Why we used Analogy as the name of our studio.

In the recent times i have realized that i should write about why we call ourselves as Analogy. A lot of people still mispronounce it just like they do with my name and it's a filter in itself. People who really get the term Analogy, instantly connect with how it relates to Design.

In 2017-18, i am not sure about the exact date, i hired two interns who really convinced me that what we were doing was not as per the initial vision. I suddenly realized that we had no identity, no core focus, niche or satisfaction. We did not have any metrics as we did not know what we wanted to build, where we wanted to go. i call this the "quarterstartup crisis".

So I started from scratch, slowly rebuilding the team and making sure that everyone received their fair due. This included helping write recommendation letters, paying extra salaries to compensate for job searches, bonus payments, getting employees in touch with recruiters and helping them with references. Everyone deserved that.

Let's fast-forward to the conference room that we were in while brainstorming some ideas and let me tell you, it was chaos when it came to picking names. We wrote down our values and attributes and who we aspired to be. We looked at domains to buy, but that's another post. Some of the final choices are shown below and yes you should laugh. Throughout this process without realizing, I kept on sharing analogies for every idea as to why they would work and wouldn't work. Someone just picked up on that, so we removed the Design bit, started the long arduous process of rebranding, building a new website, and also working on a design process based on analogical thinking and reasoning.

Analogies are super powerful at quickly creating impactful memories and associating your visual observation to relatable memories. Generally in innovation and creative sessions, people have a hard time accepting an idea that is completely new and fresh. While i believe that there are no new ideas, you see our brain develops by observing and learning from the people around us and also the environments we are brought up in. As a result of that, most of what we call creativity is a refresher or a reinterpretation of something that we have already observed. The only amazing thing about this is that no one knows how much is stored in your subconscious and how you can access this. This is why the single most important thing for a creative or a disruptor is to travel and see things in a new perspective.

Analogies and metaphors are literary devices that help create a vivid image of what is familiar so new ideas and fresh observations for reinvention or disruption have very few barriers. Most of all the relevance of an Analogy is that its a logical argument compared to a metaphor that is a figure of speech. The goal of the metaphor is to create a mental image in the user’s mind. The aim of the analogy is to show how two things are alike in order to make a point about the comparison.

For example: American author E. B. White wrote a memorable example of an analogy:

“Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process.”

Another great example of applying an Analogy is: Taiichi Ohno, the foremost pioneer of Toyota’s famed production system, supposedly invented the kanban system for replenishing inventory after he watched shelf-stocking procedures at U.S. supermarkets, and he devised the andon cord to halt a faulty production line after seeing how bus passengers signaled a driver to stop by pulling a cord that rang a bell. So how do we move ahead.

Analogies can just be literary if we cant apply them into the design process. Creating focused visual references and slowly building up the connections around the various variables that influence the end goal or the success metrics of the project is key to be able to get disruptive results. We use these effectively at work on every project and are able to create a distinct visual language around our diverse set of projects.

{ An example of a concept story we used in our process incorporating Analogies and create relevant mood boards that convey the right info to a client or the internal design team. }

What are the benefits of using Analogical thinking for brainstorming new ideas or integrating it into your design process.

1. Explain abstract ideas with ease by comparing familiar references.

2. Create a visual image in the user's mind with very little effort.

3. Create meaningful and lasting connections with a logical conclusion

4. Save a huge amount of time without having to show proof of your thoughts and strategies.

The cons of not understanding or creating the wrong Analogies would result in failure of utilizing Analogical thinking or reasoning.

1. Failing to focus on the real problem just to fit in a great Analogy.

2. Drawing comparisons with superficial similarity, not deep causal traits.

3. Dislodging a thought or an idea due to a bad Analogy is extremely hard. From a decision makers point of view, he has a very logical argument that it will work.

4. Strong but wrong Analogies also push decision makers to seek out information that confirms their beliefs and to ignore contradictory data.

How to avoid these cons if you adopt an Analogy based design process.

Source: Harvard Business school publishing corporation. All rights reserved.

Analogical thinking will get you far and fast with your end user or client in a very short time frame if you get it right. You have to absolutely have that as your north star and a strong validation framework that will always keep your focus on fitting or solving the problem. Veering away from this will land you in a confused state forcing you to not have a strong convincing proposition. All in all, i find it super simple to come up with new ideas as well as explain these to clients and users in ways that they can easily relate to. Let me know what you guys think and if you have questions comment below if you want me to write more on the topi.

You can view our work here at https://www.analogydesign.co/, I am on twitter with the handle : savyas23 and on Instagram @designwillskill