Edelman hosted a VizThinkNYC event on Tuesday with toy designer Diana Vasquez. And we made toys!
More pics below the fold…
Update on 2012-11-28 14:50 by Nolan Haims
VizThink NYC Toy Workshop at Edelman
Category Archives: Storytelling
Chocolate Stories with Jacques Torres
I had the pleasure today of hearing chocolatier Jacques Torres speak here at Edelman about his life and business and how telling stories has been an integral part of both. Everything from the design of his shops and factories to his ingredients and recipes to his logo have backstories that led him to his successes. For example, the color palette of his shop walls is derived from the multiple colors that cocoa beans display as they develop. His chocolate covered cheerios (a big seller, apparently) grew out of watching a child’s cries calmed by a bag of the cereal—so couldn’t adults use a similar pick me up?
Jacques Told Me a Story 12 Years Ago That I Still Remember
While I hadn’t met Jacques until today, as he spoke I realized that I have carried with me a story he told me—in chocolate—over a decade ago when he was pastry chef at Le Cirque. I don’t remember the specifics of my meal all those years ago with the exception of dessert. It was called a “chocolate stove,” and I now know that it was the creation of Jacques Torres. The “chocolate stove” was a small cooking stove made entirely out of chocolate: there was a back splash, two burners and two chocolate sauce pots, each holding a different sauce. Lift up the stove and inside you found a block of chocolate cake (cooking in the oven…) Everything was edible, and it was awesome.
I’ve written before about food stories, but today proved yet again that in any situation and with any type of subject, it is only a story that will stand the test of time. Did I have fish or steak at Le Cirque? No idea. But I remember my dessert…thank you, Jacques!
Categories: Storytelling.
Haiku Deck
When I tweeted, “Yet another pres app…” I got called out by the makers of the latest presentation app, Haiku Deck. But instead of a lame, “You should really give it a try,” they replied by almost instantly creating a Haiku Deck presentation from one of my blog posts. Here it is: “Make Your Presentation Like a Twinkie.“
Well played, sirs. Well played.
So, I took the new iPad app for a spin, creating my own presentation. Learning the app and creating the presentation took less than 15 minutes, which I thought appropriate for the subject matter. Here’s my Haiku Deck: 15 Minutes.
So, What’s the Verdict?
I like it. With each new presentation alternative to Keynote & PowerPoint, I always question the business model, target audience and usage scenario. I’m currently playing with StoryPlanet, and I’ve previously written about PresentationLink and SlideShark. I still think the iPad is in its crying infancy when it comes to creating and delivering presentations on the iPad, but we might be getting there slowly but surely.
Haiku Deck is a very basic app that allows you to pull in a single image onto a slide (creative commons, your own pic or photos direct from your iPad), choose a template design and then add in very minimal text. There are no charts, bullet points, multiple images or animation: 1 image and 1-2 lines of text. In setting these restrictions, Haiku Deck actually forces you to think simply and visually in telling a story. How could I not like it? One of my colleagues remarked that it would be good as a training tool. Even I found it forcing me to simplify in the few slides I created.
I like Haiku Deck with one big caveat. Treat is as you would treat a haiku. If you aim to write poetry, know the differences between free form verse, iambic pentameter, sonnets, epics, ballads and…haikus. If you’re the kind of person who can present haiku-like, consider Haiku Deck.
The Power of Presentation Metaphors
Here at Edelman, we just held our annual all-staff meeting for our 650 New York employees.
Because I was out of the office in the weeks immediately preceding the event when much of the presentation content was written, I had a fairly fresh experience as a viewer the day of. And what struck me was how many presenters made use of metaphor to incredible effect.
Metaphoric vs Literal Imagery
Presentation imagery can either be metaphoric or literal. The style these past few years has been for heavy metaphoric imagery such as an artistic photo of a lightbulb in a field of grass to discuss “energy innovation.” A literal version of the same slide might be a picture of an actual concept solar car or a new type of wind turbine. In general, I think literal imagery is strongest and stickier, but it is often harder to come by.
Lots of metaphoric imagery in a presentation can tend to blend together and distance a viewer from what’s actually being communicated: “Wait, are we talking about funny cats, kids with lemonade stands and high jumpers or are we talking about our firm’s 3rd quarter sales strategy?”
