reflectshawn

[reflectshawn]

Week 14 Process Journal: Evaluation

For the past few weeks, my team has been focused on the Implementation phase. We’ve been in the nitty-gritty details of how to execute on our idea. Our story feels a lot like “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” One day Team Azurite identified a problem that needed to be solved and set out upon a creative journey to design a solution. We researched near and far, high and low. Sometimes we bumped into each other. During Ideation a fountain of ideas sprang forth. With dozens of possibilities in front of us, we voted to narrow them down to our top picks based on the high-level criteria below that we specified during the Definition phase:

 Does the solution…

·        Bring the issues plaguing the Fashion industry, and specifically Fast Fashion, to the forefront of social consciousness?

·        Provide information to consumers to help them make informed purchase decisions (conscious capitalism)?

·        Provide incentives and actionable tools and ideas for consumers to help break the cycle of fast fashion?

·        Do all of the above in a fun and engaging experience?

After soliciting feedback from our instructor and polling our classmates (jury of peers) we found that the first solution selected, a multi-interactive pop-up museum exhibition, was way too big and ambitious. We knew we could do better and pivoted and tried a different approach. This time we scaled down to a single box, a vending machine that disbursed high-fashion garments made from pre-consumer fabric scraps. This solution turned out to be way too small.

We went back to the Ideation drawing-board and came up with a solution that seemed just right. Recognizing that the solution wasn’t the best possible version yet, we went back through the jury of peers gauntlet. It was extremely valuable when they pointed out the strengths and imperfections of the plan.

We’ve incorporated this feedback and are feeling confident about our pitch presentation. In the pitch, we want to ensure that the solution gets the most stakeholder buy-in by including the following:

·        Clearly defined problem

·        Clear and unique, viable, feasible, and desirable solution that addresses the problem

·        All stakeholders

·        Exciting variety of visuals

·        Thoughtful business case

·        Passion from Team Azurite shines through

Incidentally, this is also the criteria we have included in our rubric to evaluate other teams on their presentations. No doubt that our talented and diverse class will present some exceptional ideas!

[reflectshawn]

Week 13 - Implementation Part 2

This week marked Team Azurite’s second official pivot in two weeks. Our original idea included grand plans for a full-scale pop-up museum experience. It was going to be like the Museum of Ice Cream for Fast Fashion. After receiving some valuable feedback and advice, we scaled back to a single interactive. Idea number two was a vending machine that dispensed sustainable designer garments. The vending machine idea transformed into a “Fast Fashion Truck” (vs. Fast Food). It seemed like a good idea, but at the same time felt too complicated and slightly off brand. We had boxed ourselves in to a solution. We liked the execution but lacked three important points that connected the visitor to the message.

·        What is fast fashion?

·        What is the opposite of that?

·        What interaction supports it?

We went back to the ideation phase with a disciplined approach that would span two meetings. We also elected a project manager to keep us on task. In meeting number one we first revisited the problem statement. Our original problem statement was:

How might we inspire consumers to purchase sustainable fashion to disrupt the fast fashion industry?

It works; however, purchasing adds to the problem. We want consumers to slow it down and preserve their garments for as long as possible. Eureka! That’s it! We revised our problem statement to:

How might we inspire consumers to shift to intentional consumption to disrupt the fast fashion industry?

From that jumping off point, we kept it simple and identified three key areas related to the fashion industry with digestible takeaways for visitors:

·        Education – Startling metrics around CO2 emissions, Water Usage/Waste, Micro Plastics

·        Intentional Consumption – What is it?

·        Actionable strategies for consumers to reduce their footprint with access to informational resources

Next stop, Ideation (again). With the fundamentals in place we started freeform riffing on ideas that we had already come up with and the idea materialized in a very organic way. We played the “what if” game. What if we used this? What if it had that? What if…? The execution grew from a throw away idea we had around other products that could be dispensed from the vending machine. I borrowed the concept of This Bar (saves lives) and pitched it to the team around patches. This Bar is a social enterprise that gives back for every nutritional bar that is sold. Soon #thispatch was born and it galvanized everything. #thispatch is the campaign, the product, and the message. Rather than throwing away a garment with a hole in it and buying something new, use #thispatch to mend it and use it a little longer. Then the ideas really flowed about how to execute. What if we invited visitors to bring a piece of clothing to get mended with #thispatch? We ended the first meeting and in the second meeting a couple team members showed up with mockups of the experience. Others had developed a color palette. In less than a week we’ve gone from idea to actionable execution that could be pitched to real life sponsors. It’s incredibly exciting.

