Rothacker Reviews

Beyond Trend

Beyond Trend by Matt Mattus

Beyond Trend is laced with a passion for design.  It is sooooo inspiring!  Like little kids grow up and want to be police and firemen, after reading Matt's book (three times now), I want to be a designer!  If I were involved in an association for designers, I'd make Beyond Trend required reading for members.  If I owned a company that used designers and caught them reading Beyond Trend, I'd promote them.  Okay, that last one's a stretch.  But their value in my eyes sure would increase.

The business world today is paying attention to the wink of design leaders.  "Pssst guys!  Get on board.  Good design will capture your customer's heart and soul."  Whether you have companies that truly get the benefits of design or companies led by CEO's who have a vague idea of what design is: "Bob, I think there is something to this design thing.  Create a design department.  Stick it between the mailroom and accounting."...the field is opening wide up.  While more people are filling creative roles, the creative work-output is growing exponentially and growing exponentially vanilla.  An overabundance of design and an overabundance of sameness.  Matt:

...it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell a Target TV ad from a Sears ad.

Moving beyond trend is Matt's answer to his own question: "In an over-designed world, how does a designer design?"  How one gets there is what this book is all about.

Basically, Matt's book is written to and for designers, those in the trenches trying to crank out new and creative work.  But he sneaks in a chapter devoted to their bosses.  It is pure gold.  In very clear and concise terms, Matt delineates between the two styles of companies I reference above. 

There is one really strong theme that courses through Matt's work.  It is the foundation and framework for moving beyond trend.  It begins with a passion for design.  And it ends with the ability to explain your output.  What informed us?  Why did it?  And where did this influence come from?  Matt asks:

How can you problem solve, or create "new," or "get it" (and help others "get it") if you never did in the first place?

The ability of a designer to move beyond trend is directly related to the work that they put in between the passion part and the explanation part.  Matt guides the student of design here with a carefully created map on how to get there and how to become a culture creator at the same time.

Matt designed this book himself and infuses brilliant pictures, illustration and art to help tell his story. 

I smoked-n-signed Beyond Trend.  It is one of the best books I've ever read!

"Jeepers dave, that's a pretty strong statement!"

You know why I feel so strongly about this book?  Because I think it's not only a recipe for designers to elevate their game above status-quo, but it will also help other creatives like artists and writers!!

Why Listen to dave?

About dave:  From the tag line underneath my site's name you can see I write reviews on books, businesses and folks.  You can also see that I am neither a celebrity, leader or expert.  Why then should you read my stuff and take action on my recommendations?

I like to think that I have an eye and ear for people who are sincere, authentic and want to succeed. I am attracted to people or things who travel in the opposite direction of status-quo.  In a world of change, status-quo was yesterday.  And in a world of change, status-quo is a greased rope that survivors do not trust.  The opposite?  Those are people who are constantly learning and evolving.  They walk about in the world eyes wide open.  They observe, they listen, they synthesize and then they produce (or try to with all of their might), stuff that makes the world a better place.

As a dad, husband and Baby Boomer, I care very deeply about this:  I passionately want the younger generations to succeed and the older generation to be valued!  To know and understand me then, is to know the lens in which I view the world. 

The American Dream

I recently read this article written by Robert Trigaux and published in the St. Pete Times.  The American Dream.  Quick, what comes to mind?  Little house in the burbs with a white picket fence, right?  This is an overused generalization that for me, signifies only one thing, that for most of us there really is an American Dream - whatever it might be.

Robert's article is based upon a survey conducted by advertising giant JWT.  Ann Mack, JWT's director of trendspotting ran point on this project.  Although the results of this survey are available to the public...for 3K, the questionnaire that JWT uses is quite interesting and available to the public...for free: Download JWT_AmericanDream_SURVEY.pdf .

In the questionnaire's cover letter, Ann says:

"As a throwaway line, 'the American Dream' passes with a nod and barely a second thought.  You can say 'He's living the American Dream' or 'She's been pursuing the American Dream,' and few people will want to know just what you mean."

