We all want to change and yet in moments of crisis and chaos, the first thing we all do is to become fixed in our mindset. When we freeze in our thinking it narrows our field of vision. The question here is how do you break through this pattern? You need to train your mind to see your situation more creatively.
Here at Yeh IDeology, we believe that in order for a designer to play a successful, pivotal role within a company she/he must be multilingual. What do we mean by this? Well, if a designer is to communicate with multiple departments, such as marketing, product development, engineering, finance, of a given company then they need to understand and be empathetic to the terminology, ways of thinking, objectives, priorities and general culture of those departments. the more considerate a designer is of the needs of other divisions they collaborate with the more successful their own design work and to some degree the more essential they become to an organization. Those that are able to be multilingual and the conduit to various divisions the more essential they become. This also happens to be a key ability of leadership and management roles.
Mastering the Language of Business: From Babble to Clarity - DMI Web Conversation.
We think that the recent DMI Web Conversation entitled Mastering the Language of Business: From Babble to Clarity, highlights our view on the need for innovative ways of exploring the language of business. Pam DeCesare spoke with Dieter Reuther and Donna Denio about a playful solution to miscommunication within business: LEGO Serious Play. This childhood construction toy is used as a "tool to help improve communication" and produce creative metaphors of scenarios in an organization that facilitate team workshops.
Mastering the Language of Business: From Babble to Clarity - DMI Web Conversation.
Mastering the Language of Business: From Babble to Clarity - DMI Web Conversation.
The applications provide a familiar foundation for team members to express their ideas and pose questions in a way that is non intrusive and accommodating of company culture.
We were recently listening to Sherry Turkle’s TED talk about the dangers of social media/social networking. Turkle spoke often that we are becoming increasingly “connected, but alone”. The statement resonates and is a frightening reminder that social media participation doesn’t necessarily equate to true connectivity to other people. There’s a comfort in these internet personas: you can be who you want, you can ignore who you want, you can lash out at or praise anyone you want… without ever coming into contact with them. It struck us how this issue is affecting careers today not only in the design industry but in all industries.
When we at Yeh IDeology reflect on all of the clients and searches we've worked on, one of the most crucial characteristics that most all of our clients ask for, regardless if they are a major global corporation, manufacturer, design consultancy or start up, is the ability to communicate with others. Whether it’s being able to communicate across departments, with clients, or within one’s design team, effective communication skills are an essential quality that these employees and future employees must have.
Moreover, Turkle states that the “little devices” that we carry with us during the day, sleep with at night, and use as a form of comfort and companionship, are so “psychologically powerful that they no longer simply affect what we do, they change who we are.” Now that the Internet can be accessed anywhere and everywhere using a simple touch of a button or phone screen, there is no “down time” from our Online Lives. She gives the examples of phones being used underneath the table at a business meeting, under a desk during school, and even while spending time with friends and family. We no longer give our attention towards subjects that are supposed to be meaningful to us, and allow ourselves to be distracted by the “rest of the online world”.
The fear is that we may be losing our most valuable skills: relating to others by empathizing or negotiating, representing and positioning ourselves, building real-life relationships, questioning, collaborating, mentoring, leading, etc. When it comes to communicating with one another, we have trained ourselves to retreat into our Internet personas, instead of reaching out with face-to-face conversation. We tend to see in any industry, that those that have a higher social intelligence tend to rise in the ranks faster because social interpersonal skills becomes one of the key attributes needed to succeed in management.
We pose the following questions to you: Are you noticing that social media is affecting business relationships at work? Is it changing the amount of communication, or lack of communication, with other departments? Is progress within your department suffering because of this? More importantly how is this affecting you directly? How is this affecting your job and your advancement?
The growth of digital spaces is inevitable but physical spaces will never be rendered completely irrelevant. As the two spaces fight for room in our lives the norms in one clash with norms in the other, affecting our ability to thrive in either.
