Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is as creative with his celebratory dance moves as he is maneuvering out of the pocket and throwing touchdowns (except against the Broncos defense, apparently). And while he only gets paid to do one of those things, he clearly practices both. ESPN enlisted talented illustrator and WNW Member #1213 Joel Kimmel to show off some of his own skills and illustrate five of Cam's signature dances.
We've all heard of UX Design, but what is it? We enlisted the help of Sweden-based WNW Member #2079 Anton Sten to peel away some layers from this mysterious, ever-shifting role. As Anton notes in his new e-book User Experiences that Matter, it really boils down to valuing your customer, and understanding how to make them happy. But he also stresses that while UX is integral, it is only part of a great experience: "Even if your product is amazing - like really the best of the best - it can all be destroyed by one impersonal customer service answer, a slow loading website, or not delivering on a promise. After that it’s back to square one. I think Uber is a good example. Regardless of how ‘friction-less’ the app is, if your driver is bad, then you’ll have a bad experience. Everything has to play well together."
WNW members, use the code 'wnw25' to get 25% off of User Experiences that Matter.
Thank you! It was about a year ago that I started writing more and more. When I started, it was purely out of wanting to share my personal reasoning behind my designs in a more thoughtful way. Due to working remotely, I often have to express my concepts in written text. It was only natural to begin to share my ideas and opinions with the world about UX Design and what it takes to make a really great user experience. I started working with a great editor, Joshua Yuhas, who helped me to transform these articles into better pieces, making sure the structure is easy to follow. We both noticed how they would do even better if they were placed in an order where they could build off from each other.
There are so many opinions on what UX Design is and I wanted to provide other UX Designers with a simple guide to clear up the confusion. I sincerely believe that even the best wireframes - a UX Design mainstay - can result in a really poor experience for the user. A really well thought out plan needs more than just a UX Designer, but participation from the entire team. The user needs to be considered in every step of their journey.
I started way back in 1996 with web design. Back then, there really wasn’t much in the way of ‘design’ and it would be many years before UX Design was even a concept. Because the industry was so young, I was able to get a job at a traditional advertising agency without an education or any prior experience. While working there, I learned all the ground rules of good design (typography, color theory, etc) from the people I worked with.
In 2000, I started at Hyper Island and for the next ten years I spent much of my time working as a designer/art director for agencies in Sweden and Denmark. Ironically, my last two full-time jobs were at large advertising agencies (BBDO and Bates Y&R) teaching the “traditional” staff how to do better digital work. It was a real role reversal.
When I did finally venture out on my own, I was much more aware of what I was good at - and what others do better. I realized that my strengths were in making sure everything fits well together and understanding how people use these “things”. I found that even while working as a designer, I was more focused on the big picture than just adjusting the drop shadow perfectly on a button.
I like to think that no matter what I’d be doing, I’d still be focused on making sure people are having a great experience. I’ve specialized in digital products because it’s still such a new field and there’s so many exciting things going on. I do have a passion for animals, and working with them would be amazing. In fact, I bring my dog to my office every day. She’s my only co-worker.
While most of us want to create great user experiences because we know that happy customers equal happy sales, we tend to limit the scope of what really creates that great experience. I have worked with numerous e-commerce sites that only wanted me to improve 2 or 3 pages believing that if we get those right, it’ll be all blue skies and unicorns. I think the challenge with user experiences is that it takes so much effort to build something great and it can be destroyed with just one mistake. Even if your product is amazing - like really the best of the best - it can all be destroyed by one impersonal customer service answer, a slow loading website, or not delivering on a promise. After that it’s back to square one. I think Uber is a good example. Regardless of how ‘friction-less’ the app is, if your driver is bad, then you’ll have a bad experience. Everything has to play well together. For larger companies, this can be especially difficult since they tend to work in silos.
Become a customer! :)
There are some great books on this topic, but I believe Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh is one of the best. To better understand the customer’s point of view, it’s important to see what their full journey is. What did they do before visiting your site? Why did they end up on your site? If you sell something, why did they choose to buy from you? There are so many questions here and they boil down to the exact same thing - you have to really understand your customer. If you don’t, you can’t make them happy in the long run because you’re just guessing.
1. Work problems are very rarely solved in the office. I usually take my dog for a walk around Malmö and I get so much more done that way. Staring at a blank canvas on a computer screen doesn’t get good results.
2. Don’t have an ego - it’s OK not to know everything.
3. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, especially as a freelancer, but really as a human being in general.
4. Try new things. About a year ago I finally tried Pilates Reformer and now I love it. For many years I had an idea of what it is (I was wrong) and that I wouldn’t like it. Finding an exercise form that you love makes it a lot easier to keep in shape.
5. Find out when, where, and how you do your best work. Then adjust your life to better support it. It’ll mean you’ll create better work and be happier when not working.
I was asked to work on the UI of new car models recently and that would have been a great experience for sure. They are so important to our everyday lives, but have evolved so little. I bought a new Audi last summer and basically it has the same UI and UX as a model from ten years ago! While companies like Tesla are doing some great things, their improvements seem to be primarily technical. You get a 17” touch screen, but it’s still showing things that we are all used to. It would be a dream project of mine to create a new and exciting UI and UX in something we use as often as the car.
Unfortunately, this position would have meant moving, which I wasn’t up for. I enjoy the freedom that freelancing brings and will continue to do great work for my awesome clients.
I enjoy hanging out with my wife and dog, reading, watching football (soccer), and playing FIFA on my Playstation.
I’m sure that there are a bunch of awesome people on WNW, but it’s hard to communicate great UX work/projects just through screenshots. Lia Software Art seems to do awesome work and I would love to hear about challenges in working on a voice-controlled experience. Adam Glynn-Finnegan has done awesome stuff and I’ve always loved the Evernote branding.
I’ve always had a love for France and anything related, so when I started my first company I called it Le Petit Garcon (The Little Boy). Mostly, this was because I felt very small compared to the agencies I was pitching against. The last year though, I’ve come to realize that my clients hire me and I might as well just do business as Anton Sten. My website is now antonsten.com and has the added bonus of being far easier to pronounce to someone over the phone.
Cheers to WNW Member #5385 Jason Zada, whose first feature film, The Forest, just hit theaters on Friday.
Previously, Jason started the renowned digital advertising agency Evolution Bureau (EVB). He has directed broadcast and digital projects for the likes of Wieden + Kennedy, CP+B, and Sid Lee, and is the mind behind Facebook's terrifying viral sensation TakeThisLollipop.
It turns out "terrifying" is a sharpened skill in Jason's toolshed. The premise to The Forest: A woman goes into Japan's Suicide Forest to find her twin sister, and confronts supernatural terror.
Jason is returning intrigue to the same forest explored last year by Gus Van Sant, but this time to both horrifying effect and box office success. The Forest, starring Natalie Dormer from Game of Thrones, has already earned $15 million in under a week. Not a bad way to kick off the New Year.
MIKE O'DONNELL / EDITOR
Whoever you are, and wherever you are, find a television and sit in front of it at 7:30PM ET. WNW Member #3094 Kirsten Lepore has written and directed "Bad Jubies", the newest episode of Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, which airs tonight. What's more, she's given the show a complete stop-motion makeover. We spoke to Kirsten about the process of recreating this world with her voice: "In terms of creating a version of the show that felt like me, it was actually less of a challenge than I thought it would be. I think my visual style and story sensibilities have a lot in common with AT’s off the bat, which made the process go pretty smoothly. The hardest part for me, that really forced me out of my element, was writing all the dialogue and jokes. My personal films usually have no dialogue whatsoever, so I was incredibly nervous when I finally went to pitch to the network. Luckily it turned out to be a great experience."
About a week after I released my grad thesis "Move Mountain," I got an email out of the blue from Adam Muto, the showrunner on Adventure Time, saying that they'd always wanted to do a stop-motion episode and after seeing my film (which was coincidentally also an 11 minute stop-motion short), they thought I would be a perfect fit to write and direct an episode of the show. After freaking out with excitement, I said yes, and started developing concepts for the episode.
It was always going to be a stop-motion episode, as this is what the network was excited about - but it’s also what I specialize in, so it made sense. I definitely came up with some concepts in the beginning where Finn and Jake were a little too aware of the fact that their medium changed and Pen talked me out of that. I’m so glad he did, because I think what the episode evolved into was much better. There’s still a little wink & nod at the fact that they look different, but I tried to keep it subtle. In terms of creating a version of the show that felt like me, it was actually less of a challenge than I thought it would be. I think my visual style and story sensibilities have a lot in common with AT’s off the bat, which made the process go pretty smoothly. The hardest part for me, that really forced me out of my element, was writing all the dialogue and jokes. My personal films usually have no dialogue whatsoever, so I was incredibly nervous when I finally went to pitch to the network. Luckily it turned out to be a great experience - there were about 30 people in that room and everyone laughed! It felt great to know that this storyboard I slaved away at privately in my bedroom for 5 weeks actually worked as an episode once I shared it with an audience.
