Creative Advantage - Cross Fertilisation

Cross Fertilisation in film and art

The cross-fertilisation process can be used in pretty much any discipline, and the process itself can be used as a stepping-stone that leads to somewhere new.

We can see cross-fertilisation in art, like the two artworks below one is a photomontage that combines two reportage photographs to create a new meaning. The other cross-fertilises two characters from popular culture..

In my own paintings I use the process too by cross-fertilising advertising with art.

Traditionally, art has always experimented with other disciplines. You can see the cross fertilisation of high a low culture in the Pop art movement through the works of Basquiat and Warhol.??

Even back way back in 1917, when the artist Marcel Duchamp, presented an everyday item into an art gallery setting, which subsequently, revolutionised modern culture and changed art forever,? he did it by cross-fertilising a builder’s merchants and an art gallery, an everyday object and an art object.

Building meaningful brands

But let’s not get carried away and disappear down that philosophical rabbit hole. If we bring this back to you and your business. Even if you’re just starting out in creating your brand, cross-fertilisation will help you create something above and beyond what you might have otherwise come up with. When I created the Robot Mascot brand back in 2013, the name I dreamed up was based on cross-fertilising the two reasons the brand existed.

Robot - Represented the future, I wanted the business to work with founders that were exciting, bold, brave and different. Founders that wanted to create things that didn’t yet exist.

Mascot - Represented the relationship I wanted us to have with our clients. I wanted the support to be exceptional so that when they work with us, we become their biggest fans.

Creative advantage

You can use this technique in your own practice whether you’re just starting out or you’ve an established business, you can use cross-fertilisation in so many ways. You could import and mix ideas from different places to produce better outcomes, better products or better services. Connecting unexpected people, places, objects, and ideas will also provide a huge boost to your imagination. You can practice this skill by pairing images or words at random, interacting with those outside your normal circles and finding inspiration in unlikely places. These approaches will enhance your creative thinking and are great for generating fresh ideas.