Your Own Chinese Look.

I thought it is quite interesting to see that the Spanish team's 'We are ready for China' picture is send around the world as seen as racist. They did get a lot of criticism.


In order to increase the own competitiveness and its penetration of the global market , the Chinese society currently tries to conform itself to the western model. But as the Chinese force becomes stronger, this might very well turn the other way. We Western people might need to adapt to them. Looking at their Gold Medal success, it might not even be a bad idea.


The project 'Chinese Look' we published in Ad!dict on Heritage is a critic on the current paranoia that leads us 'from the West' to stare impotent to the imminent advent of a Chinese Future.
It's a jewel in titanium that the westerners can wear in order to assume the more obvious oriental somatic features, showing off fascinating almond-shaped eyes. It's also an instrument of visual correction that offers westerners the possibility to look at the world with Chinese eyes, helping them to face... a hypothetical new world order.
Ha. Let's see how many people will actually wear this in London in 2012.







Go to Oscar & Lara's labfile on addictlab.com:

Oscar Brito + Lara Rettondini

Mini Creative X-Ray© in Brussels. (addictlab brainstorming process)

Bring 10 creative minds
together, stir firmly, and leave a bit out of control: of course you get weird stuff.

I can’t really tell you why, for whom and certainly not what we’ve talked about, due to the confidentiality of these kind of projects at Addictlab. But the process is worthwhile mentioning.

Last month, I facilitated a brainstorming session as part of a system to generate new ideas for a company. We do these projects since I believe in the fertile environment of a mix of creative people. Preferably a lot, but, no, this is not crowdsourcing.

Crowdsourcing is the new buzzword. But it’s too
impersonal.

The added value of our ‘Creative X-Ray’ should be :
(1) having a track record so that we are sure we can deliver, and (2) have ways to deliver them. But, ok, I’m sounding too much of a salesperson now. If you’re interested, be sure to contact us.

On this particular day, I selected the Addictlab spot in Brussels. It’s a bit controversial, has the right vibe to do these kind of things, and was conveniently for me and the Shanghai based client, at that time.

The selection of resources is of utmost importance. As opposed to crowdsourcing, I need to know whom I inviting, for what, and almost anticipate what is going to happen when we bring labmember x together with labmember y on project Z.

Take Lieven De Couvreur, whose very first job was being a Design Lab Researcher at Addictlab. Ok, the economy & market reality made our ways to be separated, and he is now a teacher at the school he went to. When he enters, he brings his homework that I have asked, but in a powerpoint of 105 slides, that blow me away. I remember: this is why I do what I do. Feeling privileged to work with this kind of thinkers. Feeling honoured to be able to push their creative boundaries and have them come up with new ideas.

Lieven enters.
His lab/homework exists of 105 powerpoint slides that blow me away.

The whole day, we will have discussions going on, and I’m taking their minds on a journey through my sinister brain giving them assignments according to the Addictlab X-Ray methodology. Sometimes clear, sometimes unclear where this or that question will lead to. My job being to anticipate, filter, facilitate.
One moment, I see Boyoung being puzzled by some question I had raised.
A complex question it was, and not having received an answer I tend to switch to another angle. Yet she stands up, and moves to another spot in our space.
She needs some time alone and wants to come up with an answer.
When I go sit next to her, she has sketched out mentally a possible solution for the problem at hand, going much further then I could have imagined. I bring in Emilie & Celine to help investigating this route, while the others keep on my initial track.

At the end of the day I’m a bit of a wreck. But it was worth every second of it. The result, in this case, will not be tangible in the near future, yet it will be reworked in a ideadatabase to be used by the brand & their creative resources.

selected labmembers
Pieter Verhoeven
Lieven De Couvreur
Celine Poncelet
Emilie Lecouturier
Boyoung Jung
Emmanuel Wolfs

facilitators:
Niki Vranken
Jan Van Mol
+ clients



More info?
All labmembers received the same remuneration and signed confidentiality docs. The session was part of a three month Mini Creative X-Ray program. Interested brands or agencies for these kind of sessions can mail info@addictlab.com