And while we’re smashing up those fricken’ lightbulbs

Aran really went off on one yesterday with his trashing of the lightbulb cliché. And quite rightly. So I thought I would weigh-in behind him and stamp on any remaining remnants with the help of a little film I wrote and directed last year.

First of all, a big nod goes to my friends at The Drum for getting me to do it and my chums at SteinIAS for supporting it in every way imaginable.

We did the series to draw attention to the lazy overuse of imagery in all sorts of communications. Sadly, when you use clichés it simply highlights your lack of effort and imagination. And we wouldn’t want that, would we? Creativity is a form of applied thinking and using clichés shows a lack of it.

The series covers a dozen of the worst stinkers, including cogs, superheroes, jigsaws, piggy banks and – of course – lightbulbs. It was massively enjoyable to film. And I’m rather hoping it gets commissioned for a second series.

Doing this series meant that when I started Open for Ideas, I just couldn’t use any of that hackneyed imagery on the site. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, after all. So, instead of scouring stock libraries for tried and tested photographic contrivances, I often end up having to draw my own images for articles.

Sorry about the one that goes with this article (my wife is disgusted with me).

So, I recommend you go along and watch the entire series on The Drum’s site. And then vow to never again use any of those lazy visuals in any of your own work.

And probably not this one either:

The film series is based on the book 101 Clichés, written by Reuben Webb from Stein IAS. Together, we picked a dozen of the worst offenders and brought in some marketing industry heavyweights to help us lay them to rest. You’ll find senior folks from Google, Adobe and Carphone Warehouse along with Nathalie Nahai, the Web Psychologist. And my face appears in there from time to time too. Enjoy!

https://openforideas.org/blog/2017/02/15/and-while-were-smashing-up-those-fricken-lightbulbs/https://i2.wp.com/openforideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/turdbulb.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1https://i2.wp.com/openforideas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/turdbulb.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=12017-02-14T20:55:24+00:00Dave BirssPersonal Creativityclichés,films,lightbulbs

https://youtu.be/nkByGnEWwo0 Aran really went off on one yesterday with his trashing of the lightbulb cliché. And quite rightly. So I thought I would weigh-in behind him and stamp on any remaining remnants with the help of a little film I wrote and directed last year. First of all, a big nod...

Dave BirssDave Birssdavebirss@gmail.comAdministratorDave is obsessed with creativity. He's been a musician, illustrator, stand-up comedian, poet, radio DJ, television presenter and advertising creative director. He also wrote A User Guide to the Creative Mind. Now he runs Open for Ideas and helps individuals and companies become more creative. You can find him speaking at conferences all over the world. And sharing his thinking in boardrooms, universities and dimly-lit pubs.Open for Ideas

Dave Birss

Founder and Editor at OpenForIdeas.org

Dave is obsessed with creativity. He's been a musician, illustrator, stand-up comedian, poet, radio DJ, television presenter and advertising creative director. He also wrote A User Guide to the Creative Mind.
Now he runs Open for Ideas and helps individuals and companies become more creative.
You can find him speaking at conferences all over the world. And sharing his thinking in boardrooms, universities and dimly-lit pubs.