-ups and their founders, but I can’t think of any part of business that is any more important. And if I had to summarize my contributions to the discussion in one key nugget, it would be MAKE YOURSELF AVAILABLE. Success in PR, social media, and buzz-worthy publicity all come back to this concept, and it’s especially critical in a start-up where cash is tight. If you act like Ken (who is brilliant at getting media coverage on both the local and national level) you WILL get noticed. Ken is always looking for newsworthy items to share and will give the media ACCESS any time of day or week. By opening up and sharing your story with the world you will attract fans and friends, whether you’re selling anti-theft software or hi-tech toilet bowl cleaners.

A few other relevant thoughts from my start-up words-of-wisdom notes:

Q. What are the top three strategies you see as having timeless effectiveness in [the field of branding/marketing for start-ups]?

Q. What is the one thing every early stage and idea stage company can do to increase the effectiveness of their Marketing, Branding or PR efforts on a shoestring?