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Blog
What Do The Most Creative People Have In Common?
By ideba | June 18, 2013
This year FastCompany.com posted an article called Meet The 13 Designers on Fast Company’s Most Creative People List showcasing designers specializing in a range of industry professions from the development of mobile “phablets” (a hybrid cellphone/tablet archetype popularized by Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2) to urban development projects protecting some of America’s most prominent cities from natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding. Noticing a pattern, I wrote down a few of the similarities linking these creative minds. After all, creativity is an important part of building and expanding business ideas. Here are a few things that most of the creative designers on the list have in common:
Designers think on a global level - Dong-Hoom Chang, head of design at Samsung gets his ideas from traveling the world. These adventures inspired his iconic, round, pebble shape cellphone design with water-ripple effects on the touchscreen used today by many companies. Likewise, Liz Muller is a designer helping Starbucks cafes around the world recognize that different cultures require different strategies to enhance their aesthetics and leverage a region’s charm effectively. Muller keenly researches a country’s society and makes adjustments to the design of new cafés accordingly. For example, she rearranges the furniture to accommodate big crowds or single customers depending on the country’s social norm.
Designers engage multiple senses – The best designs are the most interactive. Leave it to Disney Research to invent a computer program that uses AC electrical currents to make everyday objects (like a common plant) touch sensitive. When connected, the Touche makes any object’s “skin” touch-sensitive like the screen of a tablet or cell phone. The program can translate touch into spectrums of sound and visuals which can enhance any tactile experience.
Designers design end products that appeal to the masses – Professional designers are usually designing with a purpose in mind – perhaps they have a problem they are trying to solve or an audience they are trying to please. Ian Spalter is the director of design and UX for Foursquare. Spalter says that the secret behind designing his company’s successful app lays in using an interactive agency to create Mad Lib style press releases for the product before it is created. The press release helps the company establish a user prototype before development so that during the engineering process, the Foursquare team can think about features and functionality from a practical standpoint. They can ask themselves, “Would our ideal customer prefer this or that?”
Work
FortisBC Mt Hayes Event
Category: Consulting
Client’s Pain Point
“The good news is we want to celebrate the completion of our new $200M-natural gas facility.
The bad news? It’s in a remote location, you’ll need the approval of multiple decision makers and you have 4 weeks to execute.”
Ideba’s Approach
- Planned, coordinated and oversaw logistics and collateral needs during an abbreviated 4-week timeframe
- Provided comprehensive event direction, management and production – including vendor sourcing and management
Results for the Client
- A flawlessly executed event featuring over 200 senior client executives, First Nations representatives and local community leaders
- Collateral pieces are now permanently displayed on-site and throughout corporate offices
FortisBC Testimonial Video
Category: Marketing
Client’s Pain Point
“More and more of our customers are asking for proof that we can deliver integrated geoexchange solutions for multi-unit and multi-building developments.”
Ideba’s Approach
Planned and executed a series of testimonial videos that provided an un-scripted view of the energy system in action with real-world customer success stories
Results for the Client
- More Geoexchange development inquiries, and thus, revenue opportunities
- Videos influenced and elevated the quality of press for the customer’s up-and-coming development and provided valuable content for case studies and event presentations
Tsuwassen Spring video | Summit Pointe video | The Hudson video
FortisBC Sales Enablement Materials
Category: Marketing
Client’s Pain Point
“Everybody – the public, our customers, our employees – thinks we’re just the gas company. How do we get them to see we’re now so much more than that?”
Ideba’s Approach
Developed a set of customer-driven, customer-focused sales tools:
- Project overviews
- Modular presentation slides for sales use in 1-to-1 and 1-to-many situations
- Developed internal reference guides to support sales process and drive increased consistency
- Created and directed demand-generation campaign to support sales efforts
Results for the Client
- Consistent Sales message now being delivered internally and externally
- Increased sales of Alternative Energy and Integrated energy Solutions, creating a back-log of orders for fulfillment
Microsoft Virtualization Research
Category: Research
Client’s Pain Point
“Why are there so many queries into our Product Management Department – with more all the time? What’s influencing our customers’ licensing decisions?”
