Paul is our very talented illustrator/designer here at BrandHealth. A couple nights ago at 3 a.m., as I was sending out my 'not-going-to-be-in-the-office-because-I'm-sick' email, I received an email from Paul that he was in the hospital with a hairline fracture to his fibula.
Now, the BrandHealth studio is no stranger to designers being injured. There was my head injury from falling off a horse, not to be compared to Mike’s concussion from getting a headbutt in soccer or Spencer’s tumble off his bike. Randi beats us all with her broken ankle from a horse AND head injury from a recent car accident. We can add to the BrandHealth casualty list - Paul’s hairline fracture from... Ummm, walking up the stairs? I have no doubt it was a very dramatic and manly break, I can’t wait to hear it.
Paul – you know we love to kid you, but take it easy on those stairs ok? I'm sorry to hear this has happened to you but honestly, I can’t wait till you get a hard cast so we can all draw on it. Speedy recovery!!
To all our clients, due to the popularity of designers injuring themselves, we do have contingency plans in place. Never a dull moment at BrandHealth. What a start to the year!
I'm feeling a little sick today. I think it started after the Team Canada loss last night but then it got progressively worse. So, I'm home, in bed and bored...
In between feverish delusions, I thought I would share with you some of the fun studio culture around BrandHealth. One game we like to play is Photoshop tennis. You might know it as Photoshop battle or Photoshop Pong. No? Well... It’s a game played in photoshop where two people alternate editing an image. As the photoshop file goes back and forth each person tries to out do the other. After several turns or a certain amount of time a winner is declared.
We’ve renamed it Photoshop Volleyball at BrandHealth as we play with 9 people. Since I’ve got nothing to do right now, I’m going to start a new game with the studio.
Here’s the theme: Are you ready? Your edit needs to be a visual interpretation of a band or musician’s name... For example Green Day could be a day out of a calendar on a desk that is the colour green. You cannot show the actually band. Those are the only rules for this round. Here’s the initial image to work with (see above) and here’s the line up:
Deanna
Graeme
Randi
Spencer
Paul
Sabrina
Mark
Me
Mike
I’ll post the final image when we’re done! Don’t hold your breath tho, it might a few weeks depending on how busy everyone is. Stay tuned this should be a good one!
Today I welcomed a new co-op student to our BrandHealth studio. She arrived on time and I gave her a tour around the office to introduce her to everyone. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in her head. So many new people, in a completely new environment, eager to learn, excited and nervous to put her skills to work... It made me think about what I was like at my first design job out of college.
I remember being extremely grateful and wanting to learn as much as I could to be the absolute best. I wanted to be creative but I also wanted to learn everything about the business of advertising and design. I wanted to prove to my new employer that they had made the right decision in choosing me. After all, I had no experience, I probably showed potential but I knew their decision in choosing me over an experienced designer meant a time and money investment to develop me into a fully-functional designer.
If you really want to know what I was like. Behold...
I loved my design studies, I had just graduated and I had just gotten a job in my field at a great company. Pinch me, right? But, I knew loving this business of design meant more than telling people that I loved graphic design. Loving this industry meant living it. I lived and breath typography, advertising, colour (ohhh I loved colour) and, design. I read magazines, attended award shows, hung out with other creative people, went to art galleries, wore black. I would deconstruct, reconstruct, design and redesign and then I would go back for more. I truly loved it and had a passion for it.
I never did what was asked of me. I did more. If I was asked for three concepts I would give them ten. If I was being briefed I would ask questions. I would constantly push what I was being asked to do... In a good way. If I didn’t have any assignments I would make myself useful and did research or upgraded my skills. I just didn’t want to be complacent. I as I write this I’m starting to wonder if everyone hated me? I’m not going to apologize. I had a goal, a plan and I was going to make it happen.
I would study the company’s clients and their brands. There weren’t a lot of online stuff back then (I’m dating myself) but I would read all of their printed materials, catalogues, annual reports, everything I was designing. Yes, I would actually read the content of my layouts... Eventually “the web” came along, and I would read all the clients' websites, Google all of their brands, so I knew what I was working with. I would find out what the company and their brands stood for. I did not wait for anyone to provide these things to me.
I stayed late when I had to and worked through holidays. If I had something that needed to get done, I stayed. I did whatever it took to get the job done and done well. I loved what I did remember? (see above) Completing a job on time and correctly was satisfying for me. I had pride in what I did and hard work never scared me. I was... and still am, dedicated.
I had a good attitude and I wasn’t afraid to ask questions. Relevant questions. Probing questions. Intelligent questions. At least I thought so. I wasn’t asking questions for the sake of asking. And, I learned quite quickly that it didn’t matter what I said but how I said it. There are always proper ways to approach people and proper ways to to say and deal with issues. It’s just common courtesy.
Four or five employers later...I’m pretty much still like this. And, I'm not perfect, I've made my share of mistakes but I learned from them. Too ambitious? Well, then all of BrandHealth’s creatives are too ambitious. It’s why we are BH-ers, I guess. It’s what makes us tick. And, I have no doubt our new co-op student will impress. I already see some of these qualities in her.
