𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭

Something that is in the foreground often gets all the attention.

It could be a famous person who sees all eyes on him or her.
It can be an intriguing object, a wonderful creation.

Or a popular topic, you will see the same content given a new look over and over again.

‘The Extra List’ puts people in the spotlight who are or were in the background. A film extra (an extra or sometimes even described as ‘atmosphere’) is a person who appears in a film or television show, but has no lines.

It is a reminder to not just look at what is directly in front of your eyes, but to widen the lens. In many situations we are unaware of the beauty of details or of something that is extraordinary and wonderful.

Looking is not the same as seeing!

1. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐞𝐫
This film (in Dutch) unravels the discovery of 100,000 negatives by the unknown amateur photographer Vivian Maier. Image credit.

2. 𝐈𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞
Erik Kessels, advertising man, artist and designer, creates fascinating photo books and exhibitions of found amateur photography.

3. 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭
Bartlett, an American who led a secluded life, created a series of lifelike dolls in the mid-20th century. His sculptures were posthumously discovered and admired for their artistry. Image credit

4. 𝐈𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐧
Talpazan, a Romanian artist and UFO enthusiast, created vivid paintings depicting his encounters with aliens.

5. 𝐉𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝
At first you don’t even notice her, she is one of many. But little by little you start to become aware of the presence of ‘extra’ Jill Goldston.

6. 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐡𝐫
Art potter, he calls himself. After his death, George became one of America’s most celebrated ceramicists. He pushed the standards of traditional ceramics. But during his lifetime his work was considered strange. Image credit

7. 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐚 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚
Gilda Domenica worked as a seamstress all her life. Without realizing it, she has become an artist. All her works are made with recycled materials: newspapers, plastic plates, food packaging, toys. Image credit

#widenthelens
#see
#noticing
#creativity
#inspiration
#dowhatyoulove

Awkwardness

Such a lovely TedTalk by Melissa Dahl about embarrasment, awkwardness and social anxiety. It’s the fear of being vulnerable and being your true self. Awkwardness is there when the script is falling away. There’s unpredictability in life and you have to learn to get comfortable by those uncertain situations. Awkwardness is the fronteer to people.

She wrote a book about it, Cringeworthy, outlining her Theory of Awkwardness. Watch the above TED Talk, too, of course. She defines awkwardness as the ‘irreconcilable gap between how we perceive ourselves, and how others perceive us.’ This feeling is holding us back from the things we want to do. It’s like your little inner voice that’s putting you down.

How awkwardness comes from self-consciousness and uncertainty. How we create more drama with ourselves than necessary. How to find the “growing edge” and challenge yourself to have more awkward conversations. Don’t take yourself so seriously and have fun, play. It can be a power for greater understanding and connection with people. Open up your heart. Perhaps you don’t always have the skill set to deal with it but it starts with you. You are the instrument.

#awkwardness #melissadahl #authentic

Most contagious 2015 report

Contagious is highlighting the key shifts in tech, consumer culture and marketing.

The rise of virtual reality. The report takes a closer look at visual culture: increasing importance of image-led social sites. The importance of mobile video: Periscope, Snapchat. Read the full report: Most_Contagious_2015_Report

Combinatorial innovation

Great! So recognizable. Your unique mix of interests may turn out to be your very own super power. As a strategist I am interested in a broad variety of topics. I always have the feeling you had to specialize or stick to one discipline. Otherwise others don’t really understand what the focus of your expertise is. But not to worry anymore. Look at this great TedTalk. Multipotentialites: people with many interests and creative pursuits. Wapnick refers to
3 powers: idea synthesis, rapid learning and adaptability.

Author, entrepreneur and artist, Wapnick was blessed with so many interests that she was unable to pick just one. She studied music, visual arts, film production and law, and graduated from the Law Faculty at McGill University. After years of feeling anxious about her zigzagging career path and hyphenated credentials, she finally decided to embrace her plural nature and start a movement for others who lean toward being “multipotentialites.” Since launching her website, Puttylike, in 2010, Wapnick has inspired thousands of multipotentialites to stop trying to fit themselves into boxes, and embrace their plurality. Currently, she is working on her forthcoming book, “Multipotentialite.”

The Operating Model That Is Eating The World

Interesting article:

Today’s fastest growing, most profoundly impactful companies are using a completely different operating model. These companies are lean, mean, learning machines. They have an intense bias to action and a tolerance for risk, expressed through frequent experimentation and relentless product iteration. They hack together products and services, test them, and improve them, while their legacy competition edits PowerPoint. They are obsessed with company culture and top tier talent, with an emphasis on employees that can imagine, build, and test their own ideas. They are maniacally focused on customers. They are hypersensitive to friction – in their daily operations and their user experience. They are open, connected, and build with and for their community of users and co-conspirators. They are comfortable with the unknown – business models and customer value are revealed over time. They are driven by a purpose greater than profit; each has its own aspirational “dent in the universe.” We may simply refer to them as the first generation of truly responsive organizations. {….} and

To win in the marketplace, someone has to create and deliver exceptional products, services, and experiences, and planning won’t get us there. the emphasis on People is all about making. “Makers” are people who have skills (as opposed to credentials). They think by doing: experimenting, testing, and learning. Within these high performance cultures management has evolved into something more akin to mentorship. The thinking goes, if workers are capable of making decisions about their priorities and workflow, what’s left for the manager is skills development, knowledge sharing, and helping with roadblocks – the Montessori method gone corporate.

Read the whole article

A Revolution of Meaning – Tom Kniesmeijer

I finally got round to watch the TedX presentation by my former Re:Set colleague Tom Kniesmeijer. I love it. It adresses the issues in our society (Zeitgeist) and what you as an individual can do with it. As he puts it: We’re doing too much. Stand still, take a look inside and train your meaning muscle. Tom Kniesmeijer introduces the revolution of meaning. And this revolution needs you!

Technology + Creativity

Trends from Cannes Lions 2015. Great overview with all the best campaigns included..

Botanical manufacturing

Growing solid wooden furniture without the joins

This is intruiging. Gavin Munro of Derbyshire-based Full Grown explains how moulding trees into one-piece chairs, lamps or mirror frames is far more eco-friendly than felling. This is no ordinary furniture showroom. In a field on the side of a hill 15 miles north of Derby lie row after row of perfectly maintained willow, oak, ash and sycamore trees. What clearly mark this field out from a regular forest are the blue-and-black plastic moulds that are training the trees in pre-defined routes, where they are gently and expertly manipulated into the exact shape of a chair, a table, a lamp or a mirror frame. read more

Design Thinking – Bootcamp

Extensive presentation by Jan Smiedgen about design thinking

PSFK Future of Health Report