Over the course of our Quote to Self project, we’ve had candid conversations with family, friends and even strangers we meet on the street about what advice they would give their 15-year-old selves. We’ve encountered people who knew instantly and others who were caught off guard and took some time to reflect. It seems that we are all reminded of how life is short, and it seems that as you get older, the years go by even quicker. We turn to Jeff’s quote, which articulates the value of enjoying life’s journey.
“Sometimes a 15-year-old has to grow up fast, so you gotta be ready for anything. Buckle up – you only get one chance to enjoy this journey called life.”
The unique objective of this project is that we have allowed everyone to take a moment to reflect on their lives and see the growth they’ve experienced that has made them who they are today. Check out our Quote to Self website to see the inspiring advice we have collected over the course of the year.
If you have a nugget of wisdom to share with us, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. We want to hear from you!
Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.
October 24, 2019 | Creative, Culture, Quote to Self Project, Research
Do you remember the night before the first day of school? The nerves start to settle in, excitement about meeting your new teachers rises and you can barely wait to debut your new school clothes.
At 15 years old, you are most likely entering the 10th grade. You know where the best lunch spots are, school dances are familiar, and you’ve found the best shortcuts to your classes. But throughout the year, the feeling of more responsibility comes upon you.
The questions of “Where do you want to go to college?” “What do you want to study?” and “When are you taking the ACT?” start to consume your free time. We remember those tough conversations and the unfamiliarity of what lies ahead.
We turned to our good friend Annie, whose advice to her younger self speaks volumes about the possibilities that lie ahead for all 15-year-olds.
“Push yourself to dream BEYOND the boundaries of the impossible!”
Our project has gifted us with advice that is valuable not only for every 15-year-old but for all ages. If you have a nugget of wisdom to share with us, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. We want to hear from you!
Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.
September 26, 2019 | Creative, Culture, Quote to Self Project, Research
Normally, travelers to India avoid the rainy, humid monsoon season that runs from July to September. But our principals, Kerry and Kasey, have packed their umbrellas and traveled to Kolkata, India, for a very special project.
In 2016, we connected with a company called Freeset – located in West Bengal, India – with a mission to provide employees with safe working environments and fair wages as they make organic and eco-friendly apparel and accessory items. We loved their work and ordered custom bags for our 2017 holiday gifts. Since then, we stayed in touch with the team at Freeset and have followed their journey to provide better solutions for those who are impoverished in India.
We are excited to share that we are partnering with Freeset again but in a different way. As a part of our year of giving, we are donating our research, strategy and creative services to help Freeset move into the future and deepen their impact. As part of the research phase, Kerry and Kasey are interviewing employees in Kolkata. Upon their return, our team will develop recommendations for brand positioning and creative development.
We’re thrilled to be working with Freeset to support their mission and will be sharing more details at our 15th anniversary party, so stay tuned!
July 25, 2019 | Creative, Culture, Quote to Self Project, Research
Jam-packed into just two days, the Digital Thinkers conference 2019 brought together 26 industry leaders to share their thoughts on the future of the web. Held at the doorstep to Silicon Valley, it featured speakers from some of the largest, most influential digital companies in the world, including Google, Facebook and Airbnb. More than 1,000 attendees from all over the world, including people from our team, gathered at the historic Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco to soak it all in. While we walked away with heads full of inspiration and actionable to-dos, we reflected on our favorite takeaways. Here are just a few:
“The vessel can be as special as the idea itself.”
– Alex Cornell, Former Product Design Lead at Facebook
Nonconventional presentations were abundant during the conference, from T-shirt cannons to beautifully animated slide decks, and that stuck with us. Nothing was quite as special as Alex Cornell’s time on stage. He took us on a nonlinear path through more of a performance piece than a presentation. He and others proved how an idea can’t sell itself, no matter how excellent. It’s the conversation and context provided alongside the idea that gives it staying power in the mind of the audience. That vessel can be just as weird or complex as the original idea. Brandy Porter, director of brand design at MailChimp, also summed up the importance of weird: “Be weird, and be intentional in that weirdness … When we show our weird, we connect with our customers intimately.”
“All design is designing for the future – immediate, near or far. It’s imagining a desirable state and then giving it form.”
— Lisa Ding, Senior Product Designer at Twitter
Sometimes conversations about the digital space can feel futuristic and far-fetched, making it hard to find actionable solutions for right now. Lisa Ding told us to avoid the darkness that the idea of the future often holds and to embrace the fact that every day we are working toward creating something useful for tomorrow, next week or next year. Erik Klimczak, principal design director at Uber, discussed his methodology of designing at scale to future-proof developments. This methodology assumes every issue is infinitely connected to larger problems creating a need to zoom in and out to see how your solution affects or creates patterns to find the best solution.
“Designers no longer just design components themselves: They design policies that govern a system of components.”
— Hayley Hughes, Experience Designer at Airbnb
Hayley Hughes noted that designers can prove their value by being able to see components from a 30,000-foot view and not just how they physically look on the page. Design systems can help businesses make an efficient, resourceful environment and allow designers to focus on creating solutions that impact human experiences. Building and using a mutual or shared language will help with everything from accessibility to creating seamless teams. Similarly, Peter Smart from global design agency Fantasy Interactive pushed us to commit to getting beyond the most viable product and to design for the full human being: “Convention is just permission to try better … Fill your product with life. If it makes you happy, it will make others happy as well.”
July 25, 2019 | Creative
Recently, our principal Kasey Hatzung visited the Portland, Oregon area. There she met a local resident, Levi, and started chatting about what they do, where they live and their life stories. It turns out that Levi is originally from Kolkata, India – the exact city where Kasey and our other principal, Kerry Sarnoski, are visiting this month. She told Levi about our Quote to Self project, and in response Levi gave a simple and impactful one-liner:
“Keep moving forward.”
What advice would you give to your 15-year-old self? If you have a nugget of wisdom to share with us, visit our Quote to Self website to participate. We want to hear from you!
Follow our Quote to Self Instagram and Facebook pages to see other advice we’ve collected thus far.
July 25, 2019 | Creative, Culture, Quote to Self Project, Research
