Open for radical creativity

Open for

radical creativity

w/ Aalto University

– Published November 2023

Aalto University brings together higher education of arts, business and research. They wanted to be known for “radical creativity” to attract students, teachers, funders and partners from across the world to design, invent, and implement solutions the world badly needs.

There was only one slight problem: what is radical creativity? Can it, or should it, even be defined? And if not, how can people harness it? By its very nature, radical creativity is a bit like the (in)famous US Supreme Court definition of pornography from 1964: “I know it when I see it.”

So Aalto asked us to help them design an event/gettogether for the fall of 2023 that would pilot radical creativity as a method–from who we invite to how we think about the outcomes; and from how people work together to how they sleep. Our approach? Be refreshingly honest, charmingly provocative, unignorably intriguing. This is how people first heard about it:

“We don’t know what we’re doing, how we’re going to get there, and can’t guarantee what will come out of this.

Trust us – it’s going to be great.”

We also developed 8 Principles of Radical Creativity, designed to create a unique, unforgettable experience that people will want to return to–and that would make people who weren’t invited feel like they have to be there, come Year Two. The overnight sleepover pilot (yes, everyone got to brush their teeth together) took place on Nov 17-18, 2023 at the Aalto Campus, and the follow-up has been in the making ever since the last goodbye-hugs.

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Client: Aalto University

Strategy & creative concep: We Are Open

Event production: Aalto University

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