Independent Design Engineering Project I (ADV9381): Final Presentation

Enhanced Ideation Process
Harvard University, Independent Design Engineering Project
Togo Kida

Independent Design Engineering Project
Harvard University Master of Design Engineering“Enhanced Ideation Process”
Togo Kida
3
What creatives do in advertising agencies
State A State BObstacle
Idea
{ } { }
Ideas can be:Obstacles can be:
• A Tagline
• A Script for TV spot
• A campaign plan
• A public relations plan
• A strategy
…
• Low brand recognition rate
• Low sales
• Low presence in the market
• Low brand engagement rate
…
Using ideas ( = “creative jump”) to overcome business obstacles to reach from starting state A to a better, preferred state B.

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Why Ideas Matters: Consulting Firms Buying Creative Agencies
Oct. 2019
Aug. 2019
Apr. 2019
Apr. 2019
Mar. 2019
Mar. 2019
Nov. 2018
Oct. 2019
Jul. 2017
Jul. 2017
Oct. 2016
May. 2015
Nov. 2016
Source: Press Release Information

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How do creative teams in the advertising industry operate?
What is the typical workflow?
Research Question 1:

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Interviewing Stakeholders
T. K.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Strategist
A. S.
Bytedance Japan
Creative Director
R. N.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Director
A. S
Dentsu Inc.
Copywriter, Strategist
Y. K.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Strategist
K. W.
Dentsu Inc.
Copywriter, Planner
Y. K.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Planner
K. Y.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Technologist
Advertising Agency Broader Creative (non-advertising) Domain Experts
M. S.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Technologist
O.K.
Dentsu Inc.
Creative Director
Y. N.
Dentsu Creative X Inc.
Creative Techologist
N. W.
Dentsu Inc.
Comm. Planner
I. C.
Cash Studios
Creative Director
S. H.
Certain Measures
Computational Designer
P. R.
Pablo Rochat Studio
Creative / Art Director
R. C
Ovo Energy
Senior UX Designer
M. K.
Fahrenheit 212
Strategist
S. C.
Harvard GSAS
Researcher
L. G.
Uber
Executive Cr. Director
R. K.
Drive Inc.
Art Director
S. O.
Harvard GSD
Researcher
M. W.
Normal Inc.
Creative Coder
M. C.
Deep Mind
Senior Visual Designer
S. A.
Harvard GSD
Researcher
Domain
Interviewee

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Stakeholder Map in the Advertising Agency World
Creative Director
Art Director Copywriter/ 
TV Spot Planner
Creative
Strategist
Creative
Technologist
PR Planner Media Planner
Programmer /
Developper
Designer
Media
Representative
Account
Executives
Client
Client Domain Agency Domain Partners Domain
Client
Other Dept.
Client
Other Dept.
Client
Other Dept.
Client
Other Dept.
Videographer
Other partners
based on projects
…
=
communication
and/or
interaction

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A Typical Work Flow within the Advertising Industry
Process
Players
Creative
Director
Account
Executives
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter/
Planner
Strategist
Creative
Technologist
PR Planner
Media Planner
Creative Director
Client
Account
Executive
Creative Director
Client
Account
Executive
Creative Director
Client
Account
Executive
All Creative Team
All Creative Team
Client
Partners
Responsi-
bility
Creative
Director
Account
Executive
Brieﬁng Ideation Pitch Building
Planning Phase
Pitch Revision Decision
Pitching Phase
Execution Reporting
Execution Phase
• Receive orientation /
brief from account team
• Understand what needs
to be pitched.
• Conduct necessary
research
• Study precedents
• Come up with ideas
individually
• Meet as a team to
discuss ideas.
• Conduct the above
multiple times to
converge on the basic
storyline for the pitch.
• Breakdown what needs
to be in the pitch deck,
and assign task
members to work on the
component.
• Report on progress,
converge as a team if
necessary.
• Talk with account
executive team members
to align on overall
direction
multiple times if
necessary.
Detail
• Present the idea to the
client.
• Seek feedback from the
client and make
revisions if necessary.
• Present again.
• Agree with the client
what idea is going to be
executed.
• Agree upon how to
measure success.
• Work with partnering
companies, entities to
execute the idea.
• Upon completion of the
project, return to the
client to report the result
of the campaign.
• Share key learnings
from the project with the
client.
Duration 7 - 10 days 7 - 30 days 7 - 30 days 1day 7 - 10 days 7 - 10 days 90 - 180days 14 - 30days

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Critical Point in the Workflow
The ideation part is critical because, the idea that comes in
this phase defines the quality of the output until the end.
“
”One interviewee in the advertising agency
*multiple other agency interviewees responded similarly

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What does ideation process look like in the agency environment?
Research Question 2:

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Noticed Similarities and Differences in Ideation
Receptive.
Agency Creative Staff Non-agency Creative Staff
“Idea is something
I need to get.”
Ideation as a proactive process.Characteristic
Comment
Ideation as a receptive process.
Personal and CollaborativeProcess Personal and Collaborative
Pen, Paper, DigitalTools Pen, Paper, Digital
Class
“Idea is something that
will come to me.”

