“Didn’t you mention to me, once, that the MFA is the new MBA?” my twin brother, Jim, a professor of Industrial Design at Notre Dame, recently asked me. That was a few years ago, I told him, right after I read, A Whole New Mind, by Danielle H. Pink. Jim is a thoughtful and deliberate designer, so his question intrigued me. “What made you think of that?” I replied.

“I just had lunch with the program director at another University. He quoted that book the entire time,” he said.

How original, I thought. Don’t get me wrong, I quote authors all the time, especially the ones I admire. I do make a point to credit them, though, when sharing their original ideas. A Whole New Mind was rather eye-opening, personally, when I first read it ten years ago. It wasn’t the concept of creative people successfully running businesses that piqued my interest, however. I had already deemed that idea to be, excuse the pun, a no-brainer.

The most interesting and memorable part of A Whole New Mind, to me, was Pink’s concept of abstract expressions. “People who hope to thrive in the Conceptual Age must understand the connections between diverse, seemingly separate, disciplines,” he explains. In other words, the ability to make disparate connections is paramount to problem-solving and coming up with new ideas. Can the same be said for process? I didn’t realize it at the time, but my conversation with Jim helped spark an idea I needed for a project management plan. 

Project Management Revisited 
First, I carefully considered the possible project management methods that would be most suitable for my creative process. Kanban, a system that uses column cards with categories like To Do, Doing, and Done, seemed a little too limiting. Given the number of deliverables I’ve outlined, I wouldn’t be able to see the big picture with the Kanban approach. The Waterfall methodology, which I often use for website design, is too linear. In it, each phase needs to be completed before moving onto the next. The Waterfall method wouldn’t be possible, given the timeline. The tenets of Agile Project Management, which seeks continuous improvement, initially appeared in line with my personal taste. Unfortunately, the Agile approach is also quite detailed, I learned, and more appropriate for a team project.

After reacquainting myself with these popular project management techniques, I soon realized that none of them would be perfect for my Thought Leadership series on LinkedIn. Truth be told, I could use components from all of them. I wondered, though, is there a way to simplify the process? Perhaps I needed more motivation.

Disparate Inspiration
I decided to put aside my research on project management and start thinking about the eventual task at hand: a Thought Leadership article about custom type for logo design. That’s when I picked up a collection of essays, Now You See It, by one of my favorite brand designers, Michael Beirut. In, This is My Process, Beirut explains, "Somewhere along the way an idea for the design pops into my head out of the blue." He goes on to admit, "Now, if it's a good idea, I try to figure out some strategic justification for the solution..." What a novel approach! My takeaway? I needed to get started.

Next, I began perusing Logos That Last, a recent compendium of creative solutions by Minnesota designer, Allan Peters. I wasn’t surprised to see that process was a common thread throughout the book. In, Chapter Two: Brand Mark Process, Fletcher admits to creating at least 50 sketches for each logo. “The quality of the sketches should be rough,” he says, “just detailed enough to capture the idea. Refining a sketch at this phase is a waste of time. Quantity is king. Save your refinement time for only the best ideas.” Another inspirational idea. What if I approached each task, at first, like a sketch?

That’s when I logged into Trello and began creating task cards. Refinement would have to wait — I just needed to get to work. I was sketching my plan.

Whatever Works
In hindsight, I never could have developed a project plan by only researching project management methodologies. Perhaps my right brain would have been satisfied with the result, but my left brain would have been uninspired with the process. I know from experience that if the process is uninspiring, the final product will be, too. Thanks to Jim, and Mr. Pink, I finally realized what I needed all along: a whole new process.

---

References

Adobe for Business Team. (2025, May 23). Waterfall methodology — project management. Adobe for Business. https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/waterfall 

Gardner, B. (2025, May). 2025 annual logolounge trend report. Graphic Design USA, 62(3), 10–19. 

Lockhart Lance, L. (2025, June 19). Complete Guide to Kanban Project Management: What to know. The Digital Project Manager. https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/project-management/kanban-project-management/

Nagl, S. (2023, December 12). 5 benefits of Agile Project Management. School of Professional Studies at Wake Forest University. https://sps.wfu.edu/articles/benefits-agile-project-management/ 

Peters, A. (2024). Logos that last: How to create iconic visual branding. Rockport. 

Pink, D. H. (2006). Symphony. In A Whole New Mind: Why Right-brainers Will Rule the Future (pp. 129–145). essay, Penguin Group.

Beirut, M. (2019). This is My Process. In Now You See It and Other Essays on Design (pp. 20–23). Princeton Architectural Press.

Whitt, J. (2013, February 11). Project Planning Process: 5 Steps To Project Management Planning. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do8iykQKMfU