[reflectshawn]

Unit 12 - Implementation

At this point Team Azurite has pivoted slightly from a walk-through pop-up museum experience to a smaller experiential activation that we feel with accomplish our goals. Boiled down we want to inform consumers and inspire them to take action that has the potential to disrupt the fast fashion industry. The latest incarnation of our idea is a larger than life vending machine that will give away numbered, limited edition high-end, slow fashion garments, as well as promotional giveaways that align with the theme. The activation is slated for Fashion Week in NYC in September 2021. Note: this plan can always be postponed to the next appropriate event if COVID is still an issue; however, strict precautions will be in place to ensure the safety and health of everyone involved. The plan calls for partnerships with designers, celebrities, and brands, as well as the need to attract sponsorship money. Because the activation will include both physical and digital components, we intend to pitch our idea using multiple conceptualization methods that are exciting and visceral.

 Data Visualization: We want consumers to understand the environmental impact of producing various types of garments. Rather than displaying numbers we will weave important statistics into the experience itself. For example, the volume of the vending machine might equal either the amount of CO2 emissions or water used to produce a pair of jeans, or the number of limited edition giveaways equals another number we want consumers to take with them.

 Wireframing: We will use this method to demonstrate the digital components of the experience or marketing campaign (TBD).

 Modeling: As a physical activation, we will need to model the customer experience in context of the location. What does the line look like? How long is the experience? How will the vending machine be used? How many field team members will on site?

 Rendering: We will use this technique to demonstrate the visual concept of the vending machine. What does it look like? What are the colors? How is the packaging arranged in the window? We might also develop some animations or simple motion graphics to show the machine working.

 Pitch decks are the norm, but I’ve always found that sizzle reels get people excited and motivated to participate.

[reflectshawn]

Week 10 Process Journal - Ideation

Ideation is one of my favorite phases of the creative problem-solving process. I’m a blue-sky type of person and enjoy connecting dots to come up with ideas. In this phase our team was rooted in the four rules of brainstorming:

 1.      Generate as many ideas as possible

2.      Do not criticize ideas

3.      Freewheel – say all ideas that come to mind

4.      Combine and improve ideas

 Based on the idea and data from one of our class readings, we started our process with silence (independent brainstorming) on a shared Miro board. Prior to starting, we all agreed on our idea generating question and posted it prominently above our brainstorming area:

 How might we inspire consumers to purchase sustainable fabrics to disrupt the fast fashion industry?

 In my individual brainstorm I allowed myself 45 minutes and used a combination of techniques, including:

 ·        Crazy ideas – stunts to raise awareness

·        Attribute weaving – how to solve various aspects of the problem

·        What if? – What if our end consumers are pets, not humans?

·        Lateral Thinking – How would a marketer think about this versus an activist or entrepreneur?

 Once everyone’s ideas were up on the board, we met for two hours to organize and build on the concepts. Our categories felt like they were inspired by Jeopardy questions. One category is, “There’s an App for That.” We drew connections between the categories (literally with dotted lines). Following a fun discussion, we narrowed our ideas and highlighted them. Our top ideas are (in no particular order):

 1.      Sustainable fashion stylist subscription (ex: like stichfix) - makes it easier for people to find sustainable clothing

2.      Scan-able clothing tags that provide information through app

3.      Pop-up museum of fashion casualty

 I’m a little sore that my genius idea to repurpose old coats to make clothes and shoes for pets wasn’t upvoted. It would solve multiple elements of our problem, including creating awareness, and promoting the circular economy. Additionally, there is a strong business case for it…The pet industry is $80 Billion annually and growing at 14%/year – projected to be $200 Billion+ by 2025. There are 60 million dog owners in the U.S., the majority are millennials – who are most likely to purchase clothes for their pets. In a recent study, 17% of owners responded that they purchase costumes for their pets. Many follow pet fashion celebrities on Instagram, and have accounts for their own pets. Imagine all of the fabric waste going into pet clothes that could be alleviated by repurposing fabrics from the human fashion segment?

 Our next phase will be to evaluate the feasibility of our top ideas, which is my specialty. Onward!

