We thought we would introduce today’s Creative Show & Tell by sharing this video sent in by our former creative intern, Sava. Gen Y cop a lot of slack for being lazy and entitled, but we are here to say EFF THAT. And so are these guys: they embarked on a ‘30 Things in 30 Days’ project from Montreal to spread the message of ‘Generation Y Not’ and inspire others to think outside the box, not be afraid of the unexpected and live life! What an awesome way to start a Wednesday…
INSPO #1 // The Adventure Handbook
A Facebook friend recently wrote a travel piece about New Zealand, for The Adventure Handbook. I clicked on it for the beautiful photo, and for the fact that NZ is on my bucket list (how embarrassing that it’s only a few hours away and I’ve never been!) and also, who doesn’t love a travel blog? After getting my stalk on, I clicked on the ABOUT section, as I’m often wont to do. And found this: “To feed the family we partner up with like-minded brands to produce creative solutions infused with the spirit of adventure and the art of storytelling.” Then there’s a link to The Adventure Handbook Agency. Intrigued, I followed the rabbit hole.
So basically, The Adventure Handbook obviously started as a travel blog/love project, and the guys found a way to monetise it by selling their mad skills. This just shows the importance of creating good, creative content, and using that to leverage your message and sell your skills. Rather than selling advertising on the blog or doing sponsored posts, they’ve utilised their creative community and expertise in digital and photography to start a creative agency. This is definitely something we need to think about at Dream & Do: a way to spread a message close to our hearts through solid creative content and, in turn, leading people to the agency so we can help them achieve the same goals. Another great example I came across recently is the guys behind Newcastle Mirage, a monthly street press zine they do off their own backs for the love of the city, who have now started a social media management business called Oasis. They built skills, a CV and a following through their love project, and now they’ve created their own jobs. How very Gen Y!
Amy, Copywriter
INSPO #2 // Be My Eyes app
Be My Eyes is a phone app that helps visually impaired people read. The app remotely helps a blind person through a live video connection. You can be either ‘sighted’ or ‘assisted’. Hans Jørgen Wiberg, who is visually impaired himself, came up with the idea for the application. It was launched 15 Jan 2015 and, at the moment, is reaching nearly 22,960 blind users, 296,984 people ‘sighted’ and 100,231 ‘helped’, and the figures are still climbing. It’s great to see the power of technology contributing to greater good, able to create a sense of community and how ideas should be well-thought-out to create impact. If great ideas like this can influence people to take action, then there needs to be more of it.
Rachel, Graphic Designer
INSPO #3 // I <3 Huckabees
I don't know if anyone's noticed, but I've been absent from the recent Creative Show & Tells due to illness. And what does everyone do when they’re really sick? Watch a lot of movies. As a result, 'I Heart Huckabees' is now one of my favourite films, and definitely my favourite of this year. So if you haven't watched it, please, please do! It's focused on the premise of Jason Schwartzman's character coming to see some 'existential detectives' after he experiences a series of coincidences. I immediately thought of all of us at Dream & Do. If we could turn to some existential detectives I know we would jump at the opportunity. Perhaps I'm sheltered in my movie-watching, but it was the first film I've seen that has explored such a broad topic such as existentialism in a quirky, fun and clever way that doesn't go over your head. I think this is something that can be applied to any business and brand - bringing a unique take on something to the public as creative content. And not being afraid to push the boundaries and really create something that will make people think; not be scared of hitting the harder issues in the name of change. At the end of the day, we just want people to feel inspired. I think that's the most important thing and a catalyst to change. People say design, art, and film can't change the world, but it most certainly can.
Renata, Graphic Designer & Photographer
INSPO #4 // Map of Days book
Yet again, rather than trawl the internet I ended up looking closer to home for inspiration for this week’s Creative Show & Tell. As close to home as it gets, really: right on my bookshelf. Map Of Days by Robert Hunter (under Nobrow Press) has been my favourite book for the past two years. Being a huge print design nerd, Map of Days is like being a chef and finding a truffle. It tells the story of the universe and nature in a surrealist style of a boy who enters his grandfather’s clock. A story that isn’t told for adults too often, that’s for sure. Map of Days completely redefined the way I thought comic books ‘had’ to be. Not knowing much about them at all, my only knowledge stemmed from stereotypes portrayed in movies, Marvel … and those little strips in the weekend newspapers that my grandfather loved. So to find a whole community of graphic novels that not only had a beautiful graphic experimental style, but also told interesting and intricate stories, was a treasure. That’s what I take away from the novel the most; to have an item to treasure that isn’t just another ‘thing’, but makes an impact on the way we view things, or changes our idea of them. Doing something different and unexpected in a saturated market is a risk, but when done right becomes a treasure in itself. That’s what I think we’re about at Dream & Do – taking risks!
Nadia, Creative Intern
INSPO #5 // In a Nutshell animated infographic about Syria
Over the past six months, I’ve been absolutely horrified by some of the statuses that have appeared on my news feed on Facebook. “Don’t let them in - They’ll steal our jobs”, “Don’t let the Muslims take over our country”, “Send them back to where they came from”. These are Facebook friends, people I actually know, talking about our brothers and sisters who are currently facing the most unimaginable, horrific situations in Syria and beyond, and need our help. But because they’re classed as “refugees” or “asylum seekers”, that apparently gives people the right to feel absolutely no compassion or sense of humanity towards them, and instead feel some sort of hatred. At a time when we should be pulling together and uniting, both as countries and as people, we’re instead turning against each other, and swapping our heart-shaped, rose-tinted lenses for a massive set of blinkers. (Or, putting our blinkers on and switching off our love buttons!)
My inspiration this week comes in the form of a six-minute video that everyone needs to watch. It has the potential to completely open our minds and potentially change the history that we’re writing right now. The video isn’t biased. It doesn’t use persuasive words to sway our opinions. Instead it just uses simple, honest facts to explain the Syrian crisis in layman’s terms. It has been produced by ‘Kurzgesagt’, German for “In a nutshell” - a team of designers who create animated infographic videos to explain complicated world issues and help educate people on science and commerce. Thank god for these guys. I hope they realise the positive impact they’re making upon our beautiful, yet fucked-up world. Kurzgesagt, you are my heroes of the week (and quite possibly of my lifetime) and I seriously hope you continue to grow and spread your positive message.
This weekend - Sunday 11 October - there's a "stand up for refugees" rally taking place at Town Hall, Sydney. A great opportunity to show our support and spread the love! Please join us! Here's some more info...
Jo, Creative Coordinator
The Dream Team xx