PepsiCo made a really great move this past week by introducing Mauro Porcini as their first Chief Design Officer.This is a major win for PepsiCo and particularly their brand culture, which has undergone a variety of shifts during its lifetime without a key design chief to steer the ship. For a great visionary leader in design such as Mauro Porcini to handle the design language and image of the corporation’s top brands, PepsiCo may finally be able to settle upon an image or stronger sense of brand equity. Longtime rival Coca-Cola has known this for a while, whether purposefully or by a lucky draw, which is why the color red and scripted font are unmistakable throughout the world. And in a world where the brand is sometimes worth more than the product itself, bringing someone in who finally has the ability to say "This is who we are, this is what we are about, and we need to scream it from the mountaintops" is exactly the thing they need, not another, newer logo to take place of the old one. It's just another example of companies that are beginning to trust design, understand its value, and seek it out, and let designers take the reigns and utilize their creativity to establish brands. As more companies begin to understand that design isn’t just about styling pretty things, that in reality it's a vehicle and an invitation for the entire consumer experience, the world will begin to see more and more impactful and engaging brand experiences and start to develop more personable relationships with the product.
Pretty exciting stuff!
This year our holiday greeting focused on New Year’s Resolutions (Or New Yeh Resolutions as we have begun calling them around the office, of course devolving into thick New Yohk accents…) Of course, mindful self-improvement isn't everyone's favorite part of the New Year, but even thinking about what you'd like to change can set you on the path towards a better day-to-day.
One of my favorite instances of a new years resolution was that of a close friend of mine who resolved to read a book a week a few years ago. A voracious reader (and at the time, an English major) she not only pulled it off, but upped the ante the next year, reading a book a week in addition to all the books she read for her regular course load. Even if she hadn’t achieved it, just by trying she still would’ve read far more than in a standard year.
So we thought we’d put the question out to the entire design community. What are you planning on improving and changing in the coming year? We’d love to hear from you! Write/Sketch/Photograph/Model (heck render a 3-D representation if you’re feeling especially ambitious) your 2012 plans. We know you all are visual people, so use whatever medium fits the task best and then tweet it @yehID #NewYehRes From the incidental to the revolutionary we want to hear what you’re going to do to make 2012 the end-all and be-all (figuratively, of course)
To get the flow started a few members of our team have done their own resolution documentation. Our Masterpieces? Not necessarily, but we will be keeping them in the office as a tangible record of our 2012 ambitions.
Now its your turn! Print out our template below and visualize your own New Years Resolution. Put it up in a great place as a constant reminder of what you want to achieve. And don't for get to tweet us! @yehID #NewYehRes
Our second day at Designboost was comprised of lectures by leaders pushing the boundaries of the design world. Of all of the lectures I was able to attend, I enjoyed the playful energy Philip Tiongson’s company Potion has been bringing to the interaction design & technology space.
My absolute favorite was Aaron Dignan’s lecture entitled “The Future of Work is Play.” He talks about the formula for creativity and play and how business has to understand the fine line and balance between boredom to creativity to anxiety. It’s exciting to hear because this is one of the main aspects that Yeh IDeology analyses when we match talent with our client’s opportunities. We look for that fine balance of variety and challenge so that the right candidate will be as ideally enthralled by the opportunity and the company energized by a committed new member with initiatives that are aligned to their creative team’s mission.
See Aaron's lecture below:
See part one of our coverage of the Designboost event here!
I had a delightful time at the first Designboost held in the US hosted by the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum last week. It was an honor to be surrounded by such design luminaries.
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On the first day, I participated in a discussion where the first statement was: “When design has turned global, production is still local.” We debated about the different aspects and ramifications of design and globalization. How do you balance the standardization that comes with globalization and how do you bring local globally? Together with Avani Agarwal, Fredrik Andersson, Carla Diana, Davin Stowell, Barry Richards, Chris Streng, and Karen John in my group we shared our own varying experiences with globalization of design. We came out with so many varying concepts that were diverse in their objectives and solutions.
I hypothesized if you devised a design service template that could overlay any industry culture then the local cultural resources whether it be people, ideas or materials could grow and fill in that lattice. Then structurally each design service template would resemble the others and yet each locale’s end result would be unique from the local origins of it’s ingredients. Somewhat like how Mc Donald’s sells pasta in Italy and sushi in Japan each caters to it’s own local preferences and yet there’s continuity to the brand.
