20 Pecha Kuchin' Seconds

I once saw a man do 20 back flips in 20 seconds. Granted this was on vimeo, but still...it was damn exhausting to watch. What if he tried to do 19 more equally amazing tricks? In a row? That’s just ridiculous. And so not humble.


I had my first Pecha Kucha experience on Monday night. The term loosely translates to “chit-chat,” though when I walked into the venue (Le Poisson Rouge), chit-chat took the form of shouting over live music. Good thing I brought my glow sticks to navigate through the crowd.

So Pecha Kucha is fun! I want to try it sometime. I like any form of storytelling that has restraints on what you can do – whether that’s through visuals, time, or word choice (like last month’s David Bowie love story).

In case you’re not familiar with Pecha Kucha, the formula is quite simple:
X = 20 slides + 20 seconds/slide

Six minutes and forty seconds – that’s all you get to cover 20 slides. The X variable here is defined as a particularly innovative and/or artistic person, like: Dickson Despommier (heck yes, vertical farming), DJ Spooky, Tina Roth Eisenberg (aka swissmiss) and Jonathan Harris, who gave me a newfound respect for whale hunting and the accompanying blubber. Good stuff.

If I could describe a solid Pecha Kucha presentation in one word, it might be: HUMILITY. The presentations I was drawn to didn’t shove 20 back flips into each slide. They taught me something new, without cramming each slide to the brim. They said, “Hey, follow this story,” not “Hey, memorize these chronicles.” That’s easier said than done, especially when you’re talking about something you’re so passionate about.

What about Kucha Pecha? Rules in reverse: Slides can display only words, no pictures. Speakers must rely on music and/or performance art to convey their point. Sounds very silly, actually…like an elaborate game of charades.

Please...Have a Seat

I just bought my first sofa. A Victorian gem, it dates from the 1800s - carved walnut trim, textured velvet upholstery, button tufted back, woo-wee.

A haiku is in order:

Lovingly restored,
You give teatime new meaning,
Welcome home, mauve dream.

Branding Disrupted

On Friday I had the pleasure of attending a CreativeMornings session – a monthly meet-up organized by Tina Roth Eisenberg (swissmiss) and Carl Collins. This one, conveniently located in 45 Main by HUGE, (thanks for the tasty breakfast, neighbors!) featured Armin Vit, a man well-versed in design and its relationship to branding.

If I were to condense his thoughts into one point, it would be this: Reality gets in the way of branding. It muddles the way you experience and think about the companies, products, even logos that marketers work so hard to crystallize in your precious mind.

Reality is unavoidable (and, well, essential). In terms of brands, my favorite part of Vit’s presentation had to do with the Pepperidge Farm Soft Baked Chocolate Chunk Dark Chocolate cookie. In short, his wife loves this treat, as did he until the day he opened up a bag to find major skimping on the chocolate chunks. The bittersweet goods were nearly absent. (I wonder if this was an economic move by Pepperidge Farm to leave no scrap of batter unused?)

His example was simple and funny. But...it wasn’t about branding. It was about a flawed product. Branding can do little to fix that. It’ll only draw attention to it. On the other hand, if you have a solid product and kickass branding to boot, the disconnect that reality presents won’t do much detriment to the product. Example: the Target brand projects an image of bliss and joy emblazoned in red bullseyes. A lot of Target stores are a far cry from the clean, sunshine-filled oasis seen in ads. But Target is still crazy popular (and for good reason).

I consider branding to be perceived reality. As long as there are crowded store lines, glum employees, and an elephant of a recession, reality won’t parallel branding. So sometimes you’ll get a cookie lacking in chocolate. Worse yet, there are tastier cookies out there that you don’t even know about, thanks to uninspired marketing efforts.