The Conceptual Nebula is the name I have given to the creative process that I have implemented in both design and industry-related areas. The Conceptual Nebula is an analytical-emotional process based on the analysis of the three core elements found in every project, culture, industry, and society, and on the creation of emotional connections that truly link these three cores, thus achieving a deep depth in the target audience, from the philosophy of the company and under a certain cultural lens.
As an industrial designer, I work on technical and conceptual projects in a variety of fields. Regardless of the nature of the project or the field I’m working in, I always try to follow a commercial approach. And when I say commercial, I’m not exclusively referring to sales, but to the capacity of connecting with society.
Furthermore, if we consider the triple bottom line of a project or industry as the capacity to generate not only financial, but also social and environmental gains then a commercial approach – seen here as a way of connecting with society – contributes significantly to the triple bottom line of any kind of project or company. After all, the more commercial success a project has, the greater its social impact and, consequently, the greater the possibility of expanding its objectives in terms of social issues and sustainability.
This is why I believe that the commercial nature of a project is not only essential to fulfilling an economic function, but also in establishing the necessary foundation to explore social and sustainability-related aims more thoroughly and effectively.
By reflecting on the commercial approach and how it connects with society, combined with all my years as a designer, I eventually came to analyze my creative process and developed a theory that I have called The Conceptual Nebula.
The approach is equally valid for tackling an industrial design project as it is for developing a corporate one. In other words, it is a very useful tool for designing products as well as business models. Likewise, it is a tool that can be applied to creating new companies as well as implementing changes in those that are already well established. And it is also a very interesting tool to work on personal branding.
The Conceptual Nebula is a creative process, a generator of business models and personal branding, and a Strategy and Innovation Management tool to create community from the company/person’s DNA gener.
The most relevant innovation is the one that goes beyond generating competitive advantages, it is the one that permeates society, its target audience, and that generates community by creating emotional connections with it.
The company’s DNA is a rough diamond with all the potential of the company.
The Conceptual Nebula exhaustively works on all the concepts related to the DNA of the company, that of its founder, and that of the creative who directs its image, because any company that generates community is largely a consequence of these personalities, even of their most extreme emotional capillarities.
The Conceptual Nebula is an analytical-emotional process based on the analysis of the three core elements found in every project: culture, industry, and society.
Each individual core consists of an infinite number of interconnected concepts that are full of nuances and often overlap. They make up a conceptual nebula of infinite connections that links the three cores within a closed circuit, as shown in the diagram below.
I like to imagine the nebula as something three-dimensional and intangible in which all of these concepts move about and interact constantly. Furthermore, I always like to consider a fourth dimension, because I think it is very interesting to observe how these concepts evolve over time. Regardless of the project, whether it is specific or corporate in scope, how they perform over time is intrinsically linked to their conceptual basis and relationship to society.
In order to complete this analytical work effectively, it is important to approach each core both in terms of its direct relationship to the project and in a completely independent manner, allowing for a broader and more thought-provoking perspective.
Once the nebula for a project has been created in an analytical fashion, the true creative process consists of emotionally drawing connections between these concepts. In other words, if our analytical work is solid and we have created our nebula – which is not expressed as a presentation of ideas, market data, trends or anything the like, but is truly a nebula that follows us everywhere – small electrical charges will start to go off emotionally. Eventually they establish connections between concepts to build a path, occasionally even a highway, for us to follow. The path, which is the result of this process and varies from project to project, is what I call conceptual tool.
In short, using an analytical process to create a nebula for each project, followed by an emotional immersion that is in fact guided by the most relevant connections, provides each project with a different conceptual tool for a real solution. In other words, it results in a different methodology for every project, creating emotional connections that truly link culture, industry, and society, thus achieving a deep penetration in the target audience, from the philosophy of the company and under a certain cultural lens. That is, creating community from the company’s DNA through emotional connections.
[ The Conceptual Nebula is one of The Year’s Most Popular Articles from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders ]
Published on: LinkedIn Thinkers360
Miguel Herranz
designer, creative director, thinker, speaker, and dreamer
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