Happy to have you aboard Deanna! I hope I didn't scare you. You’re gonna love it here.
BrandHealth started designing posters for the ReFrame Film Festival in 2008. The poster selected this year was created by our talented Spencer. It’s a simple but dramatic layout that will certainly draw attention. I was particularly impressed with his organization of an incredible amount of copy. Great job Spenny! I can appreciate how busy you were with client jobs but you still found time during lunch or after work to do this. And you did it with enthusiasm. Thank you.
When ReFrame first launched their film festival, approximately 2,000 people were in attendance. That was seven years ago. This year the film festival will show 60 international films from 15 different countries and host as many as 8,000 people. I’m proud to have BrandHealth be a supporter of this event. Kudos to Krista and her team for being incredible people to work with, but for also for dedicating your time and energy to make these international films accessible to Peterborough and surrounding area.
I hear this year's lineup will showcase documentaries from the streets of Gaza, to India, Afghanistan, Egypt, Burma and the Netherlands. Opening night at Showplace will feature Waste Land, an Oscar nominated film that follows a Brazilian artist into one of the world's largest garbage dumps. It will also feature local films such as Family on the Edge, directed by Andrée Cazabon, which explores a father's determination to hang onto his children as he moves his family to the Youth Emergency Shelter in Peterborough.
So, if you are looking for something to do in Peterborough - the weekend of January 28-30th - get a ticket. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Tickets are available around town. If you need more information... Check out the poster and I hope to see you there!
Or visit their blog http://reframefilmfestival.blogspot.com/
I have to admit I originally set my goals pretty high... Olympic gold by 2012.
Today, I have much more realistic goals for my riding... Just enjoyment and relaxation. So, when my riding buddy Sarah Facebooked me that she was going for a winter hack today. I didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’.
Bundled up in our winter gear we headed out on Dallas and Beau. Yesterday’s temperatures were spring-like so a lot of the snow had melted. Today was much colder, the ground was frozen over and the grass was crisp. The horses seemed a little skittish and tentative as we made our way along the trail. Areas were iced over from the melted snow. It took some coaxing and creative steering from Sarah and I to get the horses to go. Now, I’ve been trail riding during the summer, I’ve even been trail riding through Central Park but I’ve never been on a winter trail ride before. It required all of my attention and drawing upon skills I had learned over the last year. I found this winter hack exhilarating.
We stopped to take a few pictures, of course. And, I thought... while a lot of people today might be dreading going back to work, I was doing something I loved. I felt renewed, complete and was looking forward to starting another exciting year at my job... Yes, really. Is this what happiness feels like? At that moment, I felt like the luckiest person alive. I would not have been able to experience this moment if I hadn’t picked up that phone, signed up for those riding lessons, or taken that leap of faith to change my life by making the move to Peterborough. The journey hasn’t been easy but today I knew it was worth it.
The rest of the hack was uneventful. Sarah and I rode along and chatted as big snowflakes started to fall. Beau was amazing today and he looked fantastic. Thank you Sarah for inviting me along today. I look forward to our next winter hack. Hopefully, next time there will be more snow to ride through.
I know this time of year when all the turkey dinners and holiday desserts are sitting on the hips, everyone’s starting to think “gym membership”. But, what I really want to know is – what do you do to exercise your brain? Do you do anything at all?
Why do I ask?
As a consumer and being in the business of knowing the consumer, I am constantly aware of the massive changes in communications around us. The way we communicate and how we communicate are evolving. From the days of personal computing to internet computing, we are now entering the age of mobile computing. What does that mean? It means the demands of work and life are going to grow. No longer will you have your quiet commute home. With mobile computing you can now fit in that conference call with your marketing department, GPS the arena location of your son’s hockey game, update your Facebook status (I’m assuming you are commuting on a train here because nobody would do this while driving) text your kids and call home to let them know you’re on your way. I know that was a really rough scenario and not everyone can relate. But, you will still be affected as the world of communications change. Does everyone you know own a cell phone? First thing in the morning, do you roll over and give your spouse a kiss or do you reach for your phone? (Guilty.) You will be expected to multi-task and process information more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Is the ol’ noggin ready for that?
Luckily the web is filled with brain teasers and they’re free. You can easily find brain fitness workouts that can help your mind process information more quickly, and more efficiently, as well as the ability to perform multiple tasks at the same time. Some can help build concentration and increase your brain speed. I woke up this morning and did three Sudoku puzzles. Screwed up the last one tho... Damn.
The beauty of mobile computing is... you can take a break from it anytime you want. As I’m going to do now... time for me to shut this laptop down and saddle up for a winter hack.
For those of you heading back to work tomorrow, I do want to leave you with one small brain teaser to jump start your brain...
Saturday and Sunday, I am big.
Tuesday and Thursday I am small.
Monday and Friday I am non-existent.
What am I?
Enjoy!