The second event I attended was entitled “Where does politics end and design begin?” In this seminar, together with Ivar Draganja, Avani Agarwal, Carla Diana, Andrea Ruggiero, Julie Taraska, and Brad Dixon, we discussed the various ways in which design and politics impact each other, and if they even should work together. “Can the two form a strong unit, and make a real difference and should they?
I ultimately believe that design could really help our government, especially now when we are seeking to reevaluate the ways in which our government work. Design in the form of design research, design strategy, and service design could play a huge part in helping to explore where to go from here. Think of the research that could be done on the healthcare and education system. This one was a fascinating topic and I was chosen to be video taped for this one. Stay tuned for the clip once it’s posted. I hope I sound articulate.
For each seminar, Designboost chose one representative to speak about the topic at hand. I was lucky enough to be chosen for one of them, and the video should make it onto the Internet sometime soon—I will share it with you then.
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That night we all had fun at a speed networking event. Exhausting yet fun and fueled with wine & Swedish whiskey I met so many people passionate with their own unique design initiatives. There was so much networking going on you could barely hear yourself over the cacophony and energy of sharing initiatives & support.
See part two of our coverage of the Designboost event here!
My good friend Meredith Goodwin Bajaj, a Design Manager at Nulux, sent me a quote by today's featured person on Google, Martha Graham, an inspirational dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance as an art form has been compared to the work of Picasso in the world of painting.
In an anecdote from Agnes de Mille about a conversation she had with Graham:
"The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 after the opening of Oklahoma!, when I suddenly had unexpected, flamboyant success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha. I remember the conversation well. It was in a Schrafft's restaurant over a soda. I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly:
'There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.'"
Wow.
Thanks to Meredith and Martha Graham for inspiring me today!! :)
Last week Monday I spoke to the Resource Directors Association for their annual Career & Money meeting. I met Eileen Rasgdale, the president of RDA at last year's Cooper-Hewitt Teen Fair that Yeh IDeology has been asked to participate in for the last several years. Eileen asked me to come speak to RDA regarding the changes impacting the architecture industry and give advice on how to adjust and navigate these changes. The RDA is a not-for-profit professional network of resource persons working in the Architecture and Design community and their mission is to share knowledge of new products, specification issues and news and changes within the industry. They have chapters in Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle.
As everyone went around the room sharing their backgrounds and their top concerns in this intimate group setting it quickly became apparent that this group of creative professionals were dedicated and passionate about their field. We talked about how the shift in this new economy had affected their industry as well. For some members' companies had either down sized or taken on more account but overall the main impact was that the work load and responsibilities were doubled. We talked about ways for members to prepare for these changes and how to position themselves to take advantage of these new shifts and yet set reasonable expectations for those around them as their responsibilities change. Having been actively involved in organizations like IDSA and being on their board of directors, we also explored various solutions and ways RDA the organization could support the members individually.
It's indeed challenging time these days and regardless of the industry, the ways that companies have been structured and have always done business has changed. Yet at the same time these drastic times of change in history are often the ripest moments to implement change for the better and improvement. Status quo has been upended and everyone is more receptive to change.
I talked about how the new normal in this new era is "adaptability" and those that will make it in this new era will be the ones that look ahead to predict the next industry shifts, adjust to them and be ready to embrace them. Collectively this was a strong dedicated community and it was refreshing to see that many great ideas were already there percolating waiting to be acted on. I look forward to seeing how the members of RDA collaborate and navigate this new era.
Here I am with a few of the members as we lingered after our lecture admiring the gorgeous furniture at Suite NY, who generously hosted the event.
Thanks to Eileen Rasgdale and the RDA for having me come speak.
Our workshop "Branding You and Connecting to Your Target Market" was a huge success as heard from IDSA and all the unsolicited comments we received from IDSA.NED conference-goers. As our talk was one of the first workshops to start off the conference on Friday morning, it set the tone for the rest of the conference for many of our attendees. Throughout the conference, whenever one of our attendees met another workshop attendee, they would compared notes and connected each other to new people, teaching new people in the long run this new networking game. I have to admit I absolutely love to speak and lecture. There's something to finding the commonality of a group's needs and speaking to that need and cause and inspiring change. Being able to teach an entire group to change from one frame of mind to another state is thrilling, and when done successfully it's amazing what energy and inspiration can be generated from that moment.
