Apply a more creative brainstorm technique called The Inverse.
The Inverse works by stimulating your brain to think beyond the conventional. It is an easy and fun exercise in 4 steps that can help to come up with unexpected solutions.
Start off by summing up the issue or problem you are trying to resolve in the form of a question, eg: ‘How can we solve the school graffiti problem?’
Reformulate the question so that it becomes negative, eg: ‘How can we encourage graffiti and vandalism in our school?!’
Brainstorm a list of suggestions (students enjoy this part!), eg: provide free paint; give students lots to complain about; take away all opportunities for self-expression in lessons; deny students any individuality; don’t make an effort with the décor of the school; don’t give students anything to do in break times or after school.
Look at the suggestions and turn them back to positive again, both to generate ideas and trigger further ideas, eg: create a special graffiti wall; invite graffiti artists in to give lessons; staff and students to explore contentious issues together in depth – these could be represented in pictures; encourage a strong sense of personal identity; provide students with choice in their learning; create a games room and a sports league; etc.
It needs to be targeted – all successful social media campaigns have a set of clear objectives and success criteria in common.
It needs to be focused – the campaign needs to be focused on a specific issue, a customer pain point or even a competitor.
It needs to be measurable – setting appropriate metrics so that you have a basis for measuring the success of your campaign is a must. Be aware that once your message is out there you will have little control over what happens to it.
Include great content – great content is defined by what your target audience is passionate about. What are their pain points and what type of content do they readily share?
Simple – keep it simple and immediate and offer something your users are going to value as a reward for their engagement.
Right medium for the right message – different networks vary in focus, outlook and user behaviour. Find the one that meets your needs.
Memorable – The most successful social media campaigns forge an emotional connection between the brand and the audience by providing not just great content but an experience. Make your campaign memorable by telling stories that have an emotional resonance for your audience and they can immediately identify with.
Profitable – For any small business, a positive return on investment is going to be a key campaign success measure.
This project below is used as part of a Media III project for a VCAL and VETiS group.
Develop a Campaign to Raise Awareness for an Endangered Species
Today we will look at a fictional project that you could easily turn into a real-world scenario: you will develop the outline of a Awareness campaign of an endangered species.
Step 1 – Research
First reseach what species are endangered. Spend 40 mins in class on the research. Collect your research in a digital format (Word or PowerPoint are fine). Why is the species endangered? What are the reasons?
You want to collect some information about the type of animal, its habitat and living conditions.
Look for data such as:
number of wild animals of that species
a figure to compare it to (eg in 1990 there were about 240,000, in 2009 there are an estimated 12,000 left.)
Step 2 – Create a Concept for a Fundraiser
Brainstorm a number of ideas for fundraisers or awareness raisers and platforms that could be used for this purpose. A platform could be an online platform, such as a Social Media Site, or a magazine or other printed medium (poster).
Chose one main idea and describe it in your own words (include in your document).
Step 3 – Create a Visual for the Campaign
Create a basic visual, a flyer, poster, postcard or similar a banner that could be used on a website.
Include: A slogan, and three or more images.
When it comes to a slogan, I want to really dig deep and brainstorm ideas for a slogan. You want to consider
the plight, the struggle of the animal species and reflect that in that slogan as well as
the target audience that you are trying to reach – who do you want to reach?
the outcome that you are aiming for (eg Getting people to support an organisation with funds or sign a petition to a politician, or simply to learn and realise what is happening)
Upload Step 1 and 2 as pasted text here as a comment. Include your full name.
This site is very useful in the context of a campaign:
Typographic with Colours and Photos – The use of large numbers is effective and the low opacity of the boxes works, personally, I find it looks a bit dated- found at: JuxtaPost.com
He loves OHS! – Photo by Karpati Gabor on morgueFile
The calming effect of horizontal lines, image: courtesy of flickr.com, Photographer: jaikdean
Photo Montage by SGlider12 on Webdesign.org – Click image for great Gimp tutorial
Close-up at Fed Square, Federico Viola 2013
Image from morgueFile by lemai13
Concept for Gallery Screnshot
Courtesy of The Art of Mass Effect Universe’, 2012
Photo by agathabrown on morgueFile
Steel Curves, Image: courtesy of flickr.com, photographer: Margeois.
Vertical lines of a dark fence, image courtesy of p.ic – Photo Internet Collection – www.photoic.wordpress.com, photographer: Federico Viola
Screenshot of Endless Alphabet 2, courtesy of AppsPlayground.com
Custom Shapes and Custom Shape Icon
Source: morgueFile, Photo by matei
Michael Pointing in GTA V – Courtesy of Rockstar
Photo by mconnors on morgueFile
Lines and Gradients- Courtesy of: psdtuts+
Couple found at http://frenchbydesign.blogspot.com.au
Based on photo by dhester from morgueFile.com
The Glossy Reflection is transparent on top and gets whiter towards the bottom.
Colourful Table of Content – Ribbons in Primary Colours – found at: LifeBlue.com
Based on photo by xandert found on morgueFile
I Want You – Emily Strange, The lovable Emily Strange came to life in 1991, designed by Nathan Carrico for Santa Cruz Skateboards. She is referred to as a counterculture icon. I would just call her a sceptic. Image found at: Kollectable Kaos
The swirls in the image are made up of numerous lines. Courtesy of: www.openprocessing.org
Work by Justin Anderson
Swiss International Style – Joseph Müller-Brockmann – Beethoven – found at www.designhistory.com
Finding the Right Candidate for a Job… – Photo AdamRiley from www.projectnoah.org
The underlined text and insertion point at end of the word indicates that you are still in the type mode.
Table of Content from Textbook – This design lends itself to an interactive use – found at: Smashing Magazine (click image for inspiring article on table of content design)
The gentle curve of the river and the light green tones of the grass give this image a calming feel. The montains and the clouds have a less calming effect. Image: courtesy of Icon Photography School – http://www.photographyicon.com/line/
Contemporary design in style of Construcitvism by Teo Brito found at LauraGreen92 – click image for more information and link to her blog
Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com
Photo by ariadna on morgueFile
‘For Great Road Trips: Switzerland’ Poster by Herbert Matter in (Swiss) International Style – Source: http://swisstype.wordpress.com/work/