It’s funny, I actually didn’t really watch the show before I got the directing gig. But I set out to watch every episode for research, and about 4 episodes in, I was already completely obsessed with the show and had become a super fan. So at that point, the pressure felt even higher to create something that would fit into this wonderful world that had already been established. Writing was definitely the hardest part of the process, but once I was finished, it was a joy to direct it and actually make it happen. It was incredibly exciting to finally step back from all the animation and building responsibilities that I usually take on, and let the professionals at Bix Pix (where we did all the production) work their magic with me supervising. They did such an amazing job - sooo much better than anything I could have done, and it was such a joy to work with them. And directing wasn’t without its stresses, but it was certainly more enjoyable with a team than by working alone.
Oh man! I’ve never even thought about it! Hmmmm, it’d be pretty fun to do a Simpsons' couch gag, actually.
I think the biggest ones that have helped me are:
This is more applicable to people making time-based things or really huge projects that take extended periods of time. I’ve found that inevitably there’s a point in those long projects that you’re totally over it and want to give up. But the world hasn’t seen it yet, so it’ll still be new and exciting to them - but they can only see it if you finish it. Sometimes you really have go back to your initial sketches and get back in touch with what excited you about the project in the first place to reignite that spark.
This is pretty simple, but I have to say it because I often see people hiding some of their best work away because they’re too self-conscious or something. I think it’s really important to keep your online portfolio up to date and constantly evolving. The internet is the best free distribution platform - it’s how I’ve gotten all my work and why I’m able to support myself. The WNW community seems to have their stuff together though, so I’m not even sure how much this applies. I feel like the community members really know how to design and to present themselves professionally.
Haha - it is really exciting! But currently I’m helping a good friend write her show that’s in development, as well as working on a new short of my own that I hope to complete in the spring!
WNW Member #9338 Leandro Santini, a London-based director, has just completed an awesome series of short documentaries on Star Wars super fans. The 6 episodes of the series, titled Star Wars Changed My Life, portray a Droid Maker, a Lightsaber Master, a SW toy collector, a Jedi (a council member of the Jedi church), a SW tattoo artist, and a merchant. Each one is both humorous and heartfelt, and gives a voice to individuals that proudly own their fandom. This post is dedicated to those of you skipping the 4th Annual WNW Holiday Party and scalping a $200 ticket to Star Wars tonight.
#MayTheFourthBeWithYou
Athletes and celebrities are more and more becoming their own brand, separate from the films they work on and the teams they play for. They're even getting their own typefaces, thanks in part to WNW Member #6953 Sawdust Design (aka Jonathan Quainton and Rob Gonzalez.) The London-based duo is receiving lots of love on the internet for their unique typeface for the one and only Lebron "King" James. Having already assisted Nike with the brands of Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant, Sawdust has now given Lebron an original typeface that embodies his bold style on and off the court.
WNW Member #1100 John James and a team of six have been spending their after hours crafting and branding a beverage best suited for after hours: Aurora. The team, ranging from brand strategists to bar managers, all share one thing in common: the love they have for Canada. "All of us came together over our shared ideology that - despite the (often) second-tier view that Canada has of itself, Greatness has and can be born here."
We spoke to John James about the process of building a beer company from the ground up, and how the identity and aesthetic for the beer and brand were born. After an incredibly successful soft launch in western Canada, Aurora will be sold throughout Canada in 2016 and go stateside and global soon after. The way we see it, Aurora is 4.5% alc/vol, and 100% Canadian Love.
The actual idea had been tossed around by a couple of the partners for a few years, but we (as a team) began taking the steps toward production in late 2013, building a fleshed-out team and seeking investors. As a business, Aurora is actually one component of a three-part movement to start introducing art and open-minded ideals to a larger audience throughout Canada and over the course of the next two years, throughout the United States and further globally.
In terms of my creative role within the company, as we have all been working on the brand aside from our day jobs (a team of 6 - ranging from brand strategists to bar managers), I've been acting Creative Director and part of the skeleton crew since the early stages. All of us came together over our shared ideology that - despite the (often) second-tier view that Canada has of itself, Greatness has and can be born here.
From a shared goal and extensive research from the team, it was easy for me to build the identity and language surrounding the Aurora brand. Everything seemed to come together under the introduction of our minimalist Aurora Borealis can, which stemmed from visualizations around our brand phrase - Rise Above.
We started with a western Canada soft launch, and from our vendor feedback, I believe we are almost sold out. The response has been tremendous, which is encouraging and we are definitely thankful!
Every creative has that one dream project that may take years to come to life. And what a feeling when that moment finally arrives. For WNW Member #4183 Jeff Scardino, that moment is now. "Dreams Reclaimed", a new ad for Aetna, stems from an idea that has been Jeff's baby for years. It began to take shape when Jeff researched his dad's newly diagnosed sleep apnea. He learned that with certain sleeping conditions, "You’re never able to hit REM because you are constantly waking up even though you don’t realize it. This stuck with me. What would it be like not to dream? Does it even matter?" By recreating the first vivid dreams that three individuals have had in years, after finally receiving treatment, Jeff documents their dreams reclaimed, as well as his own.
I’ve worked in NYC for my whole career at such places as R/GA, DDB, and Ogilvy. Currently I’m freelancing. I’ve had the pleasure to work on some interesting brands like Tropicana, NY Lottery, Amnesty International, and IKEA. I also teach at Miami Ad School, and I’m an FWA Mobile judge.
So this idea was my baby. I had been trying to get it made for years. I first came up with it when my dad was diagnosed with sleep apnea. At the time, I didn’t know much about the disorder. I just knew his snoring echoed throughout the whole house. For treatment, he received a CPAP machine that he wore only one time before refusing to use it ever again. So I decided to do research in hopes of convincing him that he needed it. In my search, I found a study that showed sleep apnea can cause you to have low dream recall and even cause you not to remember your dreams at all. This is due to the fact that you’re never able to hit REM because you are constantly waking up even though you don’t realize it. This stuck with me. What would it be like not to dream? Does it even matter?
When I dug deeper, I found that dreams have a healing power. Our subconscious uses dreams to solve problems and allows you to visualize memories that are buried.
Dreams are something we take for granted. My dad didn’t think twice about the fact that he couldn’t remember his dreams for years. There are a lot of health risks associated with not getting healthy sleep, but this was more of an emotional angle. One that could truly make people think differently.
So I thought what if I took people who suffered from a sleeping disorder and had them record their first dream after treatment. This being the first vivid dream they’ve had in years. And then took those dreams and recreated them in a film. It would be a powerful piece that would start conversation and make people think, “When was the last time I dreamt?”
I created and oversaw every aspect of this project working hand in hand with my CCO.
We started with hundreds of people who suffered from a sleeping disorder that caused them not to remember their dreams. The pool was whittled down based on a series of interviews. The final ones were selected based on their first dream. We wanted to tell three distinct stories that evoked three different emotions.
Each person was only able to record a nugget of their respective dream. So we had to learn as much as we could about them and their lives in order to piece together why they dreamt what they dreamt. This was fun. We had complete freedom in recreating these dream worlds. But we wanted to ground each decision in reason.
I do dream a lot. And ever since I started this project I have been writing down my dreams. I’d say the weirdest one I’ve had lately involved me trying to keep my family alive in a zombie apocalypse. And the zombies were all people I’ve met throughout my life. Probably a deeper meaning for me trying to move forward. Or I just watch The Walking Dead too much.
I think every project you’re able to produce brings pride of some kind. Probably because it’s so hard to make good work. There are so many hurdles that get in the way. But I would have to say finally making this film is one of my prouder moments. Every creative has that one idea they carry with them from agency to agency, brand to brand, trying to get it made. And this was mine. Also being able to make something so conceptual for a brand like Aetna is a huge win.
Don’t eat so much Taco Bell. It will permanently damage your digestive system.
I bet you haven't put much thought into your shower cap. Why? Because it's plastic, crinkly and probably should've been thrown out months ago. But for WNW Member #420 (yep, best number) Jacquelyn De Jesu, shower caps are all she's been thinking about. Practically untouched since our grandmother's era, shower caps have been given a complete makeover by Jackie. SHHHOWERCAP, with its upscale, turban-inspired design, has a modern silhouette, and is made from nanotechnology fabric that's antibacterial, waterproof, and machine-washable. And being the art director Jackie is, her launch line included four rad designs, making it really hard to buy just one.
