#07 Embracing a Generalist Mindset
You can’t just understand the book, you need to know the words as well.
I write this newsletter to structure my experiences and ideas around creativity. It’s mainly a personal exercise in writing, but I’m sure there is something for you as well.
My name is Juho Vesanen and I’m a co-founder of Veli Studio. I’m also editing the studio’s annual passion project Attraction Magazine – a printed and online exploration dedicated to the appreciation of visual curiosity.
#07 Embracing a Generalist Mindset
A friend reached out to me a while ago, generously asking me to contribute on a research study that he’s doing about improving the leadership of interdisciplinary design processes when it comes to creating brand experiences.
This friend is Timo Kiuru, a creative director, public speaker and author of three books, who currently lives and works in New York. Timo has helped and advised me and our studio over the years and I look up to him in many ways, so when he asked me to participate in this study I humbly accepted.
The study consisted of 17 questions, each of which was presented individually as you moved along the form and each answer was limited to only 250 characters. This made it very intuitive and pushed, at least me, to keep the answers intimidatingly simple and imperfect since there was no room to further explain or defend an idea.
I’m sure this method will give Timo a pretty honest take on the topic, but to my eye it also acts as a good example of a well thought out and confident process. It would have been easy not to have a character limit for the answers, therefore rolling the responsibility of the outcome to the people answering to the questions.
Here are my rapid fire answers ⤵︎
How do you define an experience?
When at least one of your senses are triggered with something new and something familiar, that is an experience.
What makes an ideal brand experience to its audience?
When the audience feel safe and taken care of enough, so that they’re able to open up for something new to come. In other words, first impression is crucial.
How should the creative process reflect or involve the characteristics that define an ideal brand experience for its audience? If not, why?
You can’t control the actual experience of people experiencing, but you can control how the experience is delivered. Make sure the creative process is aligned with the experience not against it.
What are the key factors that define the success of a brand experience campaign?
If the brand manages to gain the trust of their audience by giving them added value (inspiration, information, motivation) delivered in a way that they feel safe – people will come back for more.
How should the creative process reflect or involve the key factors that define the success of a brand experience campaign? If not, why?
Whenever you ask people (audience) for their time or money it’s crucial to care about their experience and what they get out of it. This should guide the creative process more than anything.
What are the typical stakeholders of a brand experience planning and execution project, both internal and external?
Typically both internal and external teams each have their own set of executives, creative directors, art directors, project leads and producers who manage the various other production vendors.
How do you feel about engaging internal and external stakeholders in the creative process? What are the consequences?
I think collaboration is essential, but it should always be clear who signs off and makes the decisions. It often can’t be one person for everything, but the process and ownership should be clear.
What makes brand experience unique from other marketing channels?
When done right, it’s the ultimate way for a brand to gain real trust from their audience. It’s powerful and intimate to invite them to a shared experience that you’ve curated and delivered with care.
How can the creative process ensure the consistent integration of the unique qualities of brand experience as a medium? If not, why?
If the creative process is guided by valuing the time of their user/client/audience by delivering actually inspiring and useful content, then it travels well across all relevant mediums naturally.
What's the key factor defining the success of a brand experience campaign? How should the creative process safeguard it throughout? If not, why?
Achieve trust by a great first impression is key and that is one of the few things that is controllable. The experience that follows is and should be subjective. Safeguard it by caring about it.
Can you describe your ideal creative process for developing a brand experience campaign?
It starts with what I would want to experience and how. The creative process should always have ”you” in it somehow, even if the target audience is completely different. Small things matter.
What’s the most challenging aspect of creativity in the context of planning brand experiences?
It takes a lot of creativity to learn how to collaborate in the first place, with who to collaborate and how your goals align with your collaborators . Every successful collaboration is a miracle.
What are the biggest problems you’ve faced during the creative process of a brand experience campaign?
When you realise that stakeholders are working towards different goals. Neither necessarily better than the other. You might end up with extraordinary content in a terrible package or vice versa.
Describe a great idea.
A great idea is so simple that it makes you furious about why you didn’t come up with it. And when you realise this, you spend the rest of the day trying to find those invisible low hanging fruits.
How should the creative process of a brand experience campaign take into consideration the characteristics of a great idea? If not, why?
Catching a simple idea often comes by accident, similar to remembering something useful. If this simple idea is formed into an experience people will relate to it subconsciously = trust.
What are the most challenging aspects of leading creative work?
Tempted to say finding the right people, but truthfully, leading creative work is to constantly learn where to place yourself among the people who are involved. Balancing the status quo with the unconventional.
How can we lead creativity better?
A generalist mindset is essential for any leader for multiple reasons. The capability for equal-level communication with people below and above your skill set is key. You can’t just understand the book, you need to know the words as well.
CURRENT INSPIRATION
While writing this entry, I went to Timo’s website and I came across this project that we collaborated during the pandemic. He created this interactive website masterclass which we helped film and edit at our studio in Helsinki – I just checked it out after a few years and it’s still great (it even won an FWA award).
Take a look at www.booktimo.com – you’ll definitely find inspiration from it (no sign-up etc needed).
(screen recording of the website to give you a taste in case opening a link feels intimidating)
THE STUDIO
Veli Studio is a full service creative studio based in Helsinki.
Website – Instagram – Behance – Linkedin – Attraction Magazine
LET’S CONNECT
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If you feel like we should talk, hit me an email – I promise to get back to you.