take two of these, and call me at the IPO...

Aspirin

I just got off the phone with an amazing person in regards to a potential project. This was the very first time that I talked to this particular person, BUT I could tell that she was a big thinker. Creative Director & CEO of a New York based Production Agency. She makes things happen. It's her art. 

When we got into the conversation about what it is that I do, we went back and forth until I said one simple thing... "I help organizations shift from competition thinking to possibility thinking..." Something about that made her understand what I was talking about. It was almost like an "ah ha" moment, BUT the problem was... This "ah ha" moment came after about 10 minutes of me talking about what it is that I do. My art. 

When I tell people that I am a Design and Innovation Consultant (which does NOT always do the trick) I get nods and sometimes a glimpse of understanding. When I say I am a Designer, the next question is always... "What do you design...?" LOL!! It's quite the experience... AND when I say what I really do, IT really throws things off... "I am a design thinker, highly tactical in the conception and development of breakthrough ideas for new products services and brands..." The question behind that is always ... "Okay... So what is it that you DELIVER", which translates to "What pretty things do you create..." So... I decided to write this little blog post to help transition people into the way I think, and the foundation by which my company is built on... 

Take two of these and call me at the IPO.

What I do is actually pretty simple. I engage my clients, rather it be proactively (I see a gap in the marketplace a "problem" and I find luminaries in the correlated industry) OR reactively (they know they have a need for something that deals with design, they just don't know "what" yet...) and I ask about 1000 questions (really about 995). Then based on their answers, I begin to re-imagine their business in my mind, finding areas where automation (systems) can be designed to simplify work flows, I take an assessment of their visual strategy and rethink how messages are being communicated, I think about how technology fuses with what they do and how it can amplify or add genius to their art, I then articulate all of this through what I like to call "master ideas", and the process that I used to get to the ideas is called "Ideation" and even more specifically "design thinking".  So in an essence, I am a problem solver, and my solutions are generally based in possibilities vs degrees of competition. 

So... If I had to say it in simple terms... I would say... Take two of these (ideas) and call me at the IPO (when you transform your industry). 

 

news flash... artist are not starving anymore.

Yesterday I was reading through the profiles of my followers on Twitter. This is a tedious yet very important thing that I do from time to time to stay in-tine with the people that are connecting with me through the platform. And it's 100% worth every click. I ran across a profile and the person says they are a "starving artist" and quickly I felt myself saying... 

"How unfortunate..." 

"Heck... I would NEVER want to be an artist..." 

"That sucks..." 

"Wow... artist don't get paid???" 

Then I had to stop myself... And I quickly realized that it was this one simple condition, "starving" -  that has probably kept many from tapping into the creative genius on the inside of them. It's this condition, "starving" that keeps some people from reaching their full potential. What if, just WHAT IF Pablo Picasso thought this? What if he said...

"The HELL with starving... I am getting a job on a farm..." 

We have all heard this saying FOREVER and it's JUST dawning on me that the idea of "starving" is a pretty scary thing and I am sure nobody WANTS to do it. So today, I am posting a news flash...

Artist are not starving anymore!!!  

For starters I consider myself to be an artist, and I know I am not starving ... But let me list a few that we all KNOW are eating pretty good... 

1. Seth Godin - New York Times Best Selling Author

2. Lady Gaga - Artist

3. Jay-Z - Artist

4.  Evan Williams - Artist

5. Kevin Rose - Artist

6. Michael Jordan - Artist

7. Tom Peters - Artist

8. Mark Zuckerberg - Artist

9. Will Smith - Artist

10. YOU - Artist

Spread the news, let everyone know... Artistry is the "new cool" and artist are NOT starving anymore!!! I feel like starting "Artist Against Starving Society" 

 

Vincent Hunt is the Founder and Chief Design Officer of Paper Aircrane, a strategic Ideation Company tactical in conceptualizing and developing breakthrough ideas for new products, services and brands. A Groundbreaking Thinker, Compelling Speaker and Blogger, Vincent is sought after for his ideas pertaining to an evolving economic shift that he affectionately refers to as the "post-industrial revolution", his research in the area of disruptive innovation and the talent that makes it happen.  

how my interpersonal journey turned into an idea. introducing paper aircrane... a strategic ideation company.

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This past year has been a huge transitional year for me. If you have been following me closely you have witnessed each evolutional step in my career this year, and with patience (hopefully) you have witnessed the transformation first hand. It would be robbery if I did not thank all of my friends, the people who have endured my lengthy phone conversations, and "wayward" actions as I felt things through. I will not name you "one by one" because there are many of you, and you know who you are. I am writing THIS post for two reasons... 1. To illuminate a shift that I experienced, that many of you reading this may be experiencing, so that perhaps you can gain a better understanding of what is going on with you, and 2. To introduce to you what I feel is a revolutionary way of thinking about doing business and just one more step towards design and innovation excellence. 

