Literally, you know what I mean. Figuratively (pardon the pun) just because the solution fits doesn’t mean it’s the right solution. Everywhere I look there’s government wasting money doing the popular, not the hard thing. Businesses trying to sell to everyone and end being noticed by no one.
These solutions are usually the first idea someone had to solve the problem. This is why I use the ’25 Box Method’ for coming up with ideas. First ideas are rarely the right ones. As a junior copywriter, I was introduced to the method and I’ve adapted it to fit any project requiring a solution. It’s pretty simple; take a large piece of paper and draw 4 equidistant lines vertically and repeat for the horizontal plane. You have 25 rectangles and have defaced the page thereby overcoming one of the biggest psychological blocks to creating; soiling a clean piece of paper.
Now write your first idea in box #1 (top left-hand corner). Chances are it will be rubbish. Write your second idea. Better, but not great. Write your third idea. It’s crap too but all of sudden idea #2 looks better. Here’s the challenge. Do not stop writing ideas until all 25 boxes are filled. Most people stop at #3 because it’s better than #2. Great ideas start to come around the middle of the page and tapper off again towards the end. I’ve created headlines, tagline, layouts, logos, designs and strategies using this method.
Fans of The West Wing will remember this scene which illustrates my point, in Latin. (No, not the one in the Cathedral where the President yells at God, mostly in Latin.)
And if you’ve stayed this long you deserve a treat, from Monty Python.
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