“hello hello”

$The Man Who Thought Different. This manifesto was created by the talented folks at TBWA\Chiat\Day to launch Apple’s “Think Different” campaign. It was the first major advertising initiative following the return of Steve Jobs to company he co-founded in 1976. The ads made me cheer. I printed them off and pinned them to my cubical wall. I replaced the printouts with full sized posters. Fourteen years, six of the posters still hang on the studio walls at Curve Detroit. From the time the campaign broke on billboards, posters and television, it because a rallying cry and source of inspiration for the creative class. Today, they serve as a fitting tribute to a man who changed the way we communication and the way we create. Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. You will be missed. Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. Steve Jobs1955-2011$

The Man Who Thought Different.

This manifesto was created by the talented folks at TBWA\Chiat\Day to launch Apple’s “Think Different” campaign. It was the first major advertising initiative following the return of Steve Jobs to company he co-founded in 1976.

The ads made me cheer. I printed them off and pinned them to my cubical wall. I replaced the printouts with full sized posters. Fourteen years, six of the posters still hang on the studio walls at Curve Detroit.

From the time the campaign broke on billboards, posters and television, it because a rallying cry and source of inspiration for the creative class. Today, they serve as a fitting tribute to a man who changed the way we communication and the way we create.

Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. You will be missed.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Steve Jobs
1955-2011

I’m in love with the new Ford Evos. There’s only one problem, Ford isn’t selling them. It’s a concept car. A design exploration. A glimpse at where Ford may be taking design in the future.

This tends to piss me off. My friend Nicholas Ellis put it best: “Did Apple ever introduce concepts?” He’s right.

Year after year, Steve Jobs introduced kickass, covetable products and built one of the most valuable and influential companies in the world. In that same time period, Microsoft unveiled prototype after prototype of vaporware products that never saw the light of retail or lit up their balance sheet.

Now, I know cars have a few more moving parts (not to mention more regulations and legal liabilities than a mobile phone), but I’d love to see Ford speed this car into showrooms.

Too often, companies release daring, evocative concept designs to test consumer opinions. The research folks listen to every piece of feedback, then the designers go back to work, sanding off all the corners that turned up noses.

And there’s the rub.

The next year, that bold concept is reintroduced as a ho-hum production model. The people who hated it now think it’s “meh”, the people who loved it now think it’s “meh” and the sales numbers usually end up being “meh”.

When you soften the edges that offend some people, you end up removing the edges that infatuate others. Never simply seek consensus when you have the opportunity to enflame true passion. Build remarkable. Piss a few people off. Create LOVERS and HATERS. Never create “meh”.

Evangelists and Raving Fans > Deal of the Day Customers

Ford Evos Concept Reveal by Ford Motor Company on Flickr.

We believe there are only two significant brands in the film industry—”Disney” and “Steven Spielberg”. We would like to establish “Pixar” as the third.

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—	Steve Jobs’ marching orders for Pixar in 1996. A great example of bold leadership and a clear vision. What’s the bold vision for your firm? What’s the bold vision for you?