"It was in that conversation that I sensed a shift coming interpersonally and I knew that from that moment on, things for me would be changing, and they did..." 

For the past 17 years I have actively been working in the creative fields. From hands-on design, to creative strategy and direction to consulting and ideation. I have seen a LOT of amazing things, and I have executed many amazing projects. And for the most part I have LOVED every second of it. However; it was about 2 years ago, I was having a conversation with a very dear friend and Brother of mine, Antwon Davis, a fellow designer, and a confidant. We talked about design,and where WE thought it was going, and how we felt that design is really the cornerstone to any successful organization. AND design being the seat of innovation, that innovation would soon be the new business strategy. It was in that conversation that I sensed a shift coming interpersonally and I knew that from that moment on, things for me would be changing, and they did. After that conversation I started looking at the thinking BEHIND design, and what really fueled innovation. After doing hours of research, I understood that there is in fact a discipline behind how I or WE as designers think... I did not have a name for it, nor did I have any foundational intelligence on how it all really worked.. and I became obsessed with wanting to "know". 

Fast forward 

About a year later, this was about the middle of 2009, I started hearing about an idea that IDEO CEO and Chief Thinker Tim Brown was evangelizing... "Design Thinking". And I knew then that I was moving in the right direction, however; I still did not know where that direction was leading. Well... As all of this was going on, I was losing clients "left and right" because I THINK they thought I was crazy, because all I could do was talk about "thinking for a living" and "ideation". AND this was the same time that I started digging into the work of another AMAZING Thinker, Joey Reiman of BrightHouse in Atlanta, GA (the state I was in at the time), and how his Corporation BrightHouse was and IS the very first Ideation Corporation. They get paid to think. I was BLOWN away, and I think it was in those moments that I REALLY started to understand what my true talent or if you call it a "gift" was and is...

I am a intuitive design thinker. 

I have ALWAYS been an intuitive design thinker. In fact, I am willing to bet that if you ask 20 people who know me, they will tell you the same thing. Have I done work in visual design? Yes. Have I done work interaction design? Yes. But for ME what I create is only the residue of my thinking. And from what I have created, it's clear that my thinking breaks conventional ideas and wisdom all the time. SO my real value proposition, as a professional...

I conceptualize and develop ideas. 

"This has been true since the beginning of time, AND in a Industrial Economy, the value proposition of a DOER is much higher than the value proposition of a THINKER..."

It was scary (at first) coming to this realization, because the question then becomes.. "How do you market thinking...", because if you ask 100 business people about the value of ideas, 90 of them will say... "Ideas are NOTHING without the doing..." and they are 110% correct... However; I challenge and I say... "What are we doing if we are not DOING great IDEAS...?" I know this is novel at best, but there is a deep truth that resonates in this way of thinking. Doer's are often doing only what they are told to do. What they are told to do usually comes from the Thinkers. This has been true since the beginning of time, AND in a Industrial Economy, the value proposition of a DOER is much higher than the value proposition of a THINKER.

Here is the problem...

We are quickly traversing from a Industrial Economy into a Creative Economy, or CREATION Economy, and breakthrough ideas, innovation, and design are the paramount "deal makers" for almost every organization. It's a fact that with the dawn of the Information Intensification age, the vehicle that has moved us eloquently INTO the Creation Economy, there was a "deep blending" going on. This "deep blending" caused businesses to all sound the same and look the same and they started losing market share. For the small business guy (or gal) IF the business model or value proposition looked just like OR similar to the competition then they were "blended" in.

A good example in all of this is the acclaimed story behind Starbucks (one of my favorite places in the world...). Starbucks refused to "blend in" so they not only shifted their focus from solely delivering incredible coffee (doing), but they started focusing on one word... "Experience" (thinking). AND because they made this one simple, yet BOLD move... They are market leaders in the "coffee game". This is relevant... Where they doing? YES!! But it was their shift in thinking that broke them out of the grips of "the blender". 

So THINKING is deeply important. DEEPLY. 

"What I am concerned about however; is the small to medium sized business builders. My concern is that because, for the most part, they are STILL stuck in a Industrial way of doing things..."

