We recently had a thunderstorm that dumped over 5 inches of rain on my home in a very short amount of time. I stood on my patio watching the deluge, wondering if any of 50+ foot trees in my backyard would be a good source of lumber needed for the ark I was thinking just might come in handy.
Much like the weather that night, it seems that I spend nearly every waking hour inundated by a never-ending stream of digital bits that come at me from all directions. I wonder if Thomas Edison could have ever imagined this particular application of electricity that engulfs me in data, images, e-mails, texts, voicemails, MP3 and Podcast sounds and streaming video.
Intel co-founder, Gordon Moore is widely a credited with describing the law, Moore’s law, that has forever altered how we live our lives. Moore’s law says that the rate at which transistors are placed on circuit chips doubles every 2 years. The result is a proliferation of digital devices: computers, mobile phones/devices, digital cameras, etc that bring an eye popping amount of capabilities to your finger tips. All of this marvelous technology and capability, but at what price?
Nicholas Carr’s piece, Is Google Making Us Stupid published in the July/August issue of Atlantic Monthly offers a thought provoking analysis on the effects on our ability to think from the flood of data and information we receive from Internet sites like Google. Carr discussed that we becomes skimmers and decoders of information and further says, “Our ability to interpret text, to make rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.” It’s akin to our brains going on autopilot. The article cites an essay passage from writer, Richard Foreman, which struck me squarely between the eyes:
“ I come from a tradition of Western culture, in which the ideal (my ideal) was the complex, dense and “cathedral-like” structure of the highly educated and articulate personality—a man or woman who carried inside themselves a personally constructed and unique version of the entire heritage of the West. [But now] I see within us all (myself included) the replacement of complex inner density with a new kind of self—evolving under the pressure of information overload and the technology of the “instantly available.”
As we are drained of our “inner repertory of dense cultural inheritance,” Foreman concluded that we risk turning into “‘pancake people’—spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”I don’t know about you, but that I can reluctantly identify with that phenomenon and think that it goes well beyond the written word.
I wonder as I consider all of the images and digital content that I see in any given day if I can truly see them and understand the meaning behind them. See the raindrop in the downpour, if you will. Do yourself a favor. Read Carr’s piece and stop long enough to think about how technology has impacted the creation, production, use and effectiveness of visual content. And while you’re doing that, see if you recognize yourself in Carr’s words.
My wife felt I needed a little boast with my INPUT so she picked me up Joel Osteen’s book “Your Best Life Now”. OK, I have to say the book isn’t bad. Let’s face it, the first thing that effects your results is INPUT.
Joel talks about what you take in through what you watch, listen to and read makes a difference. This one is so important that if we only focused on getting the right INPUT, the desired result would be inevitable.
Stay with me a moment. Suppose you marinated your mind in creative thought, read and listened to teaching materials that inspired and instructed, avoided gossip, shut down negative and licentious input and spent time alone. Yes, quiet time alone. Your thoughts would inescapably be centered on good things, which would unavoidably get into your heart, the abundance from which comes your words, which steer your courses of action, determining your habits. Aren’t your consistent actions (habits) what ultimately produces the results you experience?
Not sure? Look in the mirror and see if you can guess what kind of consistent actions (or lack thereof) are evidenced by the result you see. If you don’t like where you are, look where you’ve been. They’re connected. It’s painful, but true.However, you can change that - Right now. You’ve already made a good decision but reading this blog! So before turning into a couch potato tonight in front the TV watching programs you don’t even like, set aside an hour and get some good input from others.
Who has achieved what you want to achieve? Spend a few bucks and get DVD’s or pod casts featuring highly successful creative entrepreneurs. In fact, we have been researching some absolutely outstanding sources of INPUT. Ones that are significantly impacting our lives and which we plan on sharing with you weekly. The point is there are many excellent sources of INPUT and we all need to partake! Even off beat books like “Your Best Life Now”.
