Yesterday in d-studio, we got to present our projects in front of a panel of experts. While this caused a minor bit of panic, as the three minute presentations were subjected to a fifteen minute critique, it actually turned out to be an excellent opportunity to learn how we can sharpen our ideas and tell our stories better.
I wanted to share my fav lil’ tidbits from the discussion that happened during the critique:
1) Keep it Simple/Stupid
This is an age old saying that people love to throw around, but oh my it is so true. So many projects falter when they have too many concepts in either the content or the delivery. Daniel and Nestor did an incredible job at this in their presentation.
2) “Design studio is about simplifying the complex”
This is something that I sometimes forget during the d-studio process. The projects are going to be complicated, they are going to have a lot of facets and information, but the real skill as a design thinker is to reshape the content so it becomes usable, understandable and digestible for the audience.
3) Ping Pong Balls
As our one of our very clever panelists noted, if you throw 10 ping pong balls at someone, how many will they catch? Maybe 2. Well if you throw 2 ping pong balls at someone, how many will they catch? 2. So pair it down to 2 great concepts and share those in a way that your audience will catch.
4) Use an Analogy
This same lesson came from the panelist who shared the ping pong story (practice what you preach I tell ya!). Sometimes concepts are hard to contextualize, so create an analogy that will allow your concept to be easily understood. This will not only make the audience understand your pitch better – but easily remember it!
Another week of d-studio is over, and wow, I have to say I am learning so much! I am so super excited about the next project, where we will actually be able to dig really deep and come up with some solutions that will be potentially implemented by companies. Such a unique opportunity in the Bcom program!