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A Typical Work Flow within the Advertising Industry
Brieﬁng Ideation Pitch Building Pitch Revision Decision Execution Reporting
Planning Phase Pitching Phase Execution Phase
• Receive orientation /
brief from account team
• Understand what needs
to be pitched.
• Conduct necessary
research
• Study precedents
• Come up with ideas
individually
• Meet as a team to
discuss ideas.
multiple times to
converge on the basic
storyline for the pitch.
• Breakdown what needs
to be in the pitch deck,
and assign task
members to work on the
component.
• Report on progress,
converge as a team if
necessary.
• Talk with account
executive team members
to align on overall
direction
multiple times if
necessary.
Process
Detail
Players
• Present the idea to the
client.
• Seek feedback from the
client and make
revisions if necessary.
• Present again.
• Agree with the client
what idea is going to be
executed.
• Agree upon how to
measure success.
• Work with partnering
companies, entities to
execute the idea.
• Upon completion of the
project, return to the
client to report the result
of the campaign.
• Share key learnings
from the project with the
client.
Creative
Director
Account
Executives
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter/
Planner
Strategist
Creative
Technologist
PR Planner
Media Planner
Creative Director
Client
Account
Executive
Creative Director
Client
Account
Executive
Creative Director
Client
Account
Executive
All Creative Team
All Creative Team
Client
Partners
Responsi-
bility
Creative
Director
Account
Executive
Duration 7 - 10 days 1day 7 - 10 days 7 - 10 days 90 - 180days 14 - 30days7 - 30 days 7 - 30 days

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Many Individual / Group Sessions with Numerous Ideas before Pitch
Brieﬁng Ideation Pitch Building Pitch
Planning Phase Pitching Phase
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter
Creative
Technologist
Strategist
Media Planner
PR Planner
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter
Creative
Technologist
Strategist
Media Planner
PR Planner
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter
Creative
Technologist
Strategist
Media Planner
PR Planner
Creative
Director
Creative
Director
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
…
= 1 idea
Ideation Mode Individual Group Individual Group Individual Group
Diverge Converge Diverge Converge Diverge ConvergeIdeation Phase
Ideation Round

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Individual Process of Ideation
Input Output FormalizeSubphase
Ideation Phase Diverge
Ideation Round Round n
• Understand what is being required for
the next group meeting with the team.
• Collect relevant information from
various sources.
• Also view relevant case studies and
industry material to be up-to-date.
• Start writing out ideas.
• Keep on pushing.
• Push even further.
• Try different techniques to “squeeze”
ideas.
• Formalize the material into decks /
notes / memos so that it can be
shared with others during the next
meeting.
• Use text / images to effectively
communicate the ideas developed.
Task
Medium
Recent news
Case studies of comm. project
Content from various social media
Informal discussion with colleague
Creative brief
Look at art / design / precedents
Pen & paper
Digital entry
Idea deck

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How ideas are recorded in individual phase
Digital Non-Digital
An example of
ideating strategy
An example of
ideating tag lines
& TVC scripts
An example of
ideating campaign
An example of
ideating campaign

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How ideas are converged in group phase
Ideas formulated individually are being shared, discussed, and then converged into a direction for the next round iteration.

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Many Individual / Group Sessions with Numerous Ideas before Pitch
Brieﬁng Ideation Pitch Building Pitch
Planning Phase Pitching Phase
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter
Creative
Technologist
Strategist
Media Planner
PR Planner
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter
Creative
Technologist
Strategist
Media Planner
PR Planner
Creative
Director
Art Director
Copywriter
Creative
Technologist
Strategist
Media Planner
PR Planner
Creative
Director
Creative
Director
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
…
= 1 idea
Ideation Mode Individual Group Individual Group Individual Group
Diverge Converge Diverge Converge Diverge ConvergeIdeation Phase
Ideation Round

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What the ideation process is in the agency environment conceptually
= 1 idea
Latent Idea Space
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Creative Direction
CreativeDirection
The Ideation phase is essentially creative teams
attempting to navigate possible latent idea space
to ﬁnd the best idea that would make it to the pitch.
The best ideas
for the pitch
= Pitch Idea

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Source: “The Team Creativity Model: An Exploratory Case Study ” by de Vreede et al, 2017
Reference: “Team Creativity Model”

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Quantity brings quality
Latent Idea Space 2
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3Latent Idea Space 1
Round 1
Round 2
= 1 idea
= Pitch Idea
= 1 idea
= Pitch Idea
Reaching alternative, better ideas

Togo Kida
“
21
Expressed Pain Point
Another interviewee in the advertising agency
*multiple other agency interviewees responded similarly
In certain circumstances, I need  
to formulate 20 - 30 ideas weekly.
My job would be so much easier,  
if there is something that could
help me.
”

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Ideation methods / tools that are out there
Demo ScreenName
The Toolbox
By
Hyper Island
Overview
• Collection of numerous frameworks and methods for ideation
for individuals and groups, offered by Hyper Island (education
institution)
Source: “Toolbox” by Hyper Island
Issue
• Mainly targeted for service design, does not ﬁt into the context
of advertising agency business landscape.