However, if metaphors (visual and otherwise) are deeply ingrained in a presentation’s story, they can be incredibly powerful…and they were on excellent display at our recent meeting.
Comic Book Hero
Visual Storytelling is a significant and developing focus for Edelman’s PR approach (video, infographics, etc.), so most of our presenters this year were already well ahead of the PowerPoint game in shunning bullet points and extensive on-screen text.
But one presenter used a comic book metaphor (with an actual custom-drawn series of comic book scenes) to explain some of the challenges the industry has faced of late with regard to pharma clients. Instead of endless charts and numbers explaining the details, what our employees were given was a metaphor: this financial trend anthropomorphized into “Pharmageddon,” a comic book villian. Simplistic? Yes. Sticky? Absolutely.
Olympic Hero
Edelman’s New York Health practice has two open secrets. The first is the above mentioned industry “Pharmagedon” challenge. The other is that the practice’s awesome General Manager, Bruce Hayes, is a former Olympic gold medalist in swimming.
Bruce doesn’t talk much about his Olympic history, but decided that the story of his relay team’s come from behind win at the 1984 Los Angeles games was a perfect metaphor for the resiliance and adaptation his division is currently showing. Again, no charts, no numbers, no cute pics of kittens “hanging in there.” In this case, literal imagery and video of his famous win was used along with an instrinsic overall metaphor for his message.
Add the fact that the London Olympics were a few days away, and Bruce’s presentation simply brought the house down.
Captain Morgie
Perhaps Edelman’s current metaphor trend was kicked off by our own Richard Edelman who last year created an unofficial mascot for us he calls a “Morgie” or “Captain Morgie.” This is short for Morganucodon, a small prehistoric rodent and the first mammal.
Morgie makes his appearance in Richard’s planning presentations not because he is the cutest of extinct creatures, but because his story of adaptation and survival in the land of dinosaurs serves as a perfect metaphor for how Richard sees our company’s past, present and future. I’m asked all the time if I think Richard’s presentations in which this prehistoric rat often plays a starring role are effective. And I always say, “Compared to endless slides of bullet points and charts? Compared to a 100 slide PPT deck filled with business jargon? Compared to a presentation you wouldn’t even be talking about now four weeks later?” Yes, I think they’re very effective. Consider me a fan of Morgie.
And consider me a fan of metaphors in presentation.
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Presentation Summit Discount Code
On an unrelated note, if anyone is considering attending this year’s Presentation Summit 2012 in Scottsdale, AZ at which I’ll be speaking, the organizers are offering my readers a discount. Just use the code “NH75” when registering here.
Pixar’s Rules of Storytelling
Emma Coats, a story artist at Pixar, tweeted out 22 rules she’s learned from the animation studio about effective storytelling. The full list is at The Pixar Touch.
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
Categories: Storytelling.
Ancient Japanese Art Looks a Lot Like Sketchup
I was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday and did a double-take in an exhibit called “Storytelling in Japanese Art.” (How could I miss an exhibit with the word “storytelling” in it…?) In artworks and hand painted scrolls going back to the 14th century, the Japanese were all over the use of perpective and exploded graphics to show characters and explain the story being told. Need to show a domestic scene? Remove the roof!
Many illustrations reminded me exactly of Google Sketchup.
The coolest items were a series of long hand scrolls meant to be unrolled and rolled as the story is read left to right. The diagonal perspective actually leads the eye to the right urging continued reading.
Oh, and there was a healthy balance of type and imagery…
Categories: Printed Information, Storytelling.
Sweating over a stock image? Your ideas might be in trouble…
There is something to be said for perfectionism. And sometimes the 56th round of a logo design truly does result in a better logo. But if you find yourself spending hours searching for just the right stock image for a slide or asking your designer to keep trying different shades of blue, “Because the feeling just isn’t right…,” this could be a sign that your content and message are in serious trouble.
I have no scientific data to make this case, simply years of experience working on countless presentations with every type of client. And when a story is clear and content is strong, a designer is able to do his or her best work, generally resulting in design that accurately messages the message. But when a story is muddy, a designer must do a lot of guessing. In this case, the odds of hitting a bulls-eye are slim, and the client falls into an “I don’t know what I like, but I don’t like that” posture. It is times like these that a client turns to design to solve their content problem. And here’s the unfortunate truth:
Design will never fix a weak story.
