ten minute challenge

The philosophy of the create sense studio is to be out on the street, not inside. This is a practice deeply rooted in interaction as a site for exploring questions that come from both research and practical experience. Invited to stir debate about how industry, government and academia can better collaborate to drive innovation impact, Cecilia decided this would be a good ‘studio moment’.

The question to explore in this real-time studio work was whether the research on metaphor’s ability to reframe perspective could work with a large audience, in less than ten minutes. The talk built in three core metaphors to provoke a reaction - not just any metaphors, these were specific ones chosen (‘image-schemas’) for their connection to people’s pre-verbal, physical engagement with the world. Why is that important? It will provoke a reaction that has deep roots.

The audience accepted the challenge, not knowing they were part of this studio curiosity. What emerged from an audience of engineers, economists, lawyers and other technical disciplines, was alternative metaphors to shape the opportunity - and surprising ones.

This live studio clarified the potency of the research - given ten minutes, new insight and perspective can emerge. Given longer, it is deeper and wider. The same framing was later shared in a board meeting to facilitate conversation - people didn’t need to know the research behind the metaphors, or even understand how they were in operation, but they certainly enjoyed the collaborative discussion that ensued both in the boardroom and at dinner afterwards.