We’ve all seen them. Ads on the side of our friend’s birthday party photo albums, sponsored tweets breaking up a live feed of what someone is having for lunch, and right on top of the funny cat video I’m watching on YouTube.

The beauty of most of these ads (especially on Facebook) is that they are so incredibly targeted at what you’re actually interested in that they don’t shouldn’t bother you at all. In a perfect marketer’s world, you see the ad, jump up from your chair and fist-pump because you are that interested in what the ad has to offer.

Actually, that kind of excitement may not be too far away — both online and off.  Online, we’ve been working on a remarking platform that goes beyond what Facebook Ads has to offer. Finally, that platform is complete and pairing people with stuff that actually matters to them on the broadest and most specific levels is going to be a lot easier. Ask us if you want to know more about it. It’ll knock your socks off.

GM is working on a little something similar right now in the world of physical billboard ads. Instead of driving by billboards that have no bearing on your drive or decision making, GM and OnStar are going to tag team to serve you relevant billboards based on information you’ve disclosed. Just think about how that will change your next road trip.

I was looking at my Twitter feed this morning when I saw this tweet from @bakadesuyo:

Obviously, I couldn’t help but click on it.

The gist of the article says that the majority of successful, creative ad campaigns tend to fall into one of 6 basic categories ultimately proving that, “highly creative ads are more predictable than uncreative ones.”

My first reaction was to discredit this bold statement. How is it that all the creative work we’re doing here can only be considered creative if we’re following in the same path as everyone else? There’s just no way.

Then I thought about it some more and it started to make sense. Our jobs here at Blueye rely on us coming up with creative campaigns for clients across multiple outlets . Our forte would have to be coming up with some of the coolest Facebook applications out there. So, in this particular case, the generic category we’re using is technically the Facebook templates we’re provided with. That doesn’t mean we’re limited to what we can do within that template though. We can (and have) run contests, create storefronts, and embed maps into the template that everyone is using and find ways to make them stand out.

Ultimately, I would say that creativity isn’t predictable, the categories are and it’s up to us to make sure it stays that way.

There’s a term that we in the “biz” come across on a constant basis. A word so convoluted, misused, and misunderstood that it’s a wonder it is even spoken at all. That term is “Design Thinking,” and it encompasses every action taken in solving a problem, conceptualizing a product, or laying out elements for visual purposes. Some would describe it as “the intersection between business and design.” The process involves copious research, a clear definition of a problem to solve, and of course the genius insights to make sense of it all. To help me wade through this murky quagmire of an idea, I sought the help of one of Blueye Creative’s designers, Josh Howard. He had this to say:

“The main problem I have with design thinking in “business terms” is when we’re dealing with wicked problems (problems that are ill-defined). As a designer, I work best when a problem is clearly defined. With that, I can go about the business of understanding the problem completely before trying to solve it. I’d like to simplify the concept so that both parties involved know what needs to be done. Here’s a way to explain it:

DesignThinking = (a problem defined) + (a solution brainstorm) + (a proposed solution)

            That’s something businesses and designers can understand. The final hurdle is making the brainstorm not feel like a complete waste of time to a business (even though the hang-ups could be completely their fault, they just don’t know how to communicate them). Absurdity abounds in the early stages, but that’s often how the best ideas are born.”

This is just one of the many ways Design Thinking is viewed. It’s worked for us so far, so let us teach you how to see it like we do.