The fact is, when I heard the question "What does the phrase, 'the American Dream' mean to you?" my inner status-quo took quite a head-on jolt.  I asked myself, just what was my own American Dream?  And, was I achieving it?

To contemplate about your own American Dream, is to take a deep breath and, for a moment, to step off the hamster wheel of life and work.  This exercise can be healthy and invigorating.  Why not let this question invoke a status check of your life?  And if you do not live in America, no worries...from your perspective what does the American Dream mean?

If you have your own personal Web site, tell us what the American Dream means to you?  And encourage others to do so as well!

I'll tell you what the American Dream means to me in the next couple of days.   

Writers: How to Create

Ms. Writer, in a world of sameness, how can your work stand out; how can it be different?  According to Matt Mattus, Senior Director/Creative - Intellectual Development Property at Hasbro, you need to become a culture creator.

Matt recently wrote an article in the December isssue of HOW magazine titled: Become a Cultural Creator.  There is no available link to the article at this time, but I will say, this is one article worth the price of the magazine, which is available at most chain bookstores. 

To wet your appetite, I'll list Matt's top ten ways to become a cultural creator:

Have endless curiosity

Do research

Develop intellect

Be respectful

Gravitate to excellence

Develop expertise

Be interested in validity

Create fearlessly

Respect rarity

Be original

If as a writer, you would like people to connect with the meaning of your work, you should embrace Matt's guidelines!

According to Wikipedia the word culture comes from the latin word cultura, stemming from the word colere, and means to cultivate.

If you look at Matt's list, every single item takes hold of the verb cultivate and envelops it.  Take for instance curiosity.  If as a writer, you do not ooze curiosity, you are going through the motions.  As a matter of fact, you should lay your body down in a puddle so those who pack their lives to the brim with curiosity don't have to get their feet wet. To be curious is to take the gas cap off of the tank.  To cultivate is to fill er up...with the discovery of new things. 

With each different picture taken; with each different experienced lived; with each different entry in your writer's journal, you are nurturing, growing, improving, tending and fostering the grist for your creative mill. 

Even if someone were able to stoke their creative mill with exactly the same stuff as yours, the product would never be the same.  You know why...there isn't another you.  (my wife would leave the planet if there was another me :)  What comes out will always be different.  The key however, is to get the stuff into your mill and then give yourself a chance to be different.

Okay, put down your keyboard and slowly back away from the computer.  Good.  Now go out and pick up a copy of this magazine today!

Here is a little inexpensive something to help you in the process of cultivating:

Design: Whipped Creme & Long Hair

What can whipped creme do to long hair to produce a stunning look?  Well, I am fairly certain that one must first have the kind of hair that you can do something with - like Cory Kennedy.

As an appreciator of advertising and marketing, I actually subject myself to more advertisements than the average human being.  Over the years, I have built up an above average ad-force field.  To penetrate that force field and take hold of my attention, something must stand out.  Cory Kennedy's hair stands out.

Styles, trends and fashions come and go.  There's just something about long hair on women that for me, has always been attractive.  I do not think long hair looks good on all women*, but on some it does.

The other amazing thing about whipped creme and hair here, is the look that whipped creme can effect.  An Internet search of Ms. Kennedy reveals just what whipped creme can do.  Unbelievable!

If you performed that Internet search, you will quickly found out that Cory is a bit of a wild child.  A very young wild child.  While my intent is to try and not judge here, I can't help but to think if Cory were my daughter I wouldn't be too happy. Personal stuff aside, Cory Kennedy (click on play video diary to see the hair style I am referring to) is evidence that whipped creme has the potential to produce whiplash.

*Rosemary, my wife,has absolutely gorgeous hair and it isn't long.

Designers: How to Create

Ms. Designer, in a world of sameness, how can your work stand out; how can it be different?  According to Matt Mattus, Senior Director/Creative - Intellectual Development Property at Hasbro, you need to become a culture creator.

