Using technology to maximise creativity

Harnessing creative technology and data in advertising workshop

The ‘Collider’ workshop hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s Design Informatics team in collaboration with the DMA and IPA Scotland was held yesterday, 5 February 2020 at the University's Inspace on Crichton Street. It explored the ways in which data can lend itself to taking creative advertising to a whole new level. The event was attended by around 35 creatives from agencies in and around Edinburgh.

Dragonfly’s own Graphic Designer, Rich attended and had a lot to say about his experience, here’s what you need to know.

“Collider was a great workshop and a real eye opener into the advances in creative technology and data in advertising. Data is the future and the time to embrace it and apply it to our daily lives is now. There were presentations with five lightning provocations by the Design Informatics team, experts in emerging creative tech. These briefly covered the use of data in the pull economy through the Internet of Things, Neuroscience, Natural Language Processing, Smart Contracts and Locative Media.

Smart Contracts

The presentation by Chris Elsden on Smart donations and contracts was particularly fascinating. Exploring the future of data driven giving, Blockchain and volunteering on the ledger are all very exciting innovations for the fundraising sector. Smart Contracts are a concept which allows donors to pledge funds that are only released if the data-drive conditions are met. The charities can then utilise the data to have a more flexible and sustainable approach to fundraising.

Photo: Rich pitching his idea

Putting our learning to work

It’s not a workshop if there is no work! The creatives were split into groups of six and given the challenge of pushing boundaries in developing an advertising campaign for a product, service or event. They were given an hour and a half. This was a fun exercise as the creatives shared and explored some crazy concepts under the guidance of a member from the Design Informatics team. The most interesting part was presenting these ideas back to the workshop in an interactive way.

Photo: Rich and his team presented an idea focusing which combined AI and health care to benefit the elderly

It was hilarious. Ideas ranged from mystery holidays based on your online habits, to tree planting schemes using the blockchain to minimise our carbon footprint, to a wellness device for the elderly that uses biometrics and AI to ease the pressure on the NHS, and everything in between.

All in all, it was a great experience. It got the creatives out of their routines, provoked a lot of imaginative thinking and exercised the grey matter. I look forward to attending the next one!”