BAUM
If Batman was a hipster
Happy to see our limited run of black Campagnolo Pista cranks make it on the Baum NAHBS track bike!
Lock Load Aim Fire. A short photo series inspired by biking in San Francisco. Visit the project’s micro site.
“China town is getting gentrified, man!”
Where can we start with this? As a connoisseur of accidental Chinese hipsters I’d thought I’d seen some things, but NOW. All of the elements are here: the flattering black leggings, the punk as shit jean jacket, jail stripes, an aggressive hat to go with a coolly unpleasant face. And then we get to the scrunched up tube socks in sandals. Now, I know this to be a classic look from my own father, who once wore his socks and sandals with one sweatpant leg tucked into the sock and the other out, but socks and crocs is a whole new move. It truly cinches the glory of the outfit.
Well done, Brooks of SF, who saw this man riding the M line of MUNI to the Outer Sunset. I keep imagining him telling me about DJ-ing important house music, or maybe yelling at me in Cantonese on a busy street corner, and both ideas fill me with glee.
Notes from Whole Brain Thinking D.Talk
Whole Brain Thinking
Connecting Strategy, Creativity & Business Results
A D.Talk by SALT Branding
Thursday, July 16th at AIGA SF HQ
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Part of San Francisco Design Week 2011
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These notes are a not verbatim transcription, but rather the takeaways from the talk.
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This talk focused on the Milliken case study. Milliken is a virtually unknown, yet gigantic, supplier of chemicals, carpets and stuff like that. Basically they’re super awesome and were ready for a transition to the public spotlight after their last CEO stepped down. SALT spent a year helping position them for that spotlight.
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Cesar (Right Brain) & David (Left Brain).
Try to avoid the Left/Right scenario, try to be both sided.
However, recognize that Left Brainers mostly make decisions in companies, so we as Right Brained creatives have to learn to speak with them in their own language to be effective.
Strat + Creative. If integrated well = efficacy. Otherwise there will be a disconnect. (See “The Brand Gap”_
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TAKEAWAY – Frame it! If you don’t frame your thinking for the Left inclined, you’ll lose it. Justify, explain your logic. That context is what it takes to get the Left on board with an otherwise mystical/non-linear Right solution.
“This is not about a logo and a color.” It’s about delivering on your business goals/vission. What are you trying to achieve ≠ do you like the logo.
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Ask the right questions. What are your goals? Strategy? Context?
Get to know your client. David and Cesar found their best solutions came through getting to know their client, their personality and needs.
It would seem Empathy is playing a large roll again. Working from the feeling level.
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Serious Play – “You cannot be innovative until you are ready and willing and able to seriously play.” This phrase frames their approach to Milliken. But they had to find ways of taking it off the page, making it more than words, for the Left Brainers.
Their Strat/North Start Development took about 4-5 months w/ Milliken. Working with execs to get everyone on the same page.
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Designers bring a point of view.
Strat is not words on a page. Get the whole team in on understanding & internalizing those words and let them serve as a becon to guide creative.
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Positioning is a lens for everything
PR, Product, even HR evaluations. Not just for communications.
Effective brands start with the business. Don’t let the tail wag the dog. A vibrant and aligned internal culture will cultivate the brand from the inside out.
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Why was SALT effective at Milliken?
They found ways of communicating with their client that made sense to them / resonated with them.
They brought them into the creative process.
Found ways to get them to take ownership of the ideas, that way they’ll be more effective.
(again, see “Smuggler’s Guide to Innovation”)
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“Empathetic Research” = taking time, being with the right people, listening, asking the right questions.
I Haight Walking – A Community Walk.
Blogging? Wow haven’t done this in a bit. Been partying way too hard lately.
The Summit SF crew setting up the Peek Gallery for it’s new show.
Under the Golden Gate Bridge. Taken from the deck of the SFNY Cruise.
Sup meditators / satsangers / kirtan-goers in San Francisco, my homies and I are putting on a Maha Kirtan Friday, May 6th at 7pm at the SF Zen Center. It’s basically going to be a massive bliss party. Food, singing, and awesome people.
I almost exploded today when i ran into this little girl and her little dog walking to Dolores. #cuteoverload
San Francisco Capital Building.
Found them! I shot a 360 degree panoramic back in 2009 with the intention of stitching it together, but never did for sake of me forgetting about the shot and the 500mb file this produced after taking 20min to process through photoshop’s photomerge. And I never got to make one of these mini planets when they were all the rage, so I went for the gusto in this image.
One of the strange artifacts produced from this experiment is in the center there are two arcs because I was using an 18mm lens. The shots at 90 degrees from the capital building in addition to the polar coordinates process created some strange little tweaks that are surprising but nice.
An Ocean Beach excursion with Mr. Grande. Warm weather has arrived in SF!
photo by Kayla Soper
A coworker just sent this to me. It’s so true!
had some fun in the Mission tonight. Actually did have fun, though! Skitched behind a ducati on my long board, high fived like 600 people… then it got bad…
Hey, my name's Brooks. I enjoy adventure, mischief and changing the world. I run a design firm in San Francisco and post about thinking, design, inspiration and SF goings ons.
