Monthly Archives: October 2008
Creating Culture (Part 02)
More from Matt Mattus' great book, Beyond Trend: How to Innovate in an Over-Designed World. Here are a few more traits of what Mattus calls "culture creators":
Trait 03: They develop their intellect.
Much like a terrier on the scent, the mind of a culture creator is wired to learn, learn, learn. They have an enormous respect for the history of art and design. Every past movement, every zeitgeist creative leader, every cultural icon in the design world, they love to learn more about and celebrate.
Understanding things such as why the opulence of Victorian style affected the Arts and Crafts movement's stark purity is just the sort of fact retention that moves a culture creator to learn even more. Culture creators can identify nuances in influence and have an insatiable appetite for knowledge that can affect their creative work. They use knowledge as a building tool that allows them to inject context and relevance into every idea they invent.
Creating Culture (Part 01)
OK, here's my latest obsession – and it's a big one. The book is called Beyond Trend: How to Innovate in an Over-Designed World. It's written by Matt Mattus, Creative Director at Hasbro. The book discusses cultural and creative traits that allow true innovation to occur. As I'm reading it, I find that he's done an amazing job explaining what I am so often unable to explain about myself – my passion for design, my obsession over the nth detail, my refusal to go for the lowest common denominator. Like many of my peers, I fall into a category of folks Mattus calls "culture creators" – and while that tag is a little egocentric, the more I read, the more the shoe fits.
Creating Culture (Part 03)