[reflectshawn]

Problem Statement - Definition

Our team started the problem definition discussion with a round robin allowing each team member to read their problem statement and talk about their point of view without interruption. Next, we took turns making comments and highlighting what resonated from each of the definitions. It turned into a lively discussion where we used a mixed bag of techniques to narrow our focus. One session wasn’t enough, so we agreed to meet again the following evening. Here’s our approach:

 1.      Talk it Out/Write it Out: This was the first phase, which we did individually and then collectively in a shared google doc.

2.      Key Words: There were three words that seemed to stand out across all of our problem statements: Consumer, Supply Chain, Environment, and Sustainable

3.      Boil it Down: This technique was used together with Priorities. What is the essence of the problem and what are the relationships between each of the major themes?

4.      Priorities: We ranked the key words based on personal interest, scope, and what we considered upstream vs. downstream using examples from our research.

5.      Problems Within Problems: This was a biggie, especially when thinking about the magnitude of the entire fashion industry supply chain. It’s like a matryoshka doll of problems nested within problems, starting with design and production planning. For example, designers can work with production planning to create designs that maximize use of the fabric to minimize pre-consumer waste. More fabric used, means bigger environmental impact from preparation of the textiles in terms of CO2 emissions and water usage. And so on…

6.      Mission Objectives: Our objective is to work on a problem that can be addressed with a proposed solution by the end of the term, as opposed to (for instance) pushing for policy changes across governments.

 The conversation continued over Slack and during the second session we came to a consensus. We also started a new section for everyone to rephrase the problem statement. During our meeting we “Frankensteined” our statements to arrive at one we all agree with:

 With the textile branch of the fashion industry contributing 10% of global CO2 emissions, how can we inform consumer buying choices around fabrics to influence fast fashion to move to sustainable practices along the supply chain?

Our point of view revolves around the idea that the consumer has the ultimate power and authority to influence practices of the fashion industry. This is achieved via changes in attitudes and behaviors and through conscious consumption. Our goal is to help consumers make informed decisions, especially about textiles, by making them aware of the environmental impact of their purchases. Next step…one of my favorites, Ideation.

[reflectshawn]

Problem Statement Documentation

In advance of our team meeting to discuss and agree on a problem statement, here’s where my thoughts are…

 Individual Problem Statement: How might we make timeless, high-quality, affordable fashion with fair labor practices and a carbon neutral/negative environmental impact available to consumers?

 Perspective: The fractured nature and sheer size of the fashion supply chain makes it virtually impossible to change the practices of the industry without unified and consistent governmental policies with the ability and intent to enforce. Ultimately it is the consumer’s voice and economic forces that will influence change. Why not give the consumer the tools to make informed decisions for conscious consumption? Make an achievable impact on one segment and build from there by creating awareness and changing consumer attitudes and behavior.

  I arrived at this idea by following steps outlined in course materials and writing notes in my analog journal:

 Key Issues

·        Environment impact from pre-consumer production and waste of textiles and garments

·        Labor issues: unsafe working conditions and low/no pay

·        Disposable, low-quality clothing

·        => post-consumer waste

 Redefine

·        Individual problem statement above

 Conceptualize & Specify Parameters

·        Repurpose deadstock

·        Use innovative materials

·        Recycle pos-consumer fashion

·        Create new dyeing processes

·        Revamp supply chain

·        Create international standards for textile/garment production w/capability for policing and enforcing sanctions

 Translate Negatives into Opportunities

·        How might we change practices of the fashion industry? Architect model of conscious consumption for consumers

·        Educate consumers on:

o   Styles that never change

o   Long-lasting fabrics

o   Alternative eco-friendly dyeing processes

o   Marketplaces for high-quality recycled garments

 Key Tasks & Persona

·        Fashion Cos/Designers – design to minimize waste

·        Manufacturing/Plant Owner/Operators – update machinery/filters

·        Distribution – use eco-friendly transportation/logistics

·        Retail – stock eco-friendly apparel

·        Consumer – Conscious consumption, keep clothing longer

 Meaning -> Options:

·        Impacting a piece of the existing supply chain vs create a fashion brand and build supply chain from scratch

·        Use as basis to create awareness and change behaviors & attitudes of consumers

[reflectshawn]