Unsurprisingly, SHHHOWERCAP was blowing up the internet with coverage in Fast Company and headlines like "Channel Your Inner Beyonce With This Shower Cap". Jackie gave us the inside details of bringing her business to life (all while juggling a day job), and how she is going to make women look beautiful in showers everywhere. Her advice for wannabe entrepreneurs? "Just start. So many people have an idea and let someone beat them to it. Or delay because they think it’s too expensive, or time-consuming, or scary. Don’t be that story of the guy who almost invented the Post-It. Just start whatever your thing is. Chances are that the excitement of seeing it come to life will propel you through to every next stage of the process."
You can now listen to Jacquelyn on Episode 2 of Season 2 of Overshare, launched June 18, 2018.
How many iterations did you go through? 7000 million?
I’m an art director with a design background. Perfectionist by nature.
How did you manage day job with your night hustle?
Managing sanity: juggling day job and side project: You have to compartmentalize. And of course, lots of after hours and weekend grind on SHHHOWERCAP. When it got really difficult was when there was crazy after hours and weekend work for the day job. #ADVERTISING
Did you get feedback?
Yep. From friends, family, strangers standing at the Marcy JMZ stop who were innocently waiting for the subway. Literally, I talked to everyone about SHHHOWERCAP for over a year. And it was truly eye-opening to hear what people liked, didn’t like, and wanted to see more of. Also, I crowd-sourced our solid color. I posted a quadrant of Pantones to see which one had the most votes: a super easy, cheap, and effective way to get a gut check.
Each pattern is so different, but yet they all work together. Tell us about your selection process.
I wanted to make sure that each “type” of woman would have a favorite print, but that they stood together as a collection. Its really interesting to see in the orders how that’s actually true. For example, LA, Orange County, and Miami LOVE the Laguna.
Did you consider doing a Kickstarter?
Absolutely! Yes. Thought about it quite a bit. But, I was more focused on the product, the lookbook, and manufacturing to get all of the technical details right and manage the moving pieces. Luckily, my background and network enabled me the ability to launch without a lot of the upfront costs that a startup normally faces. Branding, product design, website design, copywriting, photoshoot, etc. All were either me or my friends (or friends of friends) pitching in to make it a reality. Shout out to my peoples (and WNW Members!): Julie Matheny, Kelly Diaz, Alex Center, Daddy-O Productions. However, Kickstarter is an amazing platform and we may be using it in the future!
Taking on investors: why or why not?
It is definitely something I’m exploring at this point. The reaction to pre-sale has been so exciting and in order to scale, it’s going to be necessary. However, it’s not free money and takes a lot of energy away from development and brand building in order to pursue a round. I originally was looking for angels, but got some amazing advice early on in the process that changed my outlook. If you believe in your product and can bootstrap to the point where you’re able to show traction and any sort of market response -- a company’s valuation becomes a lot more realistic.
You've gotten a lot of amazing press. How'd you do it?
I wrote my own press release and sent it to basically anyone and everyone I had a connection to. A “sticky” subject line is super necessary. And, now more than ever I believe that any business should launch with a huge emphasis on design and art direction. All blogs/publishers are just looking for content. The less they have to work for it (strong visuals, high rez product images, fun copy, clear brand story) the easier it to get picked up.
“I wrote my own press release and sent it to basically anyone and everyone I had a connection to. A “sticky” subject line is super necessary. And, now more than ever I believe that any business should launch with a huge emphasis on design and art direction.”
For those of us who want to launch our own business, any resources you recommend?
FACEBOOK! The Garment District Info Center! Ellevate (Ladies Entrepreneur Network)! New York City- the whole city. My first technical designer was found through a girl in my boxing class at the gym. You really never know who knows who unless you ask. So I always ask. And of course, Working Not Working to get me the gigs to feed myself while I pursued this wild idea. (Thanks, Jackie!)
In starting this business, what has been the:
...toughest thing?
Prioritizing “life stuff” while I’m laser-focused on making my dream a reality. There is literally something that I can be doing for SHHHOWERCAP filling every second of every day. Basically, every day for a year has been pitch mode. But, it’s important to not burn yourself out. Also, it was tough realizing that not everyone in my life wants to talk about shower caps or hair routines every time they see me. Even though I do.
...most rewarding experience?
When I don’t recognize the name of any orders that come in for days at a time. Strangers passing it around the internet really makes me the happiest. Or when a chick tags her friend in one of our Instagram's and says “@____ you NEED this!” or “OBSESSED.” Honestly, if I had to pinpoint one personal moment, it was walking on set for the first time for my first shoot, for my product and my brand, my vision, and feeling totally comfortable because it is what I’ve always done for other people.
...one thing you wish someone had told you before doing this?
Development takes 4x longer and 3x more money than you plan for. There is always a hiccup in manufacturing. Somewhere. And a co-founder can be an amazing thing. But, it can also be a horrible thing. It’s basically a marriage. So choose carefully.
Best advice you received, worst advice, your advice :)
Best advice: “You are the company’s most valuable asset. You have to take care of yourself like you are.” AKA Drink a green juice, get some sleep, and take a spin class, Jackie.
Worst Advice (there’s a couple): “Don’t quit your day job.” and “Patents are worthless.” So not true.
My advice: Just start. So many people have an idea and let someone beat them to it. Or delay because they think it’s too expensive, or time-consuming, or scary. Don’t be that story of the guy who almost invented the Post It. Just start whatever your thing is. Chances are that the excitement of seeing it come to life will propel you through to every next stage of the process.
Biggest surprise you’ve experienced?
Seeing my sketches in Fast Company was something that I had visualized/dreamed/hoped for all throughout development. I got choked up when I read the article for the first time because it was published literally right after the pre-sale launch. I never expected that stamp of approval to happen so soon and it made me feel all the feelings. Also, some random famous people have been ordering caps. I can’t say who.
WNW Members #5795 Brittany Poole and #5695 Todd Grinham know as well as anyone how difficult it is to maintain a healthy work/life balance in such a technology-dependent world. As a creative couple (they're getting married next year!), the distinction between work and life sometimes blurs even further. Knowing they were not alone in feeling this, they have created Hush, "a curated database of the world's best destinations for a digital detox."
In detailing the importance of unplugging, Todd tell us, "Every time we divert our attention, it’s like opening a new tab in your brain. And instead of closing each tab and moving onto another, our brain just works on them simultaneously in our subconscious. We’re using our focus and brain chemicals at unsustainable rates." Brittany adds, "There’s a fantastic boredom we experienced as kids that allowed for creativity and adventure. I think on a Hush vacation, people are able to tap into those feelings again."
If you're in need of a digital detox (you are), check out some of these awe-inspiring destinations that can recharge your battery rekindle your fire.
We’ve both been in the business about 5-7 years and went freelance in January. Before that, we worked a couple years in the UK. They have a much more realistic work/life balance in place, which did great things for our brains. But technology was still creating a lot of anxiety in our lives. Essentially, Hush was a resource we tried to find and couldn’t. So we decided to make it ourselves.
BRITTANY: When I first got into the business, I was sleeping with a Blackberry on my pillow. Then, we moved to a country where people don't take their laptops home at night. The feeling was pretty liberating. So we started replicating it when we traveled, opting out of expensive international data plans, etc. You forget that you can just ask people stuff. Sometimes, asking a stranger for recommendations can lead to the best meal of your life. Or dark alleys. Be careful out there.
TODD: We kept reading about CEOs taking digital detoxes and boasting about how great it was. But it seemed reserved for those who can afford to take off a month. Or who can hire someone to answer email for them. It felt like a necessity that everyone deserved, even if it's just for a weekend.
We’re actually a couple and a creative team. We met at CP+B in Boulder and started dating. And after a few years working with other partners, we realized working together was more efficient and more fun for us. In fact, we like it so much we’re getting married next year.
TODD: We’re all overworked and overstimulated. There are some fascinating new studies on human attention that prove multitasking is basically a myth. I could nerd out on this for days. But in short, every time we divert our attention, it’s like opening a new tab in your brain. And instead of closing each tab and moving onto another, our brain just works on them simultaneously in our subconscious. We’re using our focus and brain chemicals at unsustainable rates. A detox closes those brain tabs and lets your mind refocus and recharge to its natural, optimal state. That’s something everyone can benefit from, in all areas of their lives.
