TL;DR,
WELCOME TO THE·BY·PRODUCT. A WEEKLY RECAP OF WHAT IS GOING DOWN & WHAT IS COMING UP ON THE INTERNET.
THE CREATIVE TEAM AND I WAS HUNKERED DOWN IN CHICAGO LAST WEEK ABSOLUTELY CRUSHING A PRODUCT AND LIFESTYLE SHOOT FOR ONE OF OUR AWESOME CLIENTS. SHOUT OUT TO KELLY ALLISON FOR AN INCREDIBLE WEEK OF IMAGE AND MOTION CAPTURES. ALSO I AM GIVING YOU ALL A HARD RECCO FOR THE WALL PRODUCTIONS FOR RUNNING A SUPER TIGHT FIVE DAY LONG PRODUCTION.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
I AM WRITING THIS PRELUDE BEFORE I HAVE FULLY CURATED THE LINKS, BUT SO FAR THERE IS SO MUCH CLICK WORTHY STUFF “BELOW THE FOLD”. READ, CLICK, SHARE, SUBSCRIBE.
OK, SO AS I WAS ADDING LINKS I STARTED TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ALL THESE MEANT, I REALIZED THIS ISSUE IS ALL ABOUT LIFE. WHAT IS IMPORTANT, WHAT MAKES SENSE, HOW WE ALL TRY TO NAVIGATE IT, AND HOW IT PLAYS OUT.
FOR ME, IT IS ABOUT THE THINGS I LIKE, THE THINGS THAT SHAPE ME AND THE THINGS THAT WE ASPIRE TO FURTHER UNDERSTAND. REGARDLESS THIS PRELUDE WILL WRAP UP WITH THE SAME INTENT. PLEASE READ, CLICK OUT, SHARE WITH FRIENDS, AND SUBSCRIBE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY. PEACE.
/ END NOTE
THIS WEEK’S “HOT TAKE”
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT WHO YOU ARE, IT’S WHO YOU WANT TO BE.
CATEGORY: SUSTAINABILITY
The online resale platform ThreadUp is teaming up with “Stranger Things” actress Priah Ferguson on its “Fast Fashion Confessional Hotline,” which is meant to encourage Gen Z shoppers to break their habit of buying from fast-fashion brands and instead embrace more sustainable options. Grab your phone, which is most likely already in. your hand and call 1-855-THREDUP for the 411 / Via WWD
CATEGORY: PAYING ATTENTION
Are you paying attention to the people you are with or is your phone demanding your attention. The apps never shut up. They’re hungry for engagement. They want you to know that your favorite items are on sale, that you haven’t practiced your Spanish today, that your delivery driver is five stops away, that your child at daycare just had a blowout — all day, all at once. Welcome to a place we all live, a place called notification hell. / Via The Verge c/o SIC.
CATEGORY: LIFE ONLINE
Shakespeare wrote that it is better “to see the wonders of the world abroad” than “living dully sluggardized at home, wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.” But the Bard, of course, didn’t have the pleasure of watching YouTube on a smartphone, either. Surprising or not, nearly half of American teens are not spending time on the global time trap we call the Internet. / Via The Daily Upside
CATEGORY: WORK LIFE
“We can do serious things without taking ourselves too seriously. And in fact, often we can do them better and more fashionably,” Naomi Bagdonas, a management lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, said in a TED talk earlier this year.
Their rationale: Laughter accelerates feelings of trust, closeness and comfort. When people share a laugh, their brains release certain hormones — endorphins and dopamine — that emulate the feeling of a runner’s high, or a brief state of extreme joy and delight. This chemical reaction in your brain is what makes you feel bonded with others, according to Aaker and Bagdonas.
Following this logic, leaders who share a laugh with their employees can foster stronger connections with them. Their relationships can go from being “transactional to human,” the Stanford duo said. / Via CNBC
CATEGORY: BRAND MARKETING
‘It’s hard to believe, but there was a time long ago when Gap didn’t need a major sauce transfusion from outside superstars.” - Jonah Weiner. When I think back though time I remember “Everyone in” campaign, cords, vests, khakis all tapped, dope timely tracks from Madonna and some sleeper deep cuts from Donovan. But the picture was everyday people.
One of my all time faves from the brand was the spot that Spike Jonze did. It was meta (retail obsession with perfectly folded product), it was GAP and it was 100% Spike’s take on life. There was no mega-monolith co-sign required. The product was the hero. I mean at that time no one yet knew who Rashida Jones was, but she was in the cut.
The absolute leaders in “unbeatable research” over at Blackbird Spyplane have a meticulous take on the Gap of the past and the present. Go dig in. / Via Blackbird Spyplane.
CATEGORY: ARTIFICIAL ART
AI art has taken a front row seat in the mainstream thanks to the likes of DALL-E 2 and MidJourney. My whole LInkedin feed is overflowing with “artificial ads”, “alternate material sneakers”, and anything anyone can /imagine now that these platforms have come out of beta and everyone is getting in on it. Here is something I “painted” a few months ago with Midjourney.
[ IMAGE CREDIT: TIM NOLAN /VIA INSTAGRAM ]
The results can be bizarre, but artists, designers and even “civilians” are learning how to make the technology work. The next advance, which I have been waiting for is already on the way, AI video. Buckle up for a whole new trip. / Via Creative Blog
CATEGORY: BRAND CRUSH
This is a new edition to the newsletter. The category is called “brand crush” and as creative director I have always looked at brands and been like. “yo, this is dope, and they are doing it exactly like I would have done it. To be honest it is partly about being a bit jelly, and part “I wish I thought of this”. Anywho, the first brand on this category is Vacation Inc, A leisure-Enhancing Sunscreen.
Imagine a sunscreen that takes leisure as seriously as it takes protection. Where the best in modern skincare science meet a sensorial experience that is scientifically designed to take you to paradise. Introducing Vacation® by Poolsuite FM. “Excessively good” and “leisure-enhancing” sunscreen for those who take their leisure seriously. / Via The Editor
CATEGORY: RENEWABILITY
Now this is something I have been talking about to investors for quite some time. I had an idea for painting our highway infrastructure with solar panel based paint. It would in-turn charge the potential EVs on the road for a state fee, much like a toll road, at state run charging stations. Anyhow…
It’s no secret by now that cities run hotter than the countryside: Fewer trees mean less shade, and concentrated human activity generates heat, which hard surfaces like pavement and parking lots absorb.
To combat the so-called urban heat island effect, some cities have been retrofitting public buildings into climate shelters, while others have been planting thousands of trees. One Los Angeles neighborhood is turning to solar-reflective paint. / Via Fastco.
CATEGORY: POINT OF VIEW
McKinsey’s Consumer Pulse survey recorded the highest level of consumer pessimism in July since the pandemic began, and also revealed that people are seeing inflation where it isn’t. Here is what brands could be doing. / Via AdAge