Held earlier this month at the IDSA Northeast District Conference at the Rhode Island School of Design, I taught about general issues of branding yourself in various scenarios and customizing this for your own initiatives. The aspect I believe in most is about creating and developing a network and community around your end goal, through supporting your community.
We also used Yeh IDeology's fun magnets, designed by Mel Lim at Mel Lim Consulting Studio, as networking tools which put a twist on the motive of networking. The exercise, a partial ruse to play Memory or Go Fish, participants sought out and met people that owned icon magnets they had to match on their own Raffle Tickets.
Mindset-wise, I believe in helping the community you want to be part of. Truly the term "paying it forward". To make a lasting impression, knowing the needs of those you meet and helping them as much as you also convey your own goals and aspirations.
Our workshop successfully energized the participants and changing attendee perceptions of their own brand and purpose.
As a result I almost couldn't stop the crowd from networking. And at the end of the workshop, the networking proceeded for several minutes after the lecture and through out the conference. During the second 10 minute exercise we discovered a 3 person connection resulting in immediate collaboration for business between the 3 individuals. Knowing what we had helped generate in just a few minutes of a workshop, just imagine what we helped generate through out the conference!
People told me that they developed an overwhelming sense of altruism to the point they forgot about their own insecurities about venturing out to meet others and instead felt like stewards for their new friends. They were focused on how to help their new friends while sharing what they were looking for as well.
I'd love to recreate that kind of energy at another event. If anyone knows of the ideal venue, I'm all ears. :-)
Another great example of how networking works! Alice Ro successfully collected 5 different magnets and went back to her office and shared with Marco Perry the founder of Pensa and the IDSA Northeast District Vice President organizing the IDSA Northeast District Conference in Providence, RI how much fun our successful networking event with our fun magnets was. I'm excited to tell you that in addition to my holding a workshop at the District Conference in Providence RI in April, IDSA.NED has asked us to develop a networking event there as well, and this time on a much grander scale through out the course of the 2 day conference.
I hope you'll be able to come and join us up in Providence and expand your network and community of friends up there April 8 & 9!
It's been a couple of weeks since our party and it's surprising how the reverberations from our party are still reaching out to us. We're still getting responses from people about how much fun the event was and how everyone met so many great new friends and connections.
I have to say, now that we've gotten a taste of what it was like to create this inspiring moment we're curious what to do next. It's a shame not to recreate it again right? Do me a favor and share with us hear how the event went for you as well. Who did you meet. Did anything come of that night?
And a question Yeh IDeology would love you to answer. Still warming up to this blogging thing. What advice would you like to know, about career, building business, networking, etc...? We'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts.
Thanks folks!
Whew, what a great night Yeh IDeology's 5 Year Celebration turned out to be. In all the years meeting the best of the best in every industry category we've heard some of the best business practices and advice on running businesses, building and investing in design and strategizing career paths. Wanting to do more than just celebrating, we brought together some great friends and colleagues to share their insights with everyone and inspire us as we enter the new year. 
Our Speakers Yasemin Bernardete of Springs Global reminds us you have to identify and respect what makes each brand unique and hold true to that element. Brand strategy and brand management is becoming more critical than ever.
Brad Lacey of Converse reminds us in this new day and age to never rest on your laurels and always have a healthy does of paranoia, always learning something new to stay current. Brand strategy is key here as well and Brad shares how critical it is to work with other divisions and collaborate.
Joe Moya of MindsInSync talks about having been on both corporate side and consultancy side that knowing your core values is key as you represent yourselves to your clients and customers. Even firms need to stay true to their value proposition and know how to best represent their brand image.
Cliff Kuang, the Founder of Co Design, tells us that with the uprising of technology and new crowd sourcing organizations now is the time to invest in that amazing idea that you had. Cliff cites how too many creatives are panicking and diluting their identity by accepting and taking on everything not standing firm to what they excel at.
The panel discussion inspired us to venturing into 2011 with a new outlook, as we all reflected about representing ourselves and our true value propositions, we turned to the networking portion of the night. We were 150+ of the most talented individuals in the creative industries gathered in one room and here was a perfect opportunity to connect, learn about each others goals and initiatives and help each other in our mutual endeavors.
