This wasn't my favorite presentation,but it definitely caught my attention because one of the Swedish designers it mentioned created the above image, which is quite amusing. I just thought I'd share:)The presentation that I enjoyed the most was one entitled "Details" which was presented by Toby Hyam, the Managing Director for Creative Space Management in Leeds, UK. Hyam professes that "our world is about details and information." The initial image he uses, a photo focusing on the nape of a woman's neck, is the beginning of a series of photographs that on the surface aren't of anything particularly interesting or innovative, but upon further examination, lead the viewer to focus a little more intently, and examine what's happening in the photographs a little deeper, because after all, he is trying to illustrate a "condition" that he has which involves focusing on the details.
Hyam talks about how creative people have an innate ability to focus on the details and it's not about ignoring the larger picture and focusing on the insignificant. It's actually about being able to see something that others would never see ~ never notice ~ never take the time to examine and then capitalize on that ability and put something important out into the world. That is why creative thinking is so vital ~ we think about the details ~ we understand how important they are for innovation and creating novel approaches to situations, small and large.
Perhaps this might not appear relevant on the outset, but a few years ago, living in New York, I had the experience of having bedbugs twice in one summer. I remember the first night I saw one. It was late, 3 am perhaps. I was reading in bed and wearing a new t-shirt that I had bought in an awesome downtown boutique. It was an impulsive and overpriced purchase. The pattern resembled miniature leopard spots but in black and white. The t-shirt, for lack of a better descriptor, was rather "loud" and any small creature could have easily camouflaged itself in the pattern, particularly a creature with chameleon-like capabilities. But I saw it. I saw the bedbug out of the corner of my eye, scuttling through the pattern on my t-shirt. And I freaked out.
Later that summer, having just moved to a new apartment, I came home around 11pm from spending a weekend in Boston. Even before I entered my room, through the doorway, I saw it again; a sad, desperate, tiny bug hanging out on my bed like it was no big whoop. I freaked out of course and shared a bed with my roommate that night. You ask, what in the world does seeing bedbugs have to do with details? For me, it's reflective of the fact that I am incredibly sensitive to details. When I returned home that night, I immediately noticed the that which was out of the ordinary. A year or two after having bedbugs, I was visiting my cousin in Austin and I pointed out some ants crawling on his bathroom wall. Surprised, he inquired how I could have noticed something so tiny and in my head I thought, "How could you not notice that!?"
I always thought that everyone saw images in clouds. It never occurred to me that there might be people who don't. It never occurred to me that there might be some people who don't notice red ants crawling on their white wall. And it's truly been a recent revelation that there are details I notice very easily that others will never be able to see. The bedbug story is merely to illustrate that I'm always hyper-aware of the details, small and large. The challenge is channeling that ability into creative solutions, particularly in an age that is driven by technology.
Peter Guber pointed out in The Four Truths of the Storyteller, a good storyteller has to appeal to the senses and emotions of the listener. Hyam's "condition" resonated with me on an extremely personal level and therefore I became emotionally invested in what he was saying. It not only applied to my individual experiences and capabilities, but it also connected me to a larger community who also believe they "suffer" from a similar "condition". It's all in the details.
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