Commentary: The Potential of an Idea

Really, really great ideas are considered to be genius innovation. They build our history and pave the road to the future. There are some people who have the ability to knock those out like clockwork, day in and day out.

We're not talking about those types of ideas. We're just thinking about the common ones that pop up more often and bring a true sense of accomplishment with a small side of pride. But no matter how big or small the idea, it has to come from somewhere.

If you've never really thought about that simple notion, it's actually a big concept to try and grasp, especially since there aren't really any right or wrong answers.

We're fascinated by the world of communication. Everyone seems to be doing it. We're inspired by how it looks, feels, sounds, changes, and affects us, right down to the technology behind it.

Communication has been around forever in some form or another. Our best guess is that it's not going anywhere, either. Yet take a second to think about how far we've all come and where we are today. To us, that's a gimme as far as revolutionary ideas go. It's no big secret how fast technology advances to keep us all very well connected. We've come a long way since dots and dashes. Like anything else, there are pros and cons. If you've ever lost a cell phone with all your contacts inside, you know the feeling.

We like to think the world of correspondence has led us here due to curiosity, necessity, ingenuity, and the desire to be extremely successful, in no particular order. We've come to expect a lot from how we connect with one another. One expectation that's popped up over the last few years is an unwillingness and need to decipher information. Who's got the time, anyhow?

Like the light bulb, most of us were probably blindsided by the genius creativity all those 1980s techno geeks have offered up over the last decade. Now look at them. Both they and their wacky gadgets have achieved a rock star status.

Our mouths water for whatever's coming out next. Lucky for all of us (and them), communication is an ongoing, evolving process. We're always going to keep expecting more and more out of being in touch with family, friends, colleagues, and old flames. It's not like one day at the same time, everyone is going to stop texting. Actually, that's right; someday it will be something everyone's grandparents did rather than sending an e-mail. And somewhere else there'll be a 3G iPhone turning over in its grave.

But it's not just technology that changes every day, it's the new cultures that have grown out of it and keep expanding, while moving faster and faster by the minute. For some groups, that can now even mean shrinking and getting closer together.

What's going to happen next to the true individuality we've come to expect out of everything around us, especially communication? We can all find exactly whatever it is we want to know instantly.

So why should we care about the rest of the stuff we're only just mildly interested in? Not to mention the things we cringe at the thought of, or plainly don't even care about. In between figuring that out, most of us are faced with constant decisions and distractions all day long. Take this call, respond to that e-mail now or later, open this envelope, take the time to look at, read, or even actually listen to an advertisement.

Communication has already been down the “you're going to listen to whatever it is I have to say” path. That's the path that's led us up to right now. It appears that communication now has to listen really hard to each one of our voices to come close to getting our attention, let alone keeping it.

Our Creative Director likes to quote one of his early mentors by saying, "One of the best skills a designer can possess is not being able to fill walls and walls with endless concepts and ideas. It's the ability to realize which one has the most potential and pursue it." Just one.

So can any idea – bad or good – lead to an absolutely brilliant solution? As far as how we communicate, we all have a good sense of where it began and what it's been through. Today it's managed to surround us all in just about every corner of our lives. Fortunately, we continue forging a deeper understanding of the best ways to use the ever-expanding power of communication. We're always amazed at where it continues to take us.

Is the art of science driving our ability to communicate forward? If not, it sure is a big piece of the puzzle. Now if we could just somehow manage to get everyone's thoughts and answers together, we'd be able to build an even stronger understanding of whatever it is that's coming next – maybe even before it happens. Now that's an idea.