Nothing makes you appreciate an artist more than seeing them in action. You buy books on artists not to look at the pictures but the mind behind the process. Michael Lotenero lets us in to his world though a mini-documentary by way of You Tube and this short interview.
Who made the film?
Michael: Spanish filmmaker Jose Muniain.
How did it come about?
Michael: Jose came to one of my shows and wanted to know more about my process. So he came up with this idea for the film.
What was the painting for?
Michael: Especially for the film. My sons name is Navarro and ironically, Jose is from the region in Spain Navarre. We thought the coincidence was interesting so that’s where the film gets its title.
What was the painting about?
Michael: The painting just came out the way it came out. I just started painting and that’s the way it turned out. The total process took about three days to do the painting. Jose pared three days of footage into 8 minutes of video.
Why are you working on transparent material?
Michael: I work on glass and clear vinyl all the time. It’s a fun process. You do the ending of the painting first, then fill it in from behind. It’s a backwards-painting process.
Did the film win awards?
Michael: The film was a finalist at the D.C. independent film festival, and it appeared in its total form as an installation, with the actual 6′ x 12′ original painting hanging behind a suspended plasma screen playing the film at the Pittsburgh filmmakers. It was also shown on the big screen and featured at the Austin museum of digital art and the urban institute of contemporary art in Michigan.
Thanks to Michael Lotenero for the interview.
Michael is preparing for a huge overhaul of his online portfolio, so be sure to check it out here.
At Thanksgiving I was struck awe by a familiar refrain heard in the kitchen: “If you’re going to be in here, make yourself useful.”
This is also wisdom for other aspects of my career as an Internet marketer. The time has come to “make ourselves useful” by building marketing programs around what brands can do for consumers. Instead of talking at people, I’m going to work on enhancing their day, filling a need, or being in the right place at the right time.
WeightWatchers.com’s Points Tracker keeps tabs on the value of food one consumes, even converting restaurant dishes into points to let users monitor their intake. Boost Up, a non-profit program that keeps students from dropping out of school, has a mobile application that sends uplifting “boost” notes to friends’ cell phones. Even online ads can be useful - the BearingPoint management consultancy ran banner ads that let you download white papers, saving users the extra step.
Like the Thanksgiving guest who peels potatoes or scrubs pots, brands that make themselves useful will always be welcome.
I travel a lot so these airline safety videos are a part of my life. How many times do your eyes glaze over when the stewardess announces the airline safety video is about to start playing before the flight? I was WOWed to see Virgin move from the norm and create a safety video that’s not only entertaining but incredibly stylish. Just look at the use of art! Imagine a safety video that I actually want to watch not once, but several times! Very Smart.
I recently visited the Portfolio Center in Atlanta where I spoke to students about the state of Illustration. They wrote up a really nice article on the event and posted it on their site. Check it out:From the article: “Scott Hull believes illustration is dead—as we know it, at least. Illustrators, in the traditional sense, are facing an era of change where the bottom line forces a lot of companies to use more cost-effective media for commercial art. As Hull sees it, we’re living in a period where time crunches and tight wallets strong-arm creative concepts. This approach lends itself to a milquetoast breed of ads spawned by creative directors adjusting concepts to match a cost-effective stock image. This is where Scott Hull, Visual Ambassador, starts his workday.”A special thanks to The Portfolio Center, interviewer Adam Hook, photographer Jorge Menes, and all of those who attended the session. You can see the rest of the article over here.
Can it be that Paula Scher is the next Martha Stewart for HP?
This is really a well-produced web site and video. It’s good to see a corporation other than Target co-branding with artists or designers.Let’s look at the long term impact to who HP is communicating. The question is: Where are they taking the art of creativity? Are they building up the value of a visual idea or making art a commodity by having access of downloadable images and templates?
Remember Intel’s Andy Groves mantra “Only the paranoid survive” – or was it Gordon Gecko on Greed? They sound similar.
Does Wall Street know?
Let me throw this out to you:-What about Paula’s template collection?-Notice the link with AIGA?-What about Paula’s presentation on branding? Do you have stock in HP?