Let me give you two hypothetical corporate stories for a sales pitch:
Example 1: Our company designs, manufactures and sells quality golf equipment that any player would be happy and satisfied to carry with them on the golf course.
Example 2: We handcraft the Prada of golf drivers for the most discriminating players.
The first story is weak, vague and far too general. Should the design be populist or elitist? Pro or amateur? Conservative or edgy? Example 1 might result in slides like these below—and lots talk like this: “It’s not quite right; we’re trying to appeal to every golfer and make them all happy!”
But the second story hits that bulls-eye with its messaging. “Handcraft,” “Prada” “discriminating” and the slightly suggestive “players” all indicate who this story is for and who the product should appeal to. This story might lead to slides like these…
Now, of course, client and designer can still argue endlessly over this or that detail, but there won’t be disagreement over the appeal to a very wealthy, fashion-conscious clientele.
The Decoration Danger Zone
There’s a cousin to this perfectionist danger zone, and that’s the decoration danger zone.
If you find yourself always trying to embellish your message visually, you may not have a strong enough message to stand on its own. Remember, few people want to pay for simplicity, but it generally is the best approach.
I once directed the first production of a fun, campy musical that included, among other wacky things, a trio of singing alligators. The script was fairly solid, so we didn’t do much rewriting, but I did repeatedly attempt to cut one song that, while catchy, had absolutely no reason for being in the show. I begged the writers to take it out, but ultimately lost the fight. Since the song made no sense in the overall story of the show, my only solution was to treat the number in such a way that the audience immediately forgot it ever happened.
I instructed my choreographer to move people around the stage as much as possible and to distract the audience with as many dance embellishments (decorations) as she could to avoid focus on the song’s lyrics and story. Manipulative? Of course. But I thought a 3-minute visual distraction would help the audience focus on the other much clearer 90 minutes.
To be clear, there is generally a very real need for visual design of message—just be sure you’re not distracting your audience from the story itself.
And avoid singing alligators.
The Stickiness Litmus Test of Presentation
We know that stories are THE most sticky type of information you can present, but rarely do we think about specifically engineering a story to communicate a point. It’s generally only after the fact that we realize a story has had an impact and has stuck with an audience long after it was presented.
Look to Last Year
I was reminded of this in the run up to Edelman’s recent annual all-staff meeting, an event I was intimately involved in producing. When planning an annual event, you have no choice but to recall and reference years past. And in meeting after meeting with different people, many mentioned a small one-minute story told by an executive at last year’s event.
It was a simple story, but it had the effect of perfectly explaining one of the reasons our company was continuing to grow. To be honest, until I heard this story myself, I didn’t really know why certain companies might feel the need to expand absent Wall Street pressures. (Edelman is a privately held company.)
The two slides the executive used are at the top of this post. Here’s the story he told:
I was on a flight back from Europe, and this woman next to me struck up a conversation. She owned a very successful spice exporting company, but felt that she needed to expand her business—something which she wanted to do, but which was causing her a lot of stress and difficulty. I didn’t understand: she seemed well-off and comfortable. “So don’t expand,” I said. “Why grow if you’re happy and doing well now?” She explained that it wasn’t for her sake, but for her very devoted and talented employees. “I need to give them opportunities to grow and advance or else I’ll lose them.” I suddenly got it…
The story took 40 seconds (I know this because each slide was timed to advance after 20 seconds in a Pecha Kucha style), and yet it perfectly encapsulated the reasoning behind the growth of so many non-public companies, large and small. This executive got it. I got it. And apparently many of our employees got it. They still remember it a year later, and are still getting it.
That’s stickiness.
So, if you find yourself repeating an event or presentation, ask what people remembered from last time. Chances are, it will be a story—not your colorful pie chart.
Animating a Movie with Keynote
I recently showed some good examples of movies made with PowerPoint and exported as WMVs (one of the best new features of PPT 2010.)
Well, actually, you’ve been able to do this with Keynote for some time, and Jakob Jochmann just posted a 2 1/2 minute video called “The Fight for Better Communication.” And it was animated completely in Keynote. Take a look.
And Jakob has also graciously posted the source Keynote file on his blog so you can figure out how he did it.
Data Overload is Ruining the Advertising Industry
Great, great article by Jeff Rosenblum in Ad Age.
“A presentation consisting of 50 slides of charts and graphs virtually never ends with a win…”