BRITTANY: I think, by nature, people know something’s amiss. Most people can remember a time when you unplugged the landline for dinner. If you were going to meet someone at the mall, there was something so great about knowing they would just be there… eventually. No need to text. And there’s a nostalgia for that time. There’s a fantastic boredom we experienced as kids that allowed for creativity and adventure. I think on a Hush vacation, people are able to tap into those feelings again.
TODD: In general I just feel calm. My anxiety goes down. The day slows down. Letting a few days of social media go by without looking feels like a victory. You think you’ll go back and scroll through it all, but you don’t. Then, you realize it’s not that important anyhow. Eventually, those feelings creep into the days you’re not detoxing too.
BRITTANY: When we moved home, we spent some time just visiting family, away from technology. One surprising thing for me was, in those first few weeks I got overwhelmed thinking about my family. How much I had missed them. How much I care for them. It sounds crazy, but I think when we busy ourselves with distractions all day, we don’t always let those deeper feelings bubble up. So not every aspect of unplugging is pleasant. But it’s important stuff. To me, it’s important to check in with the real state of my own shit.
We’re still freelancing during the day and working during the nights and weekends.
BRITTANY: Don’t lie to yourself. We've wasted a lot of time and energy feeling guilty about not completing some ambitious daily goals. But we’ve found hating on ourselves for not getting it all done can really halt momentum. So we try to be more honest now about what’s possible in one day or one week. And when we hit those more realistic targets, it really energizes us for the next thing.
We also took several weeks off completely to focus on Hush. And the free time (with no income) was pretty scary and motivating. I think sometimes you have to be a little terrified to really get things moving.
TODD: When you’re finished with your day job and you transition to a side project, pick the task you’re most excited about. That will be the thing that drives you to work late into the night. The boring stuff will just make you want to give up and watch Netflix.
We’ve been to several of the destinations and hope to eventually visit them all. The irony is, finding a digital detox takes a ton of online research. It’s a lot of googling, referencing cell service maps, and calling places to ask about their connectivity. We feel like we’re doing the digital dirt work, so other people don’t have to. We also only list destinations where we, ourselves, would want to spend a week.
TODD: This is just the first phase of our plan to disconnect from society completely. Our goal is a self-sustained, blue zone utopia, that eliminates money by trading only crops, karma, and poems.
Actually, we’re in the process of partnering with destinations to help create detox programs for guests. We also have some analog detox products in the works that we’ll be selling on the site. Down the road, we hope to be an online booking agent for the destinations too ( i.e. commissions).
In the immediate future, we want to keep adding and refining destinations. We’re hoping to cover most of the planet, but still be a closely curated list. We don’t want it to become so big that it’s no longer a shortcut for people.
TODD: Sometimes the best places have the most outdated websites. If business is good, the owners don’t see a reason to update. But you shouldn’t let that scare you off.
Momentum. One of us works better after a little morning coffee. One of us works better nights and weekends. When you're a duo, aligning creative energy can be tough. So we've both had to take turns pushing the project along.
The response. It’s found a connection with a lot of our friends. People seem to need this. Also, working on a brand of your own and having complete control is ideal. It makes us happier, better creatives at our day jobs too.
We built the entire site ourselves. It is possible to do a lot of things yourself these days without spending money. It just costs you time. So it’s about weighing the value of your own time versus what you’re after.
Liza Behles, Courtney Bowditch, Matt Denyer, Andy Ure, Bryan Denman, & Cerra Buckholz are all funny and talented people, who everyone should hire. Or at least have a beer with.
Soon after Marissa Mayer took the reigns at Yahoo, the purple palace acquired Tumblr and best of all, Community. A show about a misfit study group in college, the resurrection of this canceled show was cheered by fans everywhere, though none as much as WNW Member #7908 Brad Hall. An art director by trade, Brad offered to lead the creative team, soliciting mainstream appeal for a show that is, for lack of a better word, weird. A self-described misfit himself and an original Community fan, who better to review its relaunch than Brad? He gives us the inside scoop.
When Marissa Mayer started her stint at Yahoo, I knew she was going to throw some sparks. So I followed her over, leaving Disney and moving into the purple palace. Soon Yahoo started doing all sorts of crazy things, and acquiring Community was definitely on the top of my ‘cool stuff Marissa bought with a pile of cash’ list. I quickly volunteered to run point on the the creative for the project.
For some, Community is the best comedy on television. For others (ahem, executives at NBC) it’s been a ratings bottom-scraper that never quite cashed in the hype. Personally, I started out hating it. The first few episodes seemed pretty tame. But about the time everyone in the show became an 8bit video game avatar.… well yeah, I was hooked.
It’s a show about a misfit study group in a community college, and a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with communities. Or colleges. Claymation christmas specials, paintball wars, epic pillow forts, alternate timelines, Dungeons and Dragons, the ass crack bandit??
As an often-misfit myself, I got it. Because the thing about not belonging? Most of us don’t. Until we find a bunch of people that also don’t belong, and then suddenly we do. It’s an outcast paradox that Dr. Who would be proud of.
And I wasn’t alone, because the gleeful bastion of creativity that was Community had enough people loving this show—and I mean really, really, loving this show—that it could not be killed. Yes, I’m looking at you Reddit. These guys even started their own self-funded fan conference?! (CommuniCon, look it up). After five seasons and a cancellation, the oft-tweeted prophecy came true. #sixseasonsandamovie had a new lease on life by way of a hail-mary contract with Yahoo, of all places.
Yes, Yahoo. I know. Email. Kim Kardashian stories. And now, a show beloved by millions.
Bringing the new season back to that many crazed fans may have been intimidating, but as soon as we started to get a taste of this crowd, it was clear they worshipped the ground Yahoo walked on for extending an olive branch to Their Show. Didn’t hurt that NBC only gave them 5 bucks and a sandwich board to advertise the first five seasons. So really, we could do no wrong. Even so, we set a high bar for ourselves—this was going to be a bloody well-marketed show if it killed us.
As a Community fan, I knew a few things right away. This show was special. It was special because it was weird. It thrived because, much like the characters, most people will never understand it. The weirder it got, the better it got. The better it got, the more weirdness was demanded by the fans. The writers were happy to comply, and the whole show became a never-ending cycle of meta, self-referencing insanity with an ever-shrinking, ever more rabid fanbase. It was magic.
We started with the hardcore fans. We blitzed Comic-Con with a campaign that reveled in the inside humor, plastering one-liners all over the building. We bought out Subway for the day with themed character sandwiches (also inside humor). We had people in white leotards, giant school IDs for Instagram, clever restroom signage and big OOH panels everywhere. It was a little overwhelming for some of the fans… there were tears. I definitely did not cry though, not at all.
And what about the mainstreamers? By season six, you could pretty much forget about coming into this show as a novice. But that’s exactly what the Yahoo execs, the show creators, and the ad team (that’s me) set out to do next: attract a broad audience, but preserve the Community goodness.
It was tough. I’m a fan, so that was my lens. There were all these concepts for the key art that were just way out there—An armageddon scene in front of the school. The cast as zombies (get it?!). Joel McHale as the triumphant resurrected, raising the rest of the cast from a tomb. But in the end, we balanced the message by centralizing it around the most important point: Community is Moving. That had to register immediately, especially since Yahoo is not a place that comes to mind when you think of watching TV. So that’s where the boxes come from. To give a nod to the fans, we hid dozens of references to the best jokes throughout the set. So all the humor and the recurring gags are coming with them as they come over to Yahoo. It was great, I’m not sure if anyone actually ever found them all. From there we made dozens of videos, ran ads in Vanity Fair and a bunch of other print, launched a massive digital campaign, a Youtube takeover, a cool Tumblr with an ID generator, and a bunch of other stuff to get new people to give the show a shot.
This focus was across the board. Yahoo, Sony, the show creators, the ad team. The campaign was exposed to more of mainstream America than possibly ever before, and it changed the way we approached the creative.
Does the new fan-emphasis show in the actual writing themes of season six? You tell me: A roof collapse caused by a million frisbees. An episode based in 80s VR. A dog gets a degree. A (stunning) Karate Kid reenactment by Ken Jeong. An entire episode deftly sold out to Honda. A giant plaster hand spells disaster. A(nother) paintball war in the school. Incestuous weddings. And a masterful, emotional conclusion to one of the strangest, warmest shows not on television.
Maybe that's a recipe for a more mainstream audience… maybe not. I have no idea. I don’t really care. In Jeff’s words, “how much can you improve Greendale before it stops being Greendale?”
To be honest, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care who you are, the entire season is worth watching just for the absurd buttons at the end (Portuguese Gremlins anyone?).