This is a heavier post than normal. One that is a different visual that puts life into perspective.
The last few weeks I have lost 4 friends; two to cancer, one to liver failure and one of a heart attack. The reality is we all will die; it’s what you do with your life that will leave a legacy. We are, in a sense, living advertisements for the abundant life.
Let me share a few things I learned from these friends.
• Give away something valuable. Donate something to charity that’s not broken or worn out.
• Reconnect with a long lost friend. It takes time, energy, and love to make a friend. Don’t squander that investment.
• Refuse to quit. One way to keep going and growing is to pour yourself into someone else.
• Select a mission statement for life. What do you see as your primary purpose for your life?
• Touch an untouchable. Banish any internal caste system that prevents you from opening your hands and heart to others.
• Refuse to act your age. Don’t let a number bring you down. Make the most of every moment that lies before you.
Now go live your life so that your epitaph reads, NO REGRETS!
The AIGA National Conference was a great time! 80 speakers, 40 sessions and 2,500 attendees coming together in Denver to explore what is “Next” in the world of design.Ever on the lookout as the “Visual Ambassador,” I couldn’t help but notice how much Photoshop work was on exhibit. This was art made by designers internationally to communicate an idea. What happened to the idea of original images? Could it be “disruptive technology” in our creative lives again? Is Photoshop inducing laziness? The posters appeared to convey that the creator had an idea, went to a stock site, key-worded their theme, then selected images that came close to the idea. True, the poster art or visuals caught your attention but they also left you confused about the message, lacking that clear line of communication that is the epitomy of design in the first place.One senior designer I interviewed commented on my observation, “I’m seeing that we [the art director/designer] are changing ideas because the stock image fits the general concept. By doing this, changing our idea is cheapening our value. I’m realizing I’m not living my passion as a creative person. Perhaps we need to look at collaboration to create something new together.”Let’s face it, anyone who can harness creativity and innovative ideas will be the power brokers well into the future. That’s one rule that will never change. It’s more than a pleasing arrangement of elements, effective visual design is the DNA of your organization, and it’s what distinguishes your business and your brand. AIGA folks, the new currency is original ideas!
Contribute to Visual Ambassador! Have any great ideas? Anything you would like to see here? Want to share some of your amazing insights with like minded thinkers? Email editor@visualambassador.com
From the article: “Scott Hull believes illustration is dead—as we know it, at least. Illustrators, in the traditional sense, are facing an era of change where the bottom line forces a lot of companies to use more cost-effective media for commercial art. As Hull sees it, we’re living in a period where time crunches and tight wallets strong-arm creative concepts. This approach lends itself to a milquetoast breed of ads spawned by creative directors adjusting concepts to match a cost-effective stock image. This is where Scott Hull, Visual Ambassador, starts his workday.”A special thanks to The Portfolio Center, interviewer Adam Hook, photographer Jorge Menes, and all of those who attended the session. You can see the rest of the article 
Ever on the lookout as the “Visual Ambassador,” I couldn’t help but notice how much Photoshop work was on exhibit. This was art made by designers internationally to communicate an idea. What happened to the idea of original images? Could it be “disruptive technology” in our creative lives again? Is Photoshop inducing laziness? The posters appeared to convey that the creator had an idea, went to a stock site, key-worded their theme, then selected images that came close to the idea. True, the poster art or visuals caught your attention but they also left you confused about the message, lacking that clear line of communication that is the epitomy of design in the first place.
One senior designer I interviewed commented on my observation, “I’m seeing that we [the art director/designer] are changing ideas because the stock image fits the general concept. By doing this, changing our idea is cheapening our value. I’m realizing I’m not living my passion as a creative person. Perhaps we need to look at collaboration to create something new together.”
Let’s face it, anyone who can harness creativity and innovative ideas will be the power brokers well into the future. That’s one rule that will never change. It’s more than a pleasing arrangement of elements, effective visual design is the DNA of your organization, and it’s what distinguishes your business and your brand. AIGA folks, the new currency is original ideas!
