Do I need to create a category of one? 

In this episode of The Craft, Carter and Colby explore the role of category design in creative pursuits. Their conversation addresses a root problem: How do you avoid being “just another voice” in your craft? In addressing this challenge, they wrestle with multiple potential solutions and the consequent tensions. Do categories wrongly fetishize novelty? Are categories equally pertinent in business and creative endeavors? Their conversation is a general introduction to the subject of category, which will — no doubt — reemerge in later episodes. 

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Chapters:

0:00 Introduction and creative exigence 

6:10 Should novelty be our goal? 

12:22 Alternative ways to individualize

15:40 Category size and limit 

18:58 Innovation and functionality 

24:48 Shifting definitions of category 

28:00 The law of division 

31:00 What to prioritize? 

35:59 Concluding distinctions 

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Links:

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

Category Pirates

Dada and the Pre-Raphaelites (Carter's Substack)

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Send feedback or ideas to heycraftpodcast@gmail.com

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Cover art by Elizabeth Newell. Learn more about her work at elizabethnewell.work or on Instagram @elizabethisadesigner.