Process Journal - Analysis

So much to digest with this problem. What is Fast Fashion? Who are the stakeholders? What is the state of the industry today and how did it originate? These are all questions I started to ask as I peeled back the layers. My first stop for information was a Google search on the internet. The results were a variety of articles that pointed to scientific research papers. The USC libraries was a fantastic resource for digging deeper to access these papers. I’ve also made a list of the types of people we will want to interview, including consumers, a certified gold Mari Kondo consultant, and the owner of a garment factory. A few interesting facts that have stood out for me are the mind-boggling levels of resource consumption committed by the fashion industry. For instance, it uses 79 trillion liters of water and is estimated to produce 8%-10% of global carbon dioxide emissions per year. In spite of the biggest offenders, there are companies, such as Patagonia, the Pangaia, and Vollebak that are targeting zero carbon footprint, and using experimental materials to combat the problem. Ultimately it is up to the consumer to vote with their money to make any meaningful impact on the decisions and methods used by the fashion industry.

[reflectshawn]

Process Journal - Acceptance

We are looking at Fast Fashion for our team project, which is a HUGE problem for everything from the environment to human rights issues. I wasn’t aware of it prior to one of my teammates suggesting it as a topic, but it is a fascinating subject. There are billions of dollars involved, and it traverses multiple companies, industries, and countries. I equate it to trying to boil the ocean. Is it solvable? Yes, but I’ll remain cautiously realistic. Can the five of us accomplish it? Maybe, with the right size megaphone. Can we do it by the end of the semester? I’ll call Al Gore to see if he’s available to help. If we could solve a small piece and make an impact I would be elated, over the moon, giving myself high-fives in the mirror. As a matter of course, I aim to get involved in projects that are inherently meaningful. There is a way to create blended value for profit and purpose. If done well my involvement could result in personal fulfillment of both.

[reflectshawn]

Exploring Creativity

     Everyone can create but to be creative (or to be a creator) requires imagination + action. Let’s call it “Imaginaction.” Like the concept of Force in Physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, creativity is a force that when present is difficult to suppress. The more pressure applied to contain it, the greater reaction. It will always find a way to push through and find an outlet, either overtly as a creative work, such as art or music, or as an approach to solving problems. Some people are naturally imaginactive, while others claim to lack creative bones or muscles or just don’t have the capacity to make an effort. Regardless of how one’s brain works, left, right, or center, given the right circumstances anyone can be creative.      So what does Imaginaction look like? Let’s make up a simple scenario. Imagine there’s a worldwide pandemic with a zombie apocalypse and that it isn’t safe to eat store-bought cake. In fact, there is no store-bought cake anymore. Sally Spreadsheet and her family are living in a time locked underground bunker, so making a quick run to Trader Joe’s isn’t an option anyway. Sally, who is an actuary, doesn’t consider herself creative and especially under these circumstances, is baking a birthday cake. Sally just used the last of the sugar and flour in the pantry and realized that they are out of eggs. There won’t be any more eggs since they already ate all the live chickens and the goat won’t lay one. What is Sally to do? Does she throw it all away and call it quits? It’s time for creative problem solving! The internet is broken, so Sally will need to resort to using her memory and wits, and available materials. To frame the problem, she determines that she needs an edible liquid with the potential to bind the other materials. There was something about applesauce she had heard a while back, but alas, no applesauce in the pantry. While rummaging through her personal stash she comes across a package of freeze-dried bananas and remembers that they became sticky after she licked her fingers and reached into the bag for another one. Sally has a “Eureka” moment and restructures the problem. What if the ingredient doesn’t need to start as a liquid, but becomes liquified for the recipe? Sally decides to grind the bananas to a powder using the food processor (they still have electricity) and then reconstitute it with some water. She adds about two ounces to the mix and the cake bakes up perfectly. Sally has used her imagination and taken action to solve the problem. Imaginaction at its finest.      Given my background in marketing you might be surprised to read that creativity, or at least creative involvement, always felt elusive and just out of reach. On the one hand, I had a succession of six bosses in eight years and the absence of a clearly defined role. Without the support of a champion it was difficult to move within the organization. On the other hand, ironically there wasn’t much room for creativity in the creative process. It was a finely tuned machine that repeatedly turned out tentpole film releases with #1 weekend box office results. The creative executives I worked with didn’t actually do much creative anyway. They were armchair quarterbacks who directed creation of materials at various agencies. Sitting alone in an office all day felt like a lonely proposition, so I didn’t pursue that track when I finally had the chance. In any case, the creator in me developed my own side projects as creative outlets, including a television show, web application, immersive wedding venue, and mobile game. They are still in various stages of development and I continue to push them forward.