The True Nature of 'Special Materials'

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which President Obama also visited, was designed by Kenzo Tange. Since he also designed the school building I once attended and the old Dentsu Inc. headquarters building in Tsukiji, I feel a personal connection to his work. According to a TV program, its concept was "a factory for creating peace." The idea is that peace is not something granted through prayer, but something that must be built. Indeed, it resonates with people around the world to this day precisely because it was designed not merely as a memorial monument or a simple museum, but as a device for moving hearts through communication. I've encountered yet another masterpiece of concept design.

Now, readers of my book How to Create Concepts have pointed out that it consciously references J. W. Young's classic How to Think Up Ideas (CCC Media House). Though barely 50 pages including the preface, it could never match that historic masterpiece packed with the essence of creative thinking. Yet, as a junior in the advertising industry, I chose this title and format driven by a desire to advance the discussion on creative methods.

One of the famous points made in "How to Think Up Ideas" is that "the materials you must gather to create ideas fall into two categories: general materials and special materials." General materials refer precisely to life experience itself. Special materials, on the other hand, are those that are "special" to the project at hand—materials about the product that is the theme and the people you intend to sell it to. That makes sense, but from the perspective of those engaged in modern business, the materials needed at the project's start point could probably be a bit broader.

Cross Frame

In my book How to Create Concepts, I organize the entire process of ideation using a cross-shaped frame. This means that if you want to develop any idea or concept, you need material for thought within these six boxes.

First, the central "Challenge-Concept" box represents the mechanism that moves people's feelings about a particular thing or matter. This would be what Young refers to as general materials.

Consequently, the remaining boxes automatically become specific materials. First, "Vision." This perspective concerns how to connect the project with society. This necessitates materials related to the "era and society" environment surrounding the product or service that will be the theme.

"Target" involves considering which consumers to approach. This means we need materials not just about the customers right in front of us, but broadly about "consumers" in general.

Next, "Specific Measures" refers to existing technologies that should be re-edited from a conceptual perspective. You could also think of this as material concerning "competitors" – what is currently happening in the market.

And finally, "Product/Service." Here, "Product/Service" refers to the company's own offerings for which we must somehow create a connection with the target. In other words, the last category encompasses all possible materials related to "(our) company and products."

As I 've written in this column before, copywriters are taught to consider four key perspectives when crafting copy for products or services: "era/society," "target audience," "competitors," and "(own) company/product." These four perspectives align with the four boxes surrounding the cross-frame. In other words, these four are precisely the "special materials" you must gather when seeking that "aha!" innovation.

Now, what about general materials? That's life experience itself. You must constantly keep your antennae tuned to your surroundings. Even someone like me, who's led a rather shallow life, can at least enrich my culinary experiences. Today, deep in Kabukicho, I'm having "chilled wontons" with Shaoxing wine at a Shanghai restaurant that's been operating for decades. By briefly boiling the wontons and then plunging them into cold water to tighten them up, they develop a unique firmness, much like Sanuki udon noodles. With this as my snack, I watched the people passing by and studied the nighttime Shinjuku.

Please, enjoy!