"My work makes the invisible parts of innovation visible"
Why innovation processes in companies often get stuck in theory - and how Creative Director Roald Seeliger uses animation to pave the way for practical application.
Roald, you are Creative Director and founder of the animation studio CARTEL. How do you specifically support companies in innovation processes?
Innovation is basically a story waiting to be told - and creatives can help to give shape to this story. My work makes the invisible parts of innovation visible: by sketching the feeling of a future service, animating how a product could live in the world, or making new directions tangible through visual concepts.
"As soon as an idea becomes tangible, innovation ceases to be pure theory and begins to generate real movement."
How do companies benefit from visualisations in innovation processes?
If teams can see an idea, they can scrutinise it, refine it and ultimately believe in it. This is exactly where my added value lies: translating abstract thinking into something concrete that you can react to. In this way, I help companies to leave their blind spots and look at challenges from a fresh, visual and narrative perspective.
I help companies understand what story they want to tell about their future - and give that story shape, movement and meaning. Once an idea becomes tangible, innovation stops being pure theory and starts creating real movement.
"Everything is a story, and stories are everything."
What does this idea mean in concrete terms for your work?
Whether I'm developing an entire narrative world for a brand film or deciding how a button reacts when it's clicked - today there are opportunities to tell stories or strengthen existing narratives everywhere. And no matter where technology takes us: If you find the right story and convey it in a meaningful way, it will always remain valuable.
What can you transfer from animation production to innovation processes?
Due to my background in animation production, I am strongly focussed on workflows. Animation is so complex and time-consuming that once production is underway, we have to create structures that make the process as predictable as possible.
The creative exploration phase beforehand, on the other hand, is often very uncertain. And my experience shows: The more time we can spend in this uncertainty, the better the result will be in the end.
"It was all the more wonderful to see how they recognised the value of a perspective that they would probably never have encountered otherwise."
As one of our 70 or so creative experts, you have already taken part in a number of Cross Innovation Hub formats. Which one do you particularly remember?
A particular highlight for me was the event "Future now! Innovation culture for SMEs" organised by the Cross Innovation Hub. I worked there with stakeholders from very different industries. The format was simple but effective: five stakeholders and two creatives sat at a table for 20 minutes each and talked about challenges relating to innovation culture. Afterwards, there was a rotation, new constellations, new perspectives.
At the beginning, there was a certain amount of scepticism among some of the participants from industry. It was all the more rewarding to see how, after a while, they recognised the value of a perspective that they would probably never have encountered otherwise.
Why are traditional innovation methods sometimes not enough to open up new perspectives - and how can creative approaches help here?
There are now countless established methods and best practices from which a kind of "à la carte process" can be quickly put together internally. However, it can be very valuable to develop something unique and customised - an approach that really suits the environment in which a company operates.
About the person
Roald Seeliger has been working as a motion designer and creative director for around 15 years and is managing director of the animation studio CARTEL. With a background in film and many years of experience in motion design, he combines storytelling, design and 2D and 3D animation to make complex content visually tangible. He is part of the Cross Innovation Hub's pool of creatives.