Matt recently wrote an article in the December isssue of HOW magazine titled: Become a Cultural Creator.  There is no available link to the article at this time, but I will say, this one article is worth the price of the magazine, which is available at most chain bookstores. 

To wet your appetite, I'll list Matt's top ten ways to become a cultural creator:

Have endless curiosity

Do research

Develop intellect

Be respectful

Gravitate to excellence

Develop expertise

Be interested in validity

Create fearlessly

Respect rarity

Be original

If as a designer, you would like people to connect with the meaning of your work, which is a layer below asthetics, you should embrace Matt's guidelines!

According to Wikipedia the word culture comes from the latin word cultura, stemming from the word colere, and means to cultivate.

If you look at Matt's list, every single item takes hold of the verb cultivate and envelops it.  Take for instance curiosity.  If as a designer, you do not ooze curiosity, you are going through the motions.  As a matter of fact, you should lay your body down in a puddle so those who pack their lives to the brim with curiosity don't have to get their feet wet. To be curious is to take the gas cap off of the tank.  To cultivate is to fill er up...with the discovery of new things. 

With each different picture taken; with each different experienced lived; with each different entry in your design journal, you are nurturing, growing, improving, tending and fostering the grist for your creative mill. 

Even if someone were able to stoke their creative mill with exactly the same stuff as yours, the product would never be the same.  You know why...there isn't another you.  (my wife would leave the planet if there was another me :)  What comes out will always be different.  The key however, is to get the stuff into your mill and then give yourself a chance to be different.

Okay, put down your keyboard and slowly back away from the computer.  Good.  Now go out and pick up a copy of this magazine today!

Here is a little inexpensive something to help you in the process of cultivating:

Trends: Trendwatching

Do you have unopened e-mail newsletters in your inbox?

"Well, errrr, yeah dave, I do."

And those are the ones that you allow into your inbox, aren't they?

"Yeah man, I just don't have time to read them.  But you know, I do pick one or two off every so often."

Do you use Google's GMail?

"daaaaave, I see where you're going with this...."

I let approximately ten e-mail newsletters through my front gate each week and a half dozen more per month.  I read one.  I need to prune two or three from this list. For the balance though, I lean on Google's search capability in my GMail account. 

"dave, that sounds good on paper dude, but how often do you really bring up old e-mail newsletters?"

Not often.  But let me tell you about how a person at a company that sends these newsletters broke through the din of white noise marketing and helped me out.  Michell Zappa, a trend analyst at Trendwatching.com, sent me an e-mail.  Her company noticed that I hadn't opened up their Trend Briefing monthly newsletter for quite a while.  Her concern was two-fold.  One, perhaps my junk mail folder was scarfing up the briefings and I wasn't getting any, and two, perhaps I really didn't want to receive them anymore.  In that case I could opt out and they wouldn't bother me anymore.

Now, of course Michell didn't personally send me this e-mail.  But the thought and gesture pegged out the dave "that's different" meter.  It was so Amazonian.  It meant enough for me to reply back and thank them for their concern.  Janna van Hasselt, from client services did personally reply back to me and thanked me for my note.

Guess what.  A few days later I opened the latest briefing and read it.  Man am I  glad that I did!  If you appreciate knowing what makes consumers do what they do, the pulse of business today, the various economy-related cultures and design (because their briefing is of most excellent design), then sign up for a Trend Briefing of your own today!

Their Eyes Were Watching God

The National Endowment for the Arts has a program called The Big Read.  The purpose of The Big Read is to restore reading to the center of American culture.  The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest.  The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

I first heard about The Big Read in a St Petersberg Times Newspaper in Education insert.  In the past I had gotten a little goofy and sappy over another publication by the St Pete Times called tbt*.  The tbt* is a free, daily publication that has a witty, articulate and humerous voice that is most soothing.  I have to tell you though, the NIE brings on a whole nuther level of goofiness!  Here is a description in their own words:

Beyond newsprint. In the know. Online. Plugged in. In The Times.