So go watch it, you’re not doing anything better tonight. It’s free and on Yahoo Screen, which you can find on most internet devices near you.
I mean… Alison Brie. Do I need a reason? They were all super nice. To be honest though, the one that surprised me was Danny Pudi, that guy is just so naturally hysterical. And chill, and normal, which you wouldn’t expect from Abed’s character at all.
Community is notorious for operating at the edge of disaster in terms of timing, schedule, etc, and Dan Harmon would probably be the first to admit that. It’s just the way he works I guess, you can’t schedule genius. The sort of nerve-wracking result of all this was anytime we needed to capture anything, we had like 3 minutes. We shot an entire 2:00 min cinema spot, like 9 pages of script, in just a couple of hours. Almost every shot was like 2 takes, maybe 3 if we were lucky, and we were grabbing 5, 10 minutes at a time with the cast between makeup sessions, and we never knew who was coming or what scene we were shooting next. We’d be scrambling to set up props, inventing locations out of thin air, pushing C-stands and grip carts out of the way. It turned out great though. We were lucky the cast was so talented, they’d look at this massive paragraph of script and have it down almost immediately.
Personally? I wish I had the power haha. Firefly! That’d be top of the list, and then maybe Ducktales.
There’s this random show I saw last week on Amazon Video called Sneaky Pete. Weird title, but pretty good, it’s about this conman that gets out of jail and basically steals his cellmates life and family. I think they’ve made like 1 episode. Everyone go watch it so they make more. Oh, and International House Hunters.
Such a big question. For me it’s not necessarily even just amazing artists or designers or filmmakers, but people that are designing their lives through their creative output. I see people doing stuff like Devinsupertramp, who shot some of my student work and now travels the world making the best videos on Youtube. Or Diana Zalucky, who was a rising star photographer while I was at Disney’s Yellow Shoes creative group and then just left to chase her own dream. That’s where it’s at. It’s a freelance economy now. There are a million more example and those are just two from my life. Seeing that helped me make the jump and go solo myself a few months ago, which is of course what brings me here among such talented people on WNW.
Too many to name, everyone here is so good. Jamin Duncan, Patrick Maravilla, Nicholas Felton, Croix Gagnon, January Vernon, Justin Gignac :).
“Try everything once.” (thanks mom!)
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” —Viktor Frankl
Just how grateful I am to the WNW team for building such a life-changing tool. It’s like a snowball down a hill now, no stopping the freelance economy from taking over the world. Keep up the awesome work.
Need some motivation? You're in luck. WNW Member #7446 Nicole Licht designed five days of inspirational quotes by five different women for AIGA's Quoted Series, and the results will undoubtedly get you moving.
As the collection shows, Nicole visually honors both her own artistic voice as well as the voices of each of these women. Nicole spoke to Free Range to discuss her creative process for this project: "I aimed to make each a tribute, but as these women make amazing things themselves, I chose to interpret the spirit of the quote rather than referencing the quoted woman too directly."
My former coworker and friend, Melissa Deckert (who is also a WNW member), created some truly beautiful designs for this series and then super kindly recommended me to the Eye on Design Blog editor.
Yes, it is always fun to see more personal work and I love the site’s design (by WNW Member Leta Sobierajski.)
When selected to participate, you are actually offered quotes to choose from. While looking over the list provided, I realized that I was equally interested in honoring the people whose quote I’d be illustrating. I wanted these to be personal.
Kate Bingaman-Burt (WNW Member!) is a powerhouse and one of the most authentic and warm designer/illustrators that I’ve ever met.
Thank everything for Miranda July’s weirdness (also the crowdsourced art project Learning to Love You More is still one of my favorite things ever).
I attended a Debbie Millman talk in an intimate setting (maybe 20 people in the room). She talked about her beginnings, failures, and shared her personal work. She made me cry. I had to run to a bathroom stall as soon as it ended. It was embarrassing.
I chose Kim Gordon because Kim Gordon, and the quote I found seemed like the perfect mantra to quell my own freelance fears.
Iris Apfel gives women something to look forward to. Her quote is a tricky one. I felt like I was choosing a side (in design) with it but really, to be honest, I do tend to like a 'lil something extra.
I aimed to make each a tribute, but as these women make amazing things themselves, I chose to interpret the spirit of the quote rather than referencing the quoted woman too directly. Well, except for Iris Apfel’s. For hers, I knew that I wanted to make something necklace-like. After all was done and live, I happened upon an image of Iris super decked out in turquoise jewelry and was elated that there was a little lucky match there.
My favorite quote is “Commit to the Crazy”. It speaks to my fine art background and to seeing an (any) idea through. My least favorite is “Avoid compulsively making things worse” because that shizz is hard.
I worked at Etsy starting in 2010 and was a founding member of the in-house design studio in 2011, and worked on the brand design team until this past June. When Etsy won the National Design Award for Corporate & Institutional Achievement in 2014, it was amazing to share in the collective pride beaming from everyone there at the time. It was super crazy and humbling to see a video featuring my work play at the awards ceremony. Whoa.
I’m wrapping up a commissioned paper-crafted stop motion for a design and animation studio now, and I’m about to start on a dioramic illustration for an exciting new ladiez newsletter (I can’t name names just yet). I’m really happy working on new challenges through commissioned and project-based pieces (hashing out directions with clients and then pouring a whole lot of focused energy into the project) and would love to get more of this kind of work.
Keetra Dean Dixon:Her conceptual art and design work is stunning and inspiring.
Jing Wei: Another former coworker. Jing’s is an amazing mix of grace and extreme talent. She is as lovely as her work is.
Let’s just throw in one guy here, Branden Collins (The Young Never Sleep) – I love the vibrance, full costumes and set designs, the mix of art and design.
From his beginnings as a music journalist for MTV to his days at Publicis & Hal Riney, where he built a portfolio on the fly, WNW Member #3715 Zach Hilder has always embodied the hustle necessary to build a career as a creative. Now, Zach has helped launch an agency from the ground up, fittingly titled Hustle. Their founding client? Beats by Dre.
Zach takes us through some of his biggest accomplishments, such as the #STRAIGHTOUTTA campaign, Call of Duty's "The Replacer" short films, and the "Fuck Photoshop" pencil. As Zach Hilder says, "HUSTLE is really more than a name. We move fast and we work hard. You have to if you want to move at the speed of culture."
I covered the Chicago music scene for MTV.com. It was the late 90's. The Pumpkins still had some heat. But Chicago wasn’t exactly a hotbed for music back then. I would get backstage and interview bands at local shows like The Double Door or the Elbo Room but also on the big tours when they came through like HORDE Fest and Lilith Fair. Strangely enough I got to be close with Barenaked Ladies – and it was right when their “Chickity-China-the Chinese-Chicken” song blew up. It’s too strange and embarrassing to make up… unfortunately. But that’s where I learned to write. While I loved it and was way into music, I always felt like I was reporting about people being creative instead of actually being creative myself.
My Mom knew someone who worked at Publicis & Hal Riney at the time. Every other agency told me I had to go to Miami Ad School to build a portfolio because I didn’t have anything but my MTV writing samples. But Riney took me in as a production intern. I managed to weasel my way onto a couple of briefs and started writing ads for them. Some of my work helped them win a pitch for a retirement home of all things. They hired me as a Jr. Copywriter in the fall – without a book. It’s crazy to think about now but I spent the first 5 years of my career building my portfolio, taught myself Photoshop, and would stay late creating fake ads as if I had went to ad school.
HUSTLE is an offshoot of R/GA with Beats by Dre as its founding client. And what an incredible founding client to have. We now have HUSTLE shops in both London and Shanghai in addition to our LA office. This city is going through quite a renaissance these days. It feels like LA is where entertainment meets tech meets everyone who’s sick of New York. That combination makes for some really interesting opportunities.
Honestly it was really hard. It’s kind of like naming a band. No one can agree. All the good names are taken. And your chance of picking something you regret is pretty high.
So what it came down to is we wanted to pick a name that we could live up to everyday and that for us was HUSTLE. It captured for us both our spirit and our desire. HUSTLE really is more than a name. We move fast and we work hard. You have to if you want to “move at the speed of culture.” We shot, edited and finished a two-minute Marcus Mariota Beats film in 5 days to have it on air for the NFL Draft. That takes teamwork and a lot of honest conversations with ourselves and our client. Yeah it takes dedication, but it’s very rewarding when the plan comes together. We had four of the first five players in the NFL Draft take their phone calls from their new teams live on ESPN in a pair of Beats headphones. The same first round that was sponsored by Bose. That’s the kind of work that defines HUSTLE.
