June 2012
3 posts
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“Digital is the means, not the end. Technology sometimes obscures this ultimate...”
– Respect human nature, The fifth law of ‘Velocity,’ as outlined in Ajaz Ahmed & Stefan Olander’s book.
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May 2012
17 posts
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“Big ideas are courageous, ambitious, revolutionary, and rare. But the ‘big idea’...”
– Ajaz Ahmed, Founder, AKQA shares his views on the big idea vs. many small ideas debate.
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“It’s never been easier to skip, filter or avoid advertising so the best ideas...”
– Ajaz Ahmed, Founder, AKQA
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For a world gone digital →
Velocity is a book co-authored by AKQA founder Ajaz Ahmed and his client, Stefan Olander, VP of Digital Sport at Nike.
Big names backed by awesome work in the digital space.
Click above and you get to the companion site for the book, which, lives up to AKQA standards.
In other words, its just brilliant. Especially love the “further reading for the law” recommendations.
I...
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“Break things and move fast. The idea is that if you don’t break anything,...”
– Mark Zuckerberg on “true hacker culture”
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How creatives are working today →
The 99% Idea execution audit is out for the year and as always features a bag full of insights.
The one that stood out for me?
Most creatives iterate/ re-work their ideas at least 5 times. Found the above stat very surprising, and comforting :)
The other interesting stat?
Its time to get those walking shoes out because that’s when the eureka moment is likely to strike.
View/download...
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“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be...”
– Steve Jobs, 2005 Standford commencement address
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WatchGuided mastery
So how do you build your creative confidence?
Here’s David Kelley answer.
This talk resonated with me for two reasons.
Firstly, it works on the premise that all people can be “creative,” and therefore, it isn’t really a right of the few. Sure, some of us will always be better at coming up with creative solutions to problems than others, or some of us can...
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Watch1+1 = 3
So what makes a great story?
Here’s American director and documentary producer Ken Burns‘ perspective.
Great storytelling complicates things, manipulates people’s feeling and moves them to think about things they wouldn’t earlier. Or ever. And even compel them to change.
The short documentary was made by Sarah Klein and Tom Mason.
p.s. while you are at it,...
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The 100 most creative people (and my top 10) →
Fast Co. annual list of the 100 most creative people in business is out, and true to form, it doesn’t disappoint. Its a great mix of people who are doing some bleeding edge work in their fields. You may have heard of some names, but many I guess, would be a revelation.
As Fast Company explains, these are the “ones taking risks and discovering new solutions to old problems.”
My favorite 10...
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fastcompany:
According to scientists, we’re currently in the geological epoch known as theHolocene, which has lasted for the last 12,000 years. The Holocene encompasses the rise of humanity since the last ice age. But some scientists think we have actually entered a new era, called the Anthropocene—an era in which the world no longer shapes humanity, but in which humanity shapes the world...
April 2012
8 posts
4 tags
Spreading Happiness, every single day.
darwinised:
Goafest Diaries (Part II) Jonathan Mildenhall, VP, Global Advertising Strategy and Creative Excellence, Coca-Cola
For me the ‘big’ point of this talk was:
Its time to move from creative excellence to content excellence.
Content marketing has arrived.
For more than 100 years, Coca-Cola has been one of the world’s foremost practitioners of what they call “one-way...
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The more problems we have, the more creative we...
darwinised:
Goafest Diaries (Part I), Erik Vervroegen, International creative director, Publicis Worldwide
For me the ‘big’ point of this talk was:
There will never be a perfect creative/client brief.
You will never get enough time or desired budgets. A key insight, cleverly articulated, will always, almost be missing.
And the daily grind of advertising has taken its toll. You are creatively...
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WatchSimplify Digital
These aren’t just the big themes at SXSW this year. These are the biggest trends in the digital/interactive industry today. So read them carefully.
The one that stood out for me: the need to simplify digital.
Its a challenge that all of us in the digital fraternity need to address sooner, rather than later.
There are too many standards without a uniform one. There...
March 2012
3 posts
2 tags
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“When you start a building, you don’t think of the tenth floor. You start...”
– Sachin Tendulkar, answering the question “What has the last year taught you that your first 22 years did not?”
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“Laxman offered me art, Sehwag liberation, Tendulkar consistent genius, but...”
– Rohit Brijnath, On Rahul Dravid’s retirement, Mint.
February 2012
2 posts
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“No, I’ve written in every conceivable circumstance. I like writing in my...”
– Michael Lewis, Author
Love the above quote. Its Michael Lewis’ answer to the question Is there anywhere you need to be in order to write?
Its quite comforting actually.
January 2012
7 posts
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December 2011
22 posts
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“I haven’t. I haven’t even read Tipping Point since I wrote it. I...”
– Malcolm Gladwell, on ” The Tipping Point”
Its his answer to the following question:
In the years since the book’s release, have you re - examined the roles of connectors, mavens, and salesmen?
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99% music mix
Great way to start the day and get...
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Insulate Yourself...
From anonymous angry people
Expose yourself to art you don’t yet understand
Precisely measure the results that are important to you
Stay blind to the metrics that don’t matter
Fail often
Ship
Lead, don’t manage so much
Seek out uncomfortable situations
Make an impact on the people who matter to you
Be better at your baseline skills than anyone else
Copyedit less,...
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Big ideas vs. Long ideas
“I still think it’s worth encouraging teams doing digital work to come up with good ideas – emphasis on good rather than big, and plural rather than singular. I have a speech slide with a picture of Madden 2010, World of Warcraft, the iPad, and Nike+ and I challenge people in the audience to come up with the “big idea” behind each of these products. While people invariably come up with a...