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Ideation methods / tools that are out there
DemoName
Oblique Strategies
By
Brian Eno
Overview
• Cards that have instructions for the users to think differently.
Source: “Toolbox” by Hyper Island
Issue
• Maybe helpful for ideation, but the content of the card does not
relate to the current ideation task the user is working on.
• The process of ideation becomes a mere serendipity.

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Problem Statement:
Creative teams working in advertising industries
can ideate more with the right tool, but no such tool exists
designed specifically for them.
An opportunity for a solution.

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Design Solution Principle
• More ideas
• In agency context
• Fun to use
A tool that enables the user to ideate more ideas through its usage.
A tool that that fits in the workflow of advertising agency staﬀs.
A tool that is genuinely fun to interact with to foster ideation.

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Precedent 1:
Demo ScreenProject Name
Writing Machine
Project By Project Year
Robin Sloan 2016
Source: “The Writing with the Machine” by Robin Sloan, 2016
Project Overview
Reason for Selection
There is a potential of being a new tool / interaction model which
the user leverages this as an agent to ideate.
• Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) trained using Sci-Fi novel text
data
• The trained model is connected with a text editor, and with a
tab key pressed by the user, takes the previous text as an input
to generate additional sentence.
• The generated text is in Sci-Fi theme, which the user is free to
use as a source of inspiration.

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Precedent 2:
Demo ScreenProject Name
Suggestive Drawing
Project By Project Year
Nono Martínez Alonso 2017
Project Overview
Reason for Selection
• Utilized pix2pix and designed an interface that will work in
conjunction with the user to assist / suggest drawing process.
• The user is drawing the lines, but the ﬁlling patterns are
determined by the AI backend.
Also another potential of being a new tool / interaction model
which the user leverages this as an agent for a different creative
process.
Source: “Suggestive Drawing” by Nono Martínez Alonso, 2017

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Solution
Integrated Ideation Environment / App

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One particular user of this tool
Copywriter
TV Spot Planner
• A copywriter / TV Spot Planner in an agency.
• Needs to formulate (many) ideas for a TV Spot for client’s next
advertising campaigns.
• Usually employs digital tools writes out the ideas.

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30
One particular user of this tool
Sample screen of a copywriter ideating with a memo app
Copywriter
TV Spot Planner
The ideation process
is solitary, text-based.

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Solution Structure
Copywriter
TV Spot Planner
Application
+
Machine Learning
Model Backend
Text Input
Suggestion

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Solution Design
User Input of TV Spot Script
Suggested Additional Script
Settings of the backend system
Reference of works from the backend

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Solution Design
There is a text editing section  
which the user can enter text,
pieces of storyline.
The application can suggest
additional text which would be
source of inspiration for additional
ideas.

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34
Solution Design, Data Preparation
Raw Data Process 1 Process 2 Model
TV Spots that won
Cannes Lions from 2013,
2014, 2015, 2018
Cut the individual TV spots
into images. (1image / 3sec.)
Apply image captioning to the
images to generate texts.
Data Building
RNN
(Recurrent
Neural Network)
Task
Detail
Conceptual
Diagram of  
the Process
Sample TV Spot 
(~2,000 spots) …
“A guy is brushing
his teeth”
“Riding a bike on
road”
“A guy is on a TV”
}

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35
Measure of Success
Creative brief
Creative brief
Participants Input Intervention Output
Workshop
Control
Treatment
TV Spot
Planners A
TV Spot
Planners B
No Tool
With Tool
Ideas
Ideas
Evaluation
Quantitative Qualitative
Number of ideas formulated. Comments from the participants.
Outcome  
Evaluation
Success will be measured by hosting a ideation workshop with two diﬀerent groups and evaluate the outcomes.

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36
Project Timeline
Data Preparation 1
January February March April May
RNN Model
Const. 1
Interface  
Design/Dev 1
Workshop
(User Testing)
Data
Preparation 2
RNN Model
Const. 2
Interface  
Design/Dev 2
★Completion
Month
Task

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37
No tool is neutral, each is embedded
with the beliefs and biases of its creators.“
”Lauren McCarthy
(artist, creator of p5.js)
Thank you!

Independent Design Engineering Project I (ADV9381): Final Presentation

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Independent Design Engineering Project I (ADV9381): Final Presentation