As a fun exercise to spur the merriment, we gave out YehID magnets and an award was given to the first guest that successfully swapped magnets to meet 3 people, the individuals that the winner met also won prizes as well, rewarding the connections made. Meryem Tangoren was the first one to come up to us having successfully swapped and collected 4 of her 5 magnets and in the process she reconnected with old friends and met new ones. Meryem reconnected with old classmate Janet Villano of SkipHop, and met Dina Romanko as well.
We then put a shout out to all of our friends and thanked everyone for coming out that night to celebrate and we broke into our delicious beautiful cake by Heather Barranco-Machado who has just opened DreamCakes. Think of Ace of Cakes and incredibly delicious in the tri-state area. Another great connection through her husband Jason Machado whom I've know in the industry for years.
Right after the prize giving and cake cutting we couldn't stop the crowd going back to their feverish networking and merriment. It was amazing. So many friends and clients from past and present, as well as new came to congratulate us bringing along their friends they insisted that we just had to meet as well.
I've planned parties and events all of my life. It's an incredible feeling when you've successfully created just the right moment, energy and vibe, and when you scan the room everyone is having a blast. That was this night.
It's the bonds that you make that help you make things happen. And this night would not have been an absolute success without the great partnership and friendship of Stephan Clambaneva and his dedicated IDSA.NYC team (Courtney Hewitt, Jerry Mejia, Anthony Puleo, Daghan Perker) and their introduction to the Knoll team and the gorgeous expansive showroom.
Let me say too that planning a party at the last minute on the fly, not everything goes right and my deepest apologies to all of our friends that were not able to make the guest list as we had a limit we had to keep to. I suppose we'll have to plan to get a bigger place next year. ;-)
And take a look at the articles about our celebration, brought to you by the good folks at Core77 and IDSA!
Hi Folks! So 2011 has started out with a big bang for us in many ways. First, traditional clients and leaders in various industry sectors have been looking to invest in design and have been reaching out to us to help them build their teams. Secondly, I'll be teaching at Parsons another semester as well as guest lecturing at Pratt and Georgia Tech, along with hosting a "Branding You" Workshop at at the IDSA's Northeast District Conference in April. Great networking connections have also led to collaborations on a Motivation Survey that we're excited to be sharing with you both the research and the results, a podcast interview with Total Picture Radio, and an upcoming video podcast, just to name a few.
Needless to say we're on a roller coaster of progress and it's exciting to start the year in this spirit. On top of all that, Yeh IDeology is turning 5 years old this month. We're so busy we almost didn't realize but on the insistence of friends and colleagues we've decided to have a little party to celebrate the occasion. We're asking you to join us in celebration of Yeh IDeology's five years of collaboration with the design community. After all, without you we would not be here today. And we're grateful that we're able make a difference, doing our part in helping the design industry continually evolve and grow.
So Save the Date! In collaboration with IDSA|NYC, Yeh IDeology will be celebrating our 5th year Anniversary on February 24th at the Knoll Showroom in New York City. It will be a content rich, content sharing, connection building event, with knosh, drinks, and a panel discussion on the State of Design in the New Economy, with:
Brad Lacey - Creative Director of Converse Yasemin Bernadette- Design Director at Springs Global Cliff Kuang - Sr Editor CODesign of FastCompany Joe Moya - VP Product Development at Minds In Sync
Hope to see you there!
Ang
Back on January 5th, 2011, I attended Bill Taylor's book signing Launch Party honoring the release of his new book "Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy Ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself." It was hosted by Fast Company and TBWA. Attending this event was a perfect example of networking. Over all it was a great intimate event with some of New York's most interesting thought leaders and game changers and I ended up making some random connections and amazing events spun off of them.
My dear friend Meredith Goodwin, Lighting Design Manager at Nulux invited me to this event and we ended up met some new and old friends. Here she is meeting Jean-Luc Mege and Brandon Williams, Senior Vice President at TD Bank, who she introduces me to.
Jean-Luc Mege is a very well established photographer here from France making a new name for himself in NYC, no doubt it won't take long.
