GEM OF A MIND
I took the above photo walking down the Mission as it reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend about the meaning of sneakers hanging on phone lines. Yes, there are plenty of explanations for this phenomenon, but what I took from this was the sheer resourcefulness of the man/woman behind the shoe to their environment. I appreciate this mystery person for creating opportunity in anyway possible. You have no excuse because we all have a GEM of a mind. Use it.
There are a ton of things in our lives that are totally out of our control: weather conditions, lost time, and lucky lottery winnings. Yet, it’s funny that we’re hopeful for good weather, more time, and free money - considering the likeliness of it all really happening. What's the issue here? Are we spending too much time wishfully thinking? Is it hard to exert energy for the things you want? Nothing should be a crutch to how much we are able to achieve. I mean, why wish for good weather, more time, and a whole bunch of money. Why not move to have good weather, make good use of time, and generate self-made income? In the end, isn’t it much more amazing knowing you put in the effort?
The key element is “WISHING.” The combination of too much WISH and AMBITION may be poisonous. I’ll have to admit, I’ve been a victim to this habit resulting in low productivity. Learn to pump your brakes when too much 'wish powder' has been applied to keep it at a manageable level.
WIN SMALL BATTLES
Lately I've had little tolerance for people that spend their time decorating my ear drums with cool projects and less time executing. I admit I am guilty of this from time to time. Being over ambitious sometimes can be crippling. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to think about downsizing your ambitions when a jarring or complicated project is at hand. We can all appreciate an itch or large doses of ambition but frankly large projects are easily tackled when broken down into manageable portions. Start small, scale daunting projects down to manageable goals, achieve little increments of success that inevitably feeds into the larger picture.
Plant seeds until you own an orchard.
THE PERSON WHO KNOWS THE MOST KNOWS THE LEAST, AND THE PERSON WHO KNOWS THE LEAST KNOWS THE MOST
It’s just that simple. As humans, it is in our nature to tap into our pool of knowledge as we try to familiarize ourselves with new experiences. I’ve never snow boarded, but I’ve skated. I won’t use Instagram cause I’m a professional photographer.
It is this type of thinking that prevents us from any kind of progression.
Yes, snowboarding and skating are within the board family, but offer totally different experiences. And while you’re a professional photographer what’s wrong with opening up to a new platform, if not to learn, a little exposure will only add growth to your brand.
We must remember that learning doesn’t end when school ends, it ends when we end. The person who knows everything, will not listen to anything. Therefore they know nothing.
The key is to shut the fuck up and soak with an open mind. You’ll either learn what not to do next time, or what you should have been doing your whole life.
I’d like to leave you with this quote:
“Listen carefully. Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.”
:)
legends are made, not born
I ran by this pretty epic NBA commercial and found it extremely relevant to all things passion related. It's nothing short of eye candy for hardcore ballers, a mash-up video throwing all NBA elites into one era, on the same court. Interesting watch, but maybe it holds a deeper meaning?
A very interesting concept became apparent while watching the many generations of superstars ball out; stardom is not permanent nor is it guaranteed. Stars rise and they fall; doors open and they close; designers come and they go. Every time a person dies a baby is born, a new opportunity awaits, and a legend is yet to be told. Too often our journey is clouded by doubt and derailed by the thought of impossibility, or the fear of not being chosen. We must remember that Jordan made the impossible possible, and that some of the greatest were not chosen so they chose themselves. They worked later, longer, harder, smarter, hungrier, etc.
In order to succeed we must remember to keep on pushing on. With every generation a few slots of opportunity open up for those who are ready to dream big! Are you ready to live your legend?
Steal Like An Artist
This little booklet by Austin Kleon highlights why ALL of our ideas are never original. Our ideas are essentially more like collections of things we've seen and love, translated. For those of you who do not have time to read this thin booklet. Here is a video he did for TEDtalks.
Discovery in Experimentation
Recently we were approached with a potentially lucrative project & business opportunity. Lets just say its something as demanding as cake sales on birthday anniversaries. Always guaranteed right? Our initial thought was to design everything in house and outsource what we aren't able to-- to an expert. Typical Creative Session thought process, right?
What started as a night of prototyping, spontaneously turned into a bunch of grown ass men geeking out over materials. Instead of properly prototyping what we needed, we designed products that the materials could potentially become. Wallets, Key Chains, Sweaters, Aprons, Hats ect. Spontaneity is what drives Creative Session and we love it. You're never restricted by deadlines or boundaries, and are able to design freely. (Best mindset to be creative in.)
The best part of the night was that we generated many more ideas than we had anticipated just by taking the initiative in prototyping one single idea; therein lies the beauty of discovering new ideas through experimenting.
The Shoemaker
I love the way this video is shot, I've been a student of film for the last few years. There is this beauty in capturing everything in motion but the best part is editing the footage capture. I find it so therapeutic sitting in front of a computer screen chopping and cutting videos together.
My friend use to come call me to go to the beach, my father would say "go on he's gotta work....."
The Shoemaker from Dustin Cohen on Vimeo.
Ingo Schuppler : Schwarzes Gold
Page from my Sketchbook
A bit of conceptual doodling and logo exploration.
Pen & Paper Yue Wu
We're suckers for good drawing skills and he's talented.
Motivation from Daniel Eden
As I was catching up on some shared links between the team, my brother Anh shared this guys blog to me. I fully agree with what Daniel is saying here and I personally practice these tactics daily in my work. Daniel couldn't have written it more better. This is great for all you newly grads and designers looking to enter the industry: Taken from Daniel Edgen's blog:
Let me begin by telling you the single most important thing you can do for yourself — recognise your fucking self worth. If you can’t value your own work, then who the hell will? Tell me you’d hire the “talented but modest” guy over the “talented and knows he’ll do a damn good job” guy....... (read more on his blog)
lead from within
"TO SHARE YOUR WEAKNESS IS TO MAKE YOURSELF VULNERABLE; TO MAKE YOURSELF VULNERABLE IS TO SHOW YOUR STRENGTH"
THNX DIANA! ;)
Jeff Staple Confessional The Red Bulletin
Inspired by the Red Bull Music academy talk, these guys started this chapter of a sit down chatting session with creatives. Dubbed "The Confessional"
Camo Mary Poppin's
While shooting for Jasper and Peg this weekend. I thought how fun would it be to try "Levetation Photography" My photo isn't quite succesful but check out these awesome ones. These shots are so elegant, these subjects look so feather weight.
Good Listening : Algaric
Definitely good work music.
Thoughts in the New, Year
This article about the Dalai Lama when asked"What suprisied him most about humanity" is old. Yes, but it totally relevant. I stumbled upon it again on Instagram through a friend and it struck a nerve somewhere in the work ethic aisle. It is true we are stuck in a society were we work so hard, being busy, being overwhelmed, having your plates full or flooded is seen as such a positive connotation. This posting is somewhat a reconsideration.... This year I want to find balance. I want to work smarter not harder. Be selective where and whom i deposit my energy and efforts to. Will it be work, family , love or life?
Bentley
Meet Bentley, he's a friendly, soft spoken, adorable young pup. He is surprisingly well behaved at 4 months old and listens to orders well. Bentley is the latest addition to the CS fam.
Good Listening: BIG K.R.I.T "Children of the World"
Mama, we sorta made it!
After a few long weeks of waiting and voting... results are in! From 365 designs we made top 40! From 40 we short listed to 5! Thanks again for all the love and support from the community, HONESTLY we would not have made it without you!