So there rest my argument. Who is doing all of the "thinking"? In large corporations there are R&D teams and creative teams, and because design thinking is NOW being recognized as clear business strategy, they are even forming up design THINKING teams. So without a shadow of a doubt, big corporations are embracing thinking in a fresh new way, and though I am concerned with some of the corporate ways that govern creative and disruptive talent, I am NOT so concerned with are they transitioning or not... It's happening. What I am concerned about however; is the small to medium sized business builders. My concern is that because, for the most part, they are STILL stuck in a Industrial way of doing things, they are missing out on one of the greatest economic revolutions we have ever seen... It's what I call the "Post-Industrial Revolution" and it's happening right now!!! 

Right now, small to medium sized business builders are in a very fertile time as it pertains to becoming and being market leaders. More so now, than ever before. BUT here is the problem... 

Small to medium sized businesses don't have access to or the budgets to support advanced R&D departments, dynamic creative teams, and highly sophisticated prototyping and engineering teams. 

However; what the small to medium sized business DOES have, is hunger. Many of the small to medium sized businesses that I have been interviewing over the past six months are filled with ideas, and hunger. The difficulty for them is being able to pursue the ideas they have (for the fear of losing capital in their "mousetrap" business...). SO the question THEN becomes... 

If a small to medium sized business could have access to robust ideation, research and development, could they compete or scale to become market changers and industry leaders?

I would like to think that they could.

I was recently contacted by a passionate Doctor that had an idea for an application that could absolutely change how business for Doctors looks. AND because the Doctor had traditional cost too deal with (mousetrap business) and definitely did not have an extensive R&D team, as well as all of the other creative talent needed to make the idea happen "on deck", he was forced to sit on the innovation... 

Introducing Paper Aircrane... A strategic Ideation Company. 

I founded Paper Aircrane for one thing, to be a company that conceptualizes and develops breakthrough ideas for new products, services and brands. Our value proposition is simple. We are Thinkers. We align ourselves with businesses that have the drive and passion to innovate, to assist in the rigors of ideation. We align talent and resources (funding) to bring innovation to the marketplace while forging strategic relationships that bolster economic strength and sustainability. 

"I evangelize the importance of preserving creativity at every level, while challenging designers to be "design thinkers" first..."

As the Founder and Chief Design Officer, I champion Paper Aircranes pursuit of design and innovation excellence. I evangelize the importance of preserving creativity at every level, while challenging designers to be "design thinkers" first while creating meaningful experiences. Rather it's the design of a "shiny new object", a service that takes the form of a globally accessible mobile application, or a brand that brings relief to a third world country, Paper Aircrane positions its resources to deliver answers. 

Vincent Hunt is the Founder and Chief Design Officer of Paper Aircrane, a strategic Ideation Company tactical in conceptualizing and developing breakthrough ideas for new products, services and brands. A Groundbreaking Thinker, Compelling Speaker and Blogger, Vincent is sought after for his ideas pertaining to an evolving economic shift that he affectionately refers to as the "post-industrial revolution", his research in the area of disruptive innovation and the talent that makes it happen.  

answers on call: introducing kenmore connect

For months I have been raving about what I call "obvious genius", and with the same intensity (if not 1000 times more) business journals have been pushing the idea that  "innovation is the new business strategy", and yet, when I talk to clients or small work groups about the importance of design and innovation, I get the sense that the something is not "clicking"... Well let me say it again... 

Stop innovating and die. 

That's one idea, here is another... 

Stop making things and die. 

If you are not thinking of ways to reinvent or re-present your industry to the marketplace, it's only a matter of time before you start to blend in with the crowd and lose market share. TRUTH IS, the market is starting to "share in a new way". Consumers are looking for more value, a greater sense of connection with the brands they champion and they want to have some "say so" in the evolution of the brand. Its really that easy. 

After I came in from "The Deck" this morning, I was captured by a news story. It gave me a LOT of hope. Kenmore has developed a series of washers and dryers that talk to customer service for you. NOw, it does not surprise me that this type of ingenuity came from a giant like Kenmore. What causes me stress is that there are literally hundreds of thousands of businesses out there (just like you perhaps) that can change the game... How come we are not seeing more solutions? More answers? 

How Kenmore is reinventing their industry... Enjoi. 

Vincent Hunt is the Founder and Chief Design Officer of Paper Aircrane, a strategic Ideation Company tactical in conceptualizing and developing breakthrough ideas for new products, services and brands. A Groundbreaking Thinker, Compelling Speaker and Blogger, Vincent is sought after for his ideas pertaining to an evolving economic shift that he affectionately refers to as the "post-industrial revolution", his research in the area of disruptive innovation and the talent that makes it happen.