We haven’t had the luxury of time. We’ve grown by 40 people in the last year. So for us, the biggest challenge is creating culture. That’s not something you can fake or manufacture. It has to be true and your team from top to bottom needs to believe it. For us, it starts with honesty. My partner Will Esparza and I try to be as transparent as possible with our guys. We also want everyone to have a point of view, creative or not. We also have a saying, “entrepreneurs, not employees.” For us, this speaks to always looking for an opportunity, not just doing what’s expected. We want people to come to HUSTLE to do the work of their lives. And that’s a shared responsibility.
Hear What You Want has always been a reflection on what’s really happening in culture. We do a lot of research. We become experts on these athletes. We talk to these athletes, their agents and their families on the phone, in their hotels and in some cases go to their homes to get their stories. We want to know what really drives them? What keeps them up at night? We want to tell a personal story only Beats can tell. So for Hear What You Want, it has to be true. The athlete needs to be surrounded by noise, which could be from a big moment like Richard Sherman in a playoff game or it can be brought on by their personality like Draymond Green. But it has to be true and we work really hard to make sure it is. That means not every athlete can get a Hear What You Want film.
WU-TANG, again and again. Ricky Rozay aka The Teflon Don aka The Fresh David Koresh. Also been way into the new A$AP album.
No one knew. I know I didn’t. I think that’s because I had such a personal connection to the album. I would listen to Straight Outta Compton on repeat in my parents’ basement in Glenview, Illinois when I was 13 years old. I knew all the words to every song and I didn’t know why at the time, but I really connected with the album. Now I realize – after seeing the response to the campaign – that a lot of people connected to the album like I did. It was so raw and so true, that it didn’t matter if you had ever been to or even knew what Compton was. It was an emotion these guys put into a song to be proud of your hometown. And everybody could get behind that.
It was pretty awesome to watch what they did with the meme. They took the meaning and twisted it completely. It went from being from somewhere to being out of something. All of the sudden, all of these culture jabbing memes popped up from 50 Cent being “Straight Outta Money,” to Cosby being “Straight Outta Quaaludes” to Kobe being “Straight Outta Teammates.” Then the White House dropped the now infamous “Straight Outta Uranium” meme on Iran. Damn Obama, that’s cold…
I don’t think I have a proudest moment. I think the whole thing has made me proud and it continues to. I’ve given so much of my life to advertising, but it’s given me back so much. I’ve made so many friends, met my wife and traveled the world because of advertising. Yeah there are tough days but at the end of the day, this is a pretty rad job.
When we started working on the assignment, LeBron was still in Miami. We had different creative in place and we’re working his people to find a place to shoot him – Florida, Brazil and even China. Then suddenly he announced he was returning to the Cavs so we immediately rewrote the film to tell his coming home story. We shifted the entire production and two days later we were on the ground with LeBron in Akron shooting him in his high school. It was a project that LeBron was so involved in, he told us things that he had never talked about publically, like watching his childhood home being demolished in front of him when he was 2 years old. While we were editing we would fly back to Akron to meet with his Mom to hear more of these really emotional stories. We even shot his flashback scenes in the actual apartment he grew up in Spring Hill as a teenager. But yeah, I’m a Bulls fan.
The “Fuck Photoshop” money has petered out a bit. I sold probably 3000 of them across the world, which is insane when you think about it. Who knew that many people hated photoshop? Or used pencils?
The guys at 72 have killed it on that franchise. I was lucky enough to work on it for a bit on “The Replacer” films. Easily the highlight for me and pretty much my lifetime was playing JB Smoove at ping pong. We were recording pick-up lines and JB said he had game. I do own my own ping pong paddle so I wanted to see what kinda game he had. He was good for not playing in a long time. Eventually the recording studio shut us down because JB was shouting too much and I was probably sweating too much.
I probably would’ve told myself to be taller.
It’s weird. I don’t think I ever wanted to be anything, which maybe makes me perfect for advertising? I always said if advertising didn’t work out that I’d want to be a cable guy. There’s something very freeing about riding around all day in a van, wearing a jumpsuit, hearing what I want.
Dismaland has been all anyone can talk about lately. We reached out to #78 Jason Headley, #1729 Brock Davis, and #3904 Kirsten Lepore, all WNW members whose original and provocative creations are now attractions at the dystopian amusement park. We learned their side of the story, from how they were contacted, to the importance of Dismaland, and the fact that they never met the bemusement park's elusive creator Banksy. And if they did, would they even know?
Kirsten Lepore's inclusion in Dismaland came as somewhat of a surprise to her: "I basically just got an email from Christopher Jobson at Colossal asking if he could screen my film "Bottle" at an art event and that the details were confidential at the moment. I said sure, and then a few weeks later it turns out it was Dismaland. That's all, haha. Pretty anticlimactic."
"Bottle" by Kirsten Lepore
Jason Headley almost didn't participate in Dismaland; he initially turned down the offer, "Christopher Jobson reached out to me from Colossal. Told me he was putting together some films for an outdoor film festival event and wanted to screen "F*ck That." I was deep in the throes of rewriting a script for the second round of consideration for the Sundance Labs. I had to submit it in a few short days, so I told him no thank you.
He emailed back and said, 'I think you're going to want to be in this.' I ignored that email. He emailed again. I finally relented. A week later, he told me what it was. The day before Dismaland opened. So I'll be offering a seminar soon: 'Succeeding Through Near-Failure: The Jason Headley Story.'"
"F*CK THAT: a guided mediation" by Jason Headley
Brock Davis was slightly more involved in the process, since he was contacted to create original pieces for Dismaland, as well as bring in some of his finished pieces. Apparently those pieces had a secret admirer: "It came out of the blue, I received an email from Pest Control in February who forwarded a message to me from Banksy, saying that he liked my work and wondered if I would be interested in taking part in a group exhibition he is curating.
"He said the theme of the exhibition is Abandoned Amusement Park, largely because the event will take place in an abandoned amusement park. Because he is curating the work, I sent him about 40 ideas and we narrowed it down to about 30. Two installations, two sculptures, current non-theme related photographs, new photographs and a photograph series. For the final event, I ended up exhibiting 18 pieces. My work is in the main gallery, along the wall next to a large Damien Hirst sculpture... I had a great time flying to the UK, installing the work, meeting the other artists, attending the opening and after parties. And I love the quirky, seaside town of Weston-Super-Mare. "
They also talked about what they feel is the power of Dismaland, and what they hope it does for both the artistic community and the public at large. Jason, while not planning to fly over to the UK to take the tour of Dismaland, thinks it's a pretty powerful display of art. "I would love to walk through the space and see everything in person. The photos are intense. I love the refugee boats. And the Cinderella paparazzi piece. (Although, this may be the place to start my movement to stop using that word. They're not 'paparazzi.' They're 'photo thugs.') I'm either not intelligent enough or aspirational enough to have any grand thoughts and aspirations for what Dismaland might accomplish. I'm just happy it exists."
Brock adds, "The messaging and tonality is very consistent with the social commentary prevalent in Banksy’s work, it’s just on a larger scale. I really love the originality of combining a contemporary art exhibition with the energy of an amusement park. It’s a very interesting way to view the work and I think very memorable."
Brock was also quite impressed with Banksy's Cinderella installation: "There is some phenomenal work in the show, covering a wide range of artists and mediums, yet the works are all very cohesive to the theme. My favorited piece is Banksy’s Cinderella installation. It’s a large sculpture of Cinderella’s coach, having wrecked with her body laying over the wreckage. Paparazzi flash bulbs are firing around the scene. Viewers become part of the scene as soon as they start taking their own photos with their phones. This with the chatter of the audience adds realistic elements to the work. It’s a very strong piece."
Banksy's Cinderella Installation
We had to ask if any of them met Banksy. Jason summed it up best: "I don't know if I met Banksy. For all I know, you're Banksy."
UK Members: Tickets for a Dismaland tour from September 8th-15th will go on sale at 10am on Wednesday September 2nd.
These are images that I had shot over the last 2-5 years that Banksy hand-picked for inclusion in the exhibit.
A photographic series in which I drove a 170lb turnstile all over the place photographing it in front of various landscapes. The actual turnstile is at the event as well, positioned close to the images that show where it has been. Banksy picked 10 of my original 15 images and then narrowed it down to his 6 favorites.
