Pushing the Boundaries of “Good Taste”

C_Sifonis — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:35:04 +0000

Now this is one cake that is pushing the envelope of good taste…pun intended. It also is a psychologically interesting example of creativity.

In psychology there is the “Law of Similarity” which states either that “like causes like” (causes resemble their effects) or that “appearance equals reality.” There is also the “Law of Contagion” which posits that “once in contact, always in contact.”

Experiments have been conducted demonstrating that people will refuse to drink a desirable juice that has briefly been in contact with a sterilized, dead cockroach (law of contagion is at work here). Similarly, people are unwilling to eat desirable food shaped into a disgusting object (e.g., chocolate made to look like dog poo)(the law of similarity is at work here).

It isn’t too hard to guess people’s reaction to the cake in this picture. In fact, the tag line on the email I received with this picture was “Would you eat this cake?”

People cognitively understand that the cake is a real cake – something that is usually yummy – despite its appearance. However, this cognitive realization doesn’t prevent the reluctance to eat the cake.

I believe that this has clear implications for the creativity and innovation of this creation.
In terms of creativity, making a cake that resembles a toilet is creative – in part, because it violates taboo. Because few people violate taboos, the cake will be novel to most people. It is also artistically creative in the sense that some artists create art that causes people to feel something. Sometimes the “something” that artists cause people to feel is unpleasant or strong emotions. Serving this cake at a party and the resultant emotions that are induced as people try to decide whether or not to eat the cake could be said to satisfy this definition of artistic creativity.

However, it is very difficult to overcome the “Ewww” factor and even though people might admit to the creativity of the cake, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be a popular item at the local Krogers bakery or even at the more eclectic bakeries. If this is the case, then as an innovation, its chances of commercial success are iffy at best which prevents this cake from being truly innovative. Why? Because creativity that does not result in at least a moderately commercially successful product isn’t perceived as innovative by the world of business. It is only creative.

Creative Mailbox

C.Sifonis — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:17:51 +0000

I thought I would add a little more activity to this blog by posting links to creative websites, ad campaigns, objects, etc. that I encounter.

To begin this trend, I would like to introduce the new mailbox my husband created for the house.

This mailbox is creative in several ways.

It is not like any other mailbox in our neighborhood (or maybe even unlike any other mailbox in our town)
It is artistic as well as functional
It was designed so that it fit the constraints imposed by the city for mailboxes as well as minimizing possible damage to a vehicle running into the solid steel construction.

This last was accomplished through clever use of shear pins on a cylindrical base connected to a wheel hub with intact wheel bearings. This design feature was incorporated into the structure to make sure that no matter the trajectory of the vehicle making contact with the mailbox, it would spin in such a way that the shear pin would give upon contact.

For more artistic and design innovations visit www.jeffholter.com/

Creativity & Analogy Blog » Creative Objects

Pushing the Boundaries of “Good Taste”

Creative Mailbox