The Times Newspaper in Education program offers students and teachers a world of free learning resources including classroom newspapers and supplements, multimedia reports, podcasting and blogging opportunities.

A newspaper that truly cares about education within the community!  And another thing, an association with the NIE speaks volumes about their sponsors.  The sponsors are listed on the right hand side page of the Web site.

Sorry, got a little side tracked.  The book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is why I started writing here today in the first place.  This book was written by Zora Neale Hurston and published in 1937.  This is a touching, powerful, humerous and scary trek through early twentieth century, rural Florida that takes Janie Crawford, a southern black girl who clashes with the values others impose on her, on a journey to find herself.

If you read and write about non fiction business topics, you must read this book.  Zora's brilliant use of metpahors combined with oscilating narrative and southern black dialogue will shake the business cobwebs from your head and provide much needed humanism to infiltrate your subconscious.

Visit here to learn more about Zora Neale Hurston. 

Tampa: Marketing Solutions

One more day at work for the MAN is one more day too many!  It's time to take your education and work experiences and put them to work - for You, Inc.  It's time to start your own business.

You hook up with your lawyer and accountant buddies.  They give you some good advice.  You launch.  You startup.  It's official.  It really is now You, Inc.  Cool!

The first day you hang out your shingle.  Boy did that feel good!  You get busy doing your thing.  It sure does feel good!  But then a stark reality begins to set in.  How am I going to get customers to my door?  You drive up and down Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and and a second cold, stark reality sets in.  There are four other businesses just like yours!  Yipes!  What do you do??

You call Jason and Jennelle.  That's what you do.  Right now. Jason Wilson and Jennelle Diaz Sherman own Full Circle Marketing Solutions.  Jason and Jennelle are two of the most passionate people I've ever met.  Their desire to help business owners just like you is off the charts. 

What I really like about these guys is that they're not going to storm into your business and tell you what to do.  No, they are going to sit down and talk with you.  They are going to learn what you and your business is all about.  They will ask questions.  You will sense their concern.  And you will feel their energy.  And you will begin to envision customers lining up at your door.  You will.  But they won't, if you don't contact them.  Contact them today!

 

 

Do You Matter?

Do You Matter? by Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery with Russ Hall

Why yes Virginia, you do!

Does your company matter?

Well Virginia, we're not sure about that!

Here is what this book is all about.  I've read the book twice and the authors do a nice, succinct job in describing it themselves.

I have already read somewhere someone whining about the author's excessive use of Apple as an example.  It did not bother me one bit.  As a matter of fact, it helps to enhance the book's main point. 

Here is a visual that I had twice through Do You Matter?  Robert and Stewart standing in front of an auditorium filled with CEO's from the world's top companies presenting a seminar on what the book is about.  The CEO's then leave the seminar, book in hand.  Back at their office, they shelve the book and go back to business as usual. 

It certainly is not that Robert and Stewart's message isn't compelling enough.  Delivered on the great white horse of Design powerhouse Pentagram, it's actually quite piercing.  The problem is that the CEO's minds are shelled in titanium.

If you work for a company that does not holistically embrace this concept of design, (read: titanium shelled cranium), I suggest you use this book as a What Color is Your Parachute? guide to escape.

The greatest value in my opinion, of Do You Matter? can be found in applying the question to You, Inc.  It could be You as a writer, You as a student, You as a worker, You as a sole proprietor or You as a mom.  In addition to the customer experience, do you matter to those with whom you interact?  Can you put yourself in their shoes?  Do you provide value?  If so, consistently?  In a consistent manner?

You can have a lot of fun using the complete, holistic design that the lads talk about here, to build a better sparkling You, Inc.  Tom would be most proud! 

This book was smoked-n-signed.  ...and I am recommending it to anyone who will listen!