Ideba’s Approach
- Conducted worldwide qualitative research study, involving 1-to-1 interviews
- Provided detailed analysis of findings, identifying gaps and opportunities
- Offered actionable recommendations for how the client could decrease the number of queries coming into their PM team, and improve its position in the desktop virtualization space
Results for the Client
- A double-digit reduction in the number of queries coming into PM team
- Newly-identified internal subject matter expert for future leverage
- Incremental qualitative data that can be leveraged to improve future Windows 7 marketing campaigns
Watchguard Security Pays Campaign
Category: Marketing
Client’s Pain Point
“We have a channel incentive program in place, but there seems to be a lack of awareness of the program, with many partial sign-ups, and incomplete registrations.”
Ideba’s Approach
- Developed integrated, direct response campaign with multiple touch-points across various media, including: html emails, postcards, posters, Web banners, and social media
- Focused on the simplicity of participation and high potential for reward
- Created scalable foundation elements to support future waves of the campaign in 2012, based on learning from 2011
Results for the Client
- Double-digit increase in new registrations in the Americas
- Significant decrease in the number of incomplete registrations
- Extension of campaign into EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Asia) in Q4, 2011 and Q1, 2012 based on success in Americas
WatchGuard Seminars in a Box
Category: Consulting
Client’s Pain Point
“We need a consistent approach to recruiting, planning, marketing, and tracking seminars and webinars”.
Ideba’s Approach
Leveraged Marketo® software, created a “Seminars in a Box” campaign, which included a consistent messaging framework, value proposition, event best practices, technical instructions, communication plan and cadence, registration forms, and post event surveys. In addition to these tools, Ideba created industry-specific web banners, recruitment emails, follow ups, and more.
Results for the Client
- A consistent approach to event management, resulting in:
- Reduced time required to create materials
- More targeted and effective messaging, using a consistent tone and manner
- More qualified leads, to fuel new business development
- Increased traceability of the value of event expenditures
Providence New Pregnancy Care Model Testing
Category: Consulting
Client’s Pain Point
“What are the perceived benefits and barriers to acceptance for a new team-based pregnancy care model?”
Ideba’s Approach
Conducted a research study including 1:1 in-depth interviews with 33 women in the Portland area and online surveys of 75 women to include both commercial and Medicaid insurance populations.
Designed multiple surveys to accommodate different respondent groups which were then analyzed accordingly to present in-depth findings.
Results for Client
- Reduced sample size requirements to decrease study costs by 33%.
- Research results identified key marketing actions that were required for the model to be adopted, such as increased education on how the program worked and information to counter existing misconceptions.
Cooper Pacific
Category: Research & Marketing
Client’s Pain Point
“As we continue to recover from the impacts of the 2008 economic downturn, how can we facilitate investor retention and growth?”
Ideba’s Approach
- Qualitative research to understand clients’ pain points, which led to a marketing strategy with increased emphasis on regular, personalized communication to inform/educate investors.
- Leveraging research to create a new value proposition, messaging framework and brand guidelines to drive consistent communications.
- Executed investor Open House as a part of broad effort to engage customers at a one-to-one level, and encourage open dialogue.
Results for the Client
- Dialogue with investors via mail, email, one-to-one meetings and an Investor Open House, has driven engagement; and acknowledgment that Cooper Pacific has not just weathered the economic downturn, but has done significantly better than many other MICs.
Clients
- Avaya
- BMW
- BMW Portland
- Cisco
- Clinicient
- Cooper Pacific
- DTI
- EAI
- Fortis BC
- Huxley Construction
- Iovation
- Island Floor Centre
- Microsoft
- NECI
- Providence
- SAP
- Symantec
- Tom Harris
- Watchguard
- WickinnishInn
Expertise
Video
We develop animated and live-action video for product demonstrations, customer case studies, and educational stories.
Sales Tools
We build the hard-working sales advisors, configuration tools, and interactive widgets that drive customer engagement and leads.
Social Marketing
We craft conversation strategy, design and infographics for social platforms that extend your marketing and build customer interest.
Customer Insights
We learn what your customers need to improve marketing, from purchase and usage through support and satisfaction.
People
When you engage with Ideba, you work with senior professionals. Our consultants have deep experience, specializing in technology, and understand the importance of driving measurable results and ROI.
Meet Team Ideba: Click the LinkedIn icons to learn more about each of us, or the star icons to find out what has caught our attention recently.
Lee
Sumner
Research
Sarah
Doty
Consulting
Community
Ideba strongly believes in supporting the communities where we work and live with education initiatives, activities that promote local businesses, and best practices to support the environment.