WNW Member #6216 Jackie Linton is the publisher of the blossoming magazine Bad Day, a biannual arts and culture magazine that focuses on direct dialogues with the international creative community. Bad Day showcases some of the intimate commonalities we all share in our routines, perspectives and working practices. We spoke to Jackie about the origins of Bad Day and how it grew from Toronto-based side project to covering the global creative scene. With a recent feature on Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth fame), Jackie couldn't be happier: "I'm proud any time I see the magazine on a newsstand. Even more so is when it's a surprise—like an unexpected bodega downtown, or when someone texts me that they saw it at an airport in Sweden. It's at the point now where the magazine has taken on a life of its own, and that’s the most satisfying for me."
Bad Day was founded in Toronto, and began as a fun side project to try to speak to the global cultural community while building a conversation around Canadian artists, musicians and creatives. Ultimately, I think it was a fun opportunity to work with friends to catalog our tastes, and produce something really distinctive that we love.
I think the idea of being “creative” goes in a many different directions—and that’s good for a magazine. For us, seeing the ties that bind across a variety of disciplines can be exciting, whether it’s an 80 year-old Italian furniture designer, a mid-career filmmaker in California, or an upcoming fine artist working in Bushwick. For me, working in advertising during the day, I look to different aspects of commerce and culture to help what I do, and I think that’s the same for independent artists, musicians and writers. As I think these categories are becoming increasingly fluid.
The cheesy answer is that I'm proud any time I see the magazine on a newsstand. Even more so is when it's a surprise—like an unexpected bodega downtown, or when someone texts me that they saw it at an airport in Sweden. It's at the point now where the magazine has taken on a life of its own, and that’s the most satisfying for me.
Thank you! I think it was a dream come true for us. Kim Gordon was always someone on our ultimate “wish list" for as long as we’ve been making the magazine—and I think the timing couldn't be better. She has really “re-emerged” this year.
It was an awesome experience to work with Levi’s Made & Crafted. We teamed up to make a custom “Bad Day” look book for them to promote their collection for Autumn / Winter 2015. They wanted a loose “punk” theme to coincide with their inspiration for the season, which was fun to play around with. Personally, with the agency work I’ve done, it was cool for us to produce our first print ad campaign, which is an extension of one of the fashion stories in the issue.
Great question. We’ve been so focused on fulfilling our goals with the print magazine. And we’ve really deliberately kept our digital presence to a minimum over the years, just so we can make sure we’re giving the print project the most of our attention. I think if we evolved, we would approach more digitally-based projects from a different point of view—as opposed to just producing written content online. I think video is an area I can see us doing more.
As far as print magazines, I am excited about the latest issues of WAX, as well as the debut issue of Talk Magazine. I’m reading novels by James Salter for the rest of the summer. I just stream whatever is popular on Soundcloud. Some visual artists I’m interested in right now, or actually, most of the time, include: Sara Cwynar, Yto Barrada, Leanne Shapton, Laura Owens, and Linus Bill.
My favorite venues in New York City for art and print culture include Printed Matter, Picture Room, and Karma. As far as theaters, probably The Kitchen.
Be persistent, and as polite as possible. I can be quite shy, and really, the best thing to do as a creative is to curb that tendency as much as possible.
I always love the art direction of Elizabeth Dilk and Ashley Jones. I'm blown away by the scope of projects that Mary Dauterman has done. I recently worked with Steve Caputo, whose work I really admire.
Thank you for having me!
Imagine stepping into a taxi and being transported to another world. WNW Member #5027 Sanket Alvani has done just that. He created an initiative that gives designers a platform to tell the stories of their cities through the unusual medium of... taxis. Because the perception of design as a profession is rather marginalized in India, Sanket was eager to demonstrate the impact it can have. A former engineering student, Sanket took the courageous step to pursue a path undefined, and finding his way as a designer in Mumbai opened his eyes to the opportunity to elevate it.
What started as a simple blog is now a full-fledged platform for designers in Mumbai to showcase their work on a taxi seat cover. Although a lot of attention is given to each taxi by its driver, to make it stand out from competitors, very little thought is given to the fabric used on the seats. The designs that cover the taxi seats are often dull and forgettable.
Sanket told us, “We put two and two together and started connecting designers with taxi drivers - turning seat covers into canvasses for young Indian designers to show off their design talent and storytelling skills. Each taxi is fitted with an identity label which tells anyone who rides in the taxi the designer behind the Taxi Fabric, the story of the design, and also how to get in contact with them for collaborations or commissions." The project was featured as a Kickstarter Staff Pick and exceeded Sanket’s fundraising goal. Excited to see how it grows and where Sanket takes it next!
What's your background?
I studied engineering and happened to learn design on my own. Software and computers were new and almost like a trend at the time so I began to teach myself. While studying engineering, I started freelancing as a designer. Post engineering school, I went to a communications college and switched to advertising. I spent about four years in Mumbai as an Art Director and am now at Wieden + Kennedy in a more design/art direction role.
What did your parents think when you didn’t pursue engineering?
No one has ever asked me that! [Laughs.] They didn’t really understand... not sure if they do now.
It's very Indian to have a safe profession. I’m not sure I was fully aware of what I was doing then, to be honest. They always backed me up in what I wanted to do, and that is the only reason they were okay. They thought I would probably learn from my own mistakes.
I’m still deeply interested in technology, it’s just not what I thought engineering would be. It was a lot to do with information technology. I don’t think I was really interested in the theoretical. Art was always my hobby. It was more of a mistake to take engineering but better late than never.
How did you get the idea for The Taxi Fabric Project?
I started a blog taking pictures of the covers. It was a basic instinct as a designer and then started to evolve and develop over time.
What is most meaningful to you about this project?
The conversations I had early on with these taxi drivers. I realized that nobody is actually having a conversation with them about the seat covers that are being supplied to them. It meant that they weren’t really made for them, it was just passed on. When I engaged the drivers, they suggested what they would like. It was so simple and so ripe for designers to have that conversation. The full dialogue that has now started to happen with the designers and the cab drivers has been really interesting for us. I keep talking to the drivers and find the way they give feedback really interesting.
How is their feedback versus say, a client's?
Way happier! The feedback is plain, it’s simple. It’s just how they feel about it and that’s it. They don’t get into the details. It’s just how they feel.
What's been the most challenging thing about this project?
The durability and functionality of the fabric; keeping it clean, mending it. We have a six month expiration date for the fabrics though we're working to improve that. All of us are working on this as a side project but our producer gives a lot of her time since she’s the one actually in Mumbai.
Any favorite designs?
The beauty is that they are all different and that each designer brings something new and fresh. No favorite but we tend to be surprised every time we collaborate. You don’t expect designs to speak to you in that sort of environment but they do.
What advice can you can give to other members considering crowdfunding?
It’s really hard. The idea that you can simply put it on Kickstarter and it will get funded is absolutely destroyed in my head. That’s really not how it works. You have to push it outside of Kickstarter. When and if people start talking about it, that’s how you get it. One thing I want to mention is about the guidelines from Kickstarter: they give a lot of guidance on how to maintain a clean campaign. If you follow it, it helps a lot. Instead of listening to just anyone’s experience, listen to Kickstarter.
What's next for you?
A lot of people have asked where else I’m bringing this. I have that in my mind - I think it could work anywhere! Though the purpose of doing it in Mumbai would be different, I think it could work in London or New York.
WNW Member #2782 Shane Griffin teamed up with Pharrell Williams and Penguin and Putnam to create the striking neon cover for Pharrell's upcoming book "Happy". The book, which hits shelves October 6th, brings the beloved song to the youngest of readers across cultures, celebrating what it means to be happy. Shane opens up about the process of designing the cover of "Happy", and Pharrell's main request: "He wanted the image to evoke a ‘feeling’, he wanted it to feel happy, rather than to be a big obvious smiley face." We also aimed to find out what happiness means to Shane, and if "Happy" plays on repeat in his happy place. Happy Wednesday!
Pharrell is an inspirational dude, for sure, I mean the guy has been one of the most influential figures in pop culture for years. I was close to working with him on an Adidas project last year which unfortunately fell through, so it was great to get a second chance to work with him on this. Safe to say I’m a fan. I didn’t bump "Happy" when I was making this, though. Sorry, Pharrell.
He was involved, but he’s a very busy guy, so not overly. His only main comment on the look of this was he wanted the image to evoke a ‘feeling’, he wanted it to feel happy, rather than to be a big obvious smiley face. I had a pretty clear idea from the guys at Penguin as to where they wanted to bring it; they wanted a lowercase childish font, but created in a modern bright space. They also were set on yellow as the key color.
Like every project, my first direction was probably miles away from the final piece. Creating a yellow neon on a white wall is no easy task, especially in print form. Nothing glows more than white, so you always fight with the background being a lighter tone than the neon. I went through probably 20 iterations of the cover, different wall textures, different floors, many many different neon looks.
