Communication is more than words. Everyday life is filled with messages. In newspapers and magazines, on bags, in the mailbox and on billboards. We communicate with words, signs and pictures. We are exposed to over 300.000 graphic impressions a day. Therefore it is paramount to have an optimal communication strategy, to be able to break through on all levels and platforms.
When developing a product it is of extreme importance to have an understanding of the marketing strategy behind the product. Whether this strategy has been developed by the client, the company's marketing department or by the developers themselves, the degree of success depends on the accuracy of the marketing research and the developers understanding of this research.
When creating fx a multimedia project, and especially when making a website, there are two roads of development to follow. The one is front-end design, that's what the end user sees and experiences on the screen. The other being back-end design, that which makes front-end design possible. The following is more concentrated on the front-end design process.
Perhaps one of the most underestimated steps in multimedia creation, concept development plays an important role in the making of a product that is able to compete on the market.
Innovation is an important competition parameter in most industries, especially in new technology. Creativity is therefore not something we should plan for fun or to create a good mood, it is quite simply to make sure that our product can compete on the conceptual level.
There are a variety of tools one can use during this process to help stimulate the mind. As we often tend to think in "boxes" it is hard for us to think of new ideas. That is to say we, in the Western world for that matter, have a problem with our traditional way of thinking in that it is based on evaluation, judgement and categorising. Edward de Bono, an American guru within the field of creative thinking, has developed several techniques to break free of this pattern. Some of his more known are Po (Provocative Operation), RAFO (Random Association Forced to fit Output), PMI (Problem/Minus/Interest) and The Six Thinking Hats.
These techniques should not be limited to the Concept Development stage of a products creation. Such techniques are useful throughout the entire process of a products creation.
There are no finished ideas.