José A. Estévez. Graduate at Central Saint Martins. M.A. Applied Imagination.

MA Applied Imagination 2011: Experiments in New Thinking was a one-of-a-kind showcase that represented a convergence of ideas, disciplines and global cultures that strived to promote new avenues of thinking through a blend of creativity and research. The event was a playful and thought provoking experience that exposed the visitor to new approaches to emerging creative, social and environmental issues. I made this video for the promotion of the MA Applied Imagination: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4fPq9vq5rY I additionally made the following ones for the promotion of the MAAI exhibition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LwxQGJOz5A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhJx8zBFUR8

The Mad Scientific

The Brain Destroyer It’s

Alive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7TnP_euTnI

Challenge: To sell a mug with the claim ”I couldn't care less about the royal wedding" produced on the occasion of the wedding between the prince William and Kate Middleton: http://sorrybut.co.uk

Solution: We developed 2 different marketing strategies: - We made signs with the claim and distributed them as well as a mug to beggars in London (left picture) with the aim of raising awareness on how the priorities of the public spending and the attention of the media were nonaligned with the real problems in the UK. This strategy implied the donation of part of the benefits to a charity taking care of homeless people: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxi6XQWQMhQ - Additionally I designed a campaign targeting the 11 millions of republicans in the UK (right poster + video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udUby7kCb3U

Solution: We developed a campaign to highlight the fact that TPS worked closely with local farmers whose production & delivery chain was 100% under the UK health control. One of the street actions consisted in arranging fruits & vegetables in London trees as showed in the first picture. I made this video for the campaign following the specific request of a production that could show the homey nature of the cooperative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiGsuPOW_3Y

Challenge: To develop a communication campaign for The People's Supermarket (TPS), a cooperative aiming to compete with the UK's big four supermarket chains holding almost three-quarters of the grocery market.

All the products sold by TPS were organically grown. To communicate this message I designed this poster in collaboration with Isabel Roca (Art).

Campaign developed to raise awareness on the importance of prevention of testicular cancer. http://www.runningforballs.com

Logo designed by Jane Chi-Hae Kim.

Challenge: To design a saleable product that acted in the form of an alarm. The only requirement that needed to be built into the design was an olfactory experience. Solution: This was a teamwork where we settled for issues that we could warn people of on behalf of charities, which would make our idea saleable, and incorporate the smell into the corresponding message. My proposal was to design a card (pictured) to promote awareness on bullfighting. Additionally add a sound chip to the card, which we designed and sent it to a distributor that could insert a chip with a recorded sound of a bull. We marinated the strip of paper in a bag that contained meat from a butcher. For the presentation we placed the marinated strip in the card next to the sound chip. The smell was as alarming as the sound of the dying bull. We found this card could be sold to organizations such as the FAACE (Fighting Against Animal Cruelty in Europe), the ACA (Animal Cruelty Awareness) or PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). We also designed a card to raise awareness on deforestation with images of a rain forest in South America. We marinated a strip of paper in Vetiver, a wood scent, and recorded the sound of a chainsaw cutting trees. We recorded the presentation to the CSM panel of evaluator as well as their reaction to opening the cards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIP3dclmQzc

Challenge: To develop a marketing campaign for Living Medicine http://www.livingmedicine.org a charity that aims to reskill people in using food and herbs for their everyday healthcare, sharing knowledge across cultures. Solution: There is an ongoing controversy about the real makes of certain plants claimed to have effects that science has not been able to prove. On the other hand, the social business paradigm poses fundamental challenges for all industries, but is particularly provoking for the pharma industry. Thinking of how to communicate the message eluding the polemics I designed a campaign in which people are given factual information and are encouraged to take their go.

As part of my MA at Central Saint Martins, I researched for ways to transform the threats represented by those who prevent change in traditional businesses into opportunities for innovation. To develop and test my hypothesis I chose the funeral industry, as it is quite reluctant to change because of a strong tradition. As part of the design process I developed to unveil spaces for innovation in this industry I analysed funerals in other countries, cultures and religions. Discovering that death in other cultures is occasionally confronted with happiness, made me challenge the perception on tradition in our culture. Thus I created a video for my own happy funeral. Watched by more than 1,500 people, 233 of them participated in a related survey. Their experiences as mourners revealed powerful insights I utilised in understanding when tradition helps people and when new approaches are necessary. The outcomes of my work (based on Design Thinking, Lateral Thinking, Mind mapping and Co-creation) have been presented at the ICCM Learning Convention and Exhibition 2011 (one of the most important sectorial congresses in the UK). They have been also published in The Good Funeral Guide, one of the most influential funeral related British blogs (17,000 monthly readers); as well as by the American Funeral Consumers Alliance. An article called “Thinking out of the coffin” that summarises the application of my research in the funeral industry has been be published in a specialised journal in March.

Your funeral…

You won’t like to miss it!

In 1937 a Spaniard put a stick on a boy doll and invented the football table. In 1950 a Spaniard put a stick on a sweet an invented the lollipop. In 1956 a Spaniard put a stick on a wipe and invented the mop. In 2009 as corporate innovation manager at Atos Spain and responsible for INnovautas, its innovation event, I challenged our clients to see how a Spanish company had proved that Spaniards could innovate beyond putting a stick to things. I defined the claim of that year’s edition: “If you think everything has been already invented…Don’t come”; and I designed the logo used for the commercial innovation portfolio and

the Atos Consulting innovation workshops.

Film poster of Ansiedad (Anxiety) http://www.promofest.org/en/films/ansiedad a Spanish film about a prima donna with a social phobia who can neither speak nor relate to anybody that knows her. As a lovesick character, she survives by taking tranquilizers. I developed the creative concept of the poster, (the picture was made by Eduardo P.V. Rubaudonadeu) in which I wanted to express the conflict between her life on stage and her sociophobia.

Sample of an exhibition I am currently preparing with the photographer Eduardo P.V. Rubaudonadeu on Japanese mythology. My work has consisted of the rewriting of the legends associated with 14 Japanese ghost stories. I have additionally collaborated with Eduardo in the conceptualization of the pictures. The exhibition will take place in Madrid and Tokyo in 2012.