The biggest challenge was making the type legible when it’s tiny. It’s nearly impossible. Neons are tricky when they’re small, there’s a lot of detail and light spill crammed into a small space, it can get very busy. Balancing the colors is tricky also, so I had to test it on several screens / color spaces / print formats. We even experimented with fluorescent inks. What looks good on screen doesn’t always look good on paper!
Just to see people making the most of their life, fulfilling it with whatever they’re passionate about.
On the beach with the dog.
The Sneakerball Sculpture for Nike was fun, I’m proud of that for a few reasons. Firstly, it was actually a very tight turn around, so I’m proud of what Nike and I accomplished in that short space of time regarding the modeling and design of the sculpture. Everybody went above and beyond to make it happen. Secondly, the social interaction was cool. I was watching the Instagram feed for the event, and it was a great feeling to see people enjoying the sculpture and taking photos with it. The final piece really felt one of a kind.
I’m really enjoying that new Tame Impala record Currents at the moment.
I’m Drake's ghostwriter.
You can't say we didn't warn you.
WNW Members #2763 Erica Gorochow and #6818 Charlie Whitney are the colorful minds behind Specimen, a just-released app that tests color perception and is crazy addictive. If you like Dots, you'll love Specimen: "To play, simply tap the specimen that matches the background color. As you advance, earn patterned boosters and chroma coins to combat an ever faster clock."
We spoke to Erica and Charlie about how they got the idea for the game (they sit across from each other at work), the impact that incubator NEW INC has had, and why they hate color blind people. Easy to learn but tough to master, download the (free!) game and see if you can beat our score of 1312, knocking us off the global leaderboard. Not that we're counting or anything...
Erica: Ha! If you’re color blind Specimen might not be your new favorite game, but it doesn’t preclude you from playing. Color-blindness itself isn’t a totally binary thing, there is a whole spectrum of color vision. We really want to find a Tetrachromat to play. Anecdotally, we’ve found that people definitely improve. I think the game is as much about focus as it is about perception. That said, we want to make color-blindness a mechanic. Having a color-blind mode doesn’t make sense but we’re asking: is there a way color blindness might be an advantage? Or can we do something that might engender color blindness empathy? Stick with us for the 2.0.
Erica: The team is made up of Erica, Charlie and Sal Randazzo who is the lead iOS developer at Paperless Post. The music and sound effects were by Upright T-Rex. Sal and I have released other side-project apps before Specimen. We met several years ago while while working on a music video for Rihanna. Sal actually started his career in VFX doing flame. In early 2013 he mentioned that he was interested in making a game to learn new aspects of programming. As an animator, I knew my skills would be an asset.
Charlie: Erica and I have been friends for a little while and actually sit across a desk from each other. I came in shortly after she and Sal started working on this new project. While Erica and Sal were crunching on core game mechanics, I began explorations for how the specimens themselves could look and feel. It was a collaborative process where I would iterate with Erica, but then had to make sure I was working inside of a system that could integrate with Sal's existing code.
Erica: Charlie and I are full time members. NEW INC was a consistent hub for a side project that had an inconsistent schedule. The incubator helped us to connect with people who gave us advice, which in turn shaped the game. The supportive community was kind enough to put up with our constant play testing. And as we launch it was great to strike up partnerships with others in the space like Print All Over Me. Check out these rad leggings!
Erica: Specimen is a bootstrapped side project. It took a lot of patience and faith that everyone involved would follow-through. Also, making a game is so tough. Trying to pin down what makes something “fun” is a lot harder than it might sound.
Charlie: I’m used to working heads down on a project for a month or so and then launching it. Keeping enthusiasm and attention to detail at a high level over the course of a year is tough. Having friends to hold you accountable is a must for me.
Erica: The game originally had a bigger quantified-self angle to it. We found we had to choose between making a diagnostic and making a game. That said, we want to bring back features that more explicitly reveal how you see color.
Erica: I’ve gotten to Zeta, but I don’t think I’ve beaten the most recent version of the game. I’ve played so much that I suspect my brain is somehow different. (I’m hoping for the better).
Charlie: I think I beat Delta once, but we might have made it harder since then. I am very bad.
Erica: Prototype until people won’t give you back your phone after you ask them to play.
Charlie: It will literally take at least 5 times longer than you think it will.
Erica: It’s nice to think longer term for once. We want to see how the 1.0 goes and evolve it from there. I definitely need a breather but I’m still excited about Specimen.
Erica: Dots, Two Dots, Finger Battle, Plug & Play, Ready Steady Bang, Metamorphabet, Loopimal, Edge, Threes. The Reuters TV app is stunning in how it incorporates motion graphics. I wake up and go to sleep to NYT Now.
Charlie: I don’t use too many apps, but I would like to know what happened to “Bump.” Remember that one? I used to be pretty obsessed with Flappy Bird and Ridiculous Fishing.
Erica: I love almost-neon red. Color combos with two desaturated colors and one hot highlight color always does wonders.
Charlie: Green, somewhere right around #75a834
WNW Member #78 Jason Headley is the soothing voice and hilarious mind behind the viral video "F*ck That: A Guided Meditation", which at the time of this post is just shy of 2 million views in 4 days. Jason is no amateur when it comes to viral videos. A couple years ago, his short "It's Not About the Nail" exploded on the internet and is now well over 10 million views. WNW interviews the copywriter, novelist, and screenwriter on the inspiration behind "F*ck That" and his plans for the future. Jason tells us, "I’m going to make a movie. If anyone reading this has about $500K they want to turn into a feature film, I can do that for them... Also, if anyone reading this has a pile of money they want to turn into a commercial, I can do that for them, too."
I don’t. My wife was taking a meditation course and I did a couple of guided meditations with her. There was something simultaneously relaxing and hilarious about it to me.
That is my voice. I don’t know that it’s that soothing day-to-day. I do voiceovers for commercials, so I have a tiny bit of range. I just geared it way down and rode the wave of relaxation.
There was a phrase that the guy kept using in my wife’s guided meditation, “Just acknowledge…” in this really smooth, relaxing tone. Like, “If you feel too hot or too cold, just acknowledge that.” One day we were driving somewhere, I think maybe my wife was angry about something or someone, and I said, “Just acknowledge that all that shit is fucking bullshit.” And it made us both really laugh. So I came home and wrote the script.
I just put it on Facebook and Twitter. It took off all on its own. It had over 100K views the first day, over 1M by the next. It seems to make people really happy. I’ve been getting some interesting offers. We’ll see if any of them are real. I went through this once with “It’s Not About the Nail.” The crazies manage to sort themselves out.
The views are the best, just imagining that so many people are enjoying something I made. I never make things because I think they’re going to be popular. I just make things I would want to discover in the world. So sometimes I make things no one watches. Then something like this happens.
That said, Twitter makes the world fun. When Judge Reinhold retweets you, it feels like that just has to be significant, right? When Wes Craven and Michael Eisner tweeted me I sort of didn’t know what to do. Or when Seth Meyers followed me on Twitter. I mean, what am I supposed to do with that information? It’s odd in the best way.
In the right circumstances, I can swear with the best of them. But I usually don’t like swearing as a substitute for a joke. It’s not as bad as people who, in lieu of being funny, are just loud. Most of the stuff I’ve made is very PG-13. So I did question whether this thing was actually funny since it only works because of the swearing. But I gave it some thought and felt okay about it.
None. I have no advice for such a thing. I just make things I like. It’s so much more satisfying. Then, whether other people like it or not, I’m happy. I imagine it would be terrifying to make something you don’t like, that suddenly takes off like a rocket. I would just feel unmoored. “Why do they like it? I don’t even like it.”
I work with a great team of people who are game to have some fun. You’ll see a lot of the same names in the credits of the films. Just an incredible group at every step of the process. I only started making shorts because I had written a few feature film scripts, so I wanted to practice, to get better. Right now I’m talking to financiers and producers about a small sub-$1M feature I’m going to make.
As for how I get paid, I still work in advertising. I freelance for agencies. I do work directly for clients through my company, Team Headley. I’m signed as a commercial director with Slim Pictures. And I do voiceover work through JE Talent.
I feel the same amount of pressure to be funny as I do to have green eyes.
It was a wonderful place to grow up, made me who I am.
It’s basically David Letterman, George Carlin, my dad, and then an enormous, incalculable pile of other people.
I’m going to make a movie. If anyone reading this has about $500K they want to turn into a feature film, I can do that for them.
Also, if anyone reading this has a pile of money they want to turn into a commercial, I can do that for them, too.
