Here at Dream & Do, we like to beat ourselves at our own game. Constantly striving to be more creative and innovative, becoming leaders in creative thinking.
On Wednesdays, the Dream Team meet in the mornings for Creative Show & Tell. We drink coffee and chat and each share one piece of inspiration that we’ve found, whether it’s a business card, website, packaging, video… it’s limitless. The most important question we like to ask is: Why is this so inspiring? We like to get to the nitty gritty, pick it apart and figure out just what makes it cool.
Introducing the first in this new blog post series: Dream & Do’s Creative Show & Tell, Wednesdays. We want to share with you all of the amazing things we find, and a little bit about why they’re so awesome.
Enjoy…
Inspo #1 // 'Birds of a Feather’ paper stock sample kit
Yesterday my account manager, Nicolle, from Spicers paper came in to show me some new paper stocks they’ve released. I always love these meetings as I usually walk away with beautiful samples that inspire the imagination for future projects. I was given this ‘Birds of a Feather’ piece to show off their Pacesetter range and it was so gorgeous that my eyes lit up and I couldn't wait to share it with the Dream Team at our Creative Show & Tell.
So besides the obvious of it being completely beautiful with the surreal collages and foiled finishes designers can only dream of, what is it that makes this piece so unique. And what can we learn?
First, it’s tactile and interactive. In the saturated digital world that we live in, print has become a new way to connect with people. A beautiful website can be bookmarked and, at best, shared - only to be lost among all the other digital clutter that holds our attention for five seconds. Printing something beautiful is now an opportunity to stand out. If you’re going to spend the time and the money on getting something printed, then it better be worth it. Make it useful or so beautiful that it becomes a precious object to keep forever. This printed piece does both. It’s wrapped in a poster that will go up on the studio wall. It will inspire us to create something just as beautiful and, hey, guess what? It’s even been shared online, so it’s a win-win all round. Oh, and don't worry, Spicers, next job is printed on Pacesetter!
http://erd.com.au/#!/our-portfolio/feature/spicers-pacesetter-feature
Tara, Founder/Creative Director
Inspo #2 // 'Thank you' info-graphic
The thankyou. year-in-review website takes the viewer through the company's achievements over the last financial year, FY13 to FY14. This was on the back of them launching an amazing social media campaign through Facebook to see their branded water stocked at Woolworths and Coles. What stands out to us, the Dream Team, is the engagement with the user, prompting us to interact with the website where the only move through the site is forward. This lack of choice might seem amateur but it’s actually refreshing and something we would love to see more. As you move through the pages, the graphics move and change and the page transitions evolve logically as well. These small elements of surprise, paired with the clean graphics and great colours, made this website enjoyable to use and took us all on the thankyou. journey. This proves you can and should share your success humbly.
https://thankyou.co/our-biggest-year-yet/
Renata, Graphic Designer/Photographer
Inspo #3 // The Couch
Having just returned from a whirlwind trip overseas, I was a tad unprepared for today’s Creative Show & Tell. But never fear; inspiration is everywhere. I remember picking up a postcard at a yoga studio in Peckham Rye, London, with a hand-drawn picture of a couch and the words THE COUCH. It caught my eye from the simplicity – white and grey – and the fact that the couch looked like the infamous couch at Central Perk in Friends. Big fan, right here. At the time, I turned the postcard over and realised it was a business card for a psychology practice. My friend (who’s having a rough time) said: ‘Maybe I should go there, you know, and talk about my feelings.’ She would never usually consider the idea! This morning at Creative Show & Tell, I googled ‘The Couch London’ and found their website. It’s rare to see sketching online, but it works really well in capturing attention. The drawing and name – The Couch – are so simple and unique that it makes something like psychology and therapy more accessible for anyone, when it’s often seen as scary, professional and even embarrassing for some people. The colours, lines and white spaces on the page are comfortable and calming; just the way you’d want to feel when you’re spilling your guts to a perfect stranger. In short, the concept and branding is making psychotherapy COOL.
Amy, Copywriter
Inspo #4 // Information is beautiful
From London-based author-turned-designer, David McCandless, comes Information is Beautiful. Data journalists and information designers (as they call themselves), Information is Beautiful produces infographics and data visualisations to inspire, delight and, most importantly, inform.
We're in a world now where we have so much information at our fingertips that we want everything now, but it can be slightly overwhelming, and our ever-decreasing attention span doesn't help matters. Information is Beautiful takes all this information and knowledge and comprises it in clever and simple design to deliver facts, data and ideas to the user in a way that’s beautiful and enjoyable, as well as useful.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/
Sarah, Creative Intern
Until next week, dreamers! x