Sometimes great design means using a different lens than the ones we walk around with. I'm not talking of camera work, but biases, hang-ups, and things we are so passionate about (in a good way) that prevent us from seeing things from the audiences perspective.
If you've always done direct mail campaigns, at least explore what might have changed in the 'direct' world with privacy, loyalty, database management etc. If you're always doing landscape layouts for ads, look at what an split-page media buy might achieve. If you have a reputation for doing soft-focus, try grainy, or even degraded fonts, or sharp contrasty black and white.
If you're a slave to the Logo guide... don't even get me started. If you're doing billboards with the standard clever headline and head shot, try something like this billboard for Gain detergent.
I got thinking about this after yesterday's post on Ideo, and seeing the work of a photographer Joe McNally who talks about looking for "a different angle."
He could have very well been talking about marketing campaigns, looking for fresh ways to communicate.
Check out McNally: The moment it clicks
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