good stories

last night i was watching this documentary about pixar... pretty cool stuff. the highlight of it (at least to me) came when someone said that pixar's success has little to do with computer animation... it's mostly about creating great stories.  yes, they push technology... but they do it with a purpose. they explained that most of the time spent in each project is devoted to developing the story. good design is the same thing.  is not about creating a product... is about creating an experience.... about connecting. i always have a hard time explaining students that they should focus more time on developing a concept rather than on skills... many of them misinterpret this as an opportunity for mediocrity.  a concept is so much more important... it's what sets the good apart from the rest. if someone wants good skills, they can go to coroflot.com and will find thousands of great examples.... if someone is looking for great concepts, for great design stories, then they will have to look deeper.  i'm not saying that skills are not important... they are crucial! pixar wouldn't be a success story without their beautiful output. but focusing only on skills is not enough.  i always have strong reservations about resumes that only focus on skills... and I always think that job descriptions that focus only on skills lead to boring jobs that don't enable positive change in culture and society.  designers that create good stories are the ones worth looking for.