Who would think that I would get to meet I get to meet the heads of my bank TD Bank at a book signing? Brandon Williams and Joseph Paradise, VP, Retail Market Manager of TD Bank not pictured here quickly put me in touch with my local branch manager Sheldon Berg, who within weeks came to my office to meet me. Little known facts- TD Bank is open on Fridays from 7:30am till Midnight. And they are the only banks with police officers stationed there. I do love how convenient they are, and for an entrepreneur business owner those extended hours really help me manage my time.
This is the serendipity of networking. Randomly introducing myself to new interesting game changers at the party I met Peter Clayton founder of Total Picture Radio and Jobs In Pods. Within a few seconds we realized our circles overlapped as we're both about promoting careers and leadership. The best unexpected thing that came out of this was Peter Clayton's invitation to interview me for his podcast interview for Total Picture Radio which we recorded a month later (you'll get to read and hear about in my subsequent blog).
I was lucky to have my copy of the book signed by Bill Taylor and in honor of the event, I had a blast standing up on the "Practically Radical" Soapbox together with Meredith declaring my "Practically Radical" New Year's Resolution. I declared my resolve to transform Yeh IDeology, shake up the industry, and challenge myself in 2011.
Over all we had a great time catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Here's Kofi Aidoo on my team with our industry friend JooYoung Oh, and our friend Ayse Birsel was there as well.
Networking can deliver some great serendipitous results but it won't happen unless you get out there. I always find too that it's a lot more fun if you go with friends and collaborate helping each other meet people.
We’ve been so busy this year with so many projects on our plates that we almost forgot to plan our company holiday event. In the past we’ve gone to dinner, but we wanted to have a great company party and to do something different this year.
Last year the ping pong bar/club SPiN opened up on 23rd Street off of Park Avenue. Ending a romp around town during an ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) event in May ’09, we ended up at SPiN. My dear friend Arthur Young-Spivey, the man about town who led us there, pointed out one of the club’s owners, Susan Sarandon, as she was showing Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher around the bleachers to a dark corner lounge chair. That proved to be one of my best celebrity sightings ever!! As savvy New Yorkers, we satisfied our furtive glances, then turned our attention back to the two dapper pros whipping balls back and forth across the premier table.
We couldn’t get a table to play that night because the reservations have to be made way in advance but I knew we had to come back and try it. So this year after mulling over bowling, ice skating or billiards, we booked us a table at SPiN.
Just about everyone has played ping pong at some point in their life. Some contest their expertise, some challenge others, and some down play it.. Got to watch out for those. haha Either way, we were having a blast whacking those orange balls around. The best thing about this company holiday event is that there are so many great people who have helped us make Yeh IDeology what it is today. We were able to invite quite a few friends to the table (pun intended) and celebrate.
A little decadent detail about this club was that we never had to pick up any of the balls we were letting loose. Roaming the club were special attendants with nets on sticks who deftly scooped up all the ping pong balls. It was a good thing too because we played singles, doubles, and sometimes we were just trying to shoot as many balls at each other as fast as we could. We laughed so hard our cheeks ached.
One game I’ve always wanted us to try is Round Robin ping pong. There were seven of us, each with a paddle, rotating around the ping pong table. As one person hit the ball, the next person would step up to hit the ball. It got to a point where we were dizzy from circling the table, skipping sideways. There are ways to make the game more challenging, like sharing only two paddles between everyone and reducing the numbers down to two as people miss their shots, but this was about letting everyone have fun and we had a blast.
We noshed on delicious food from the restaurant Ducks in the back of the club. The sliders were delicious and the vanilla popcorn addictive and not at all as saccharine sweet as you’d expect. They had a great selection of beers, wine and cocktails too. What you don’t realize is what a workout you get from ping pong. Definitely have those waters ready.
All in all a fun company holiday party. Can’t wait to figure out what we do for next year.
There are so many things to do for our new website and corporate identity launch. One new thing that I didn't expect would turn out to be such an incredibly fun assignment was a photo shoot. When Mel Lim, our brand identity visionary, told me she needed shots of our office, I thought “Sure, we'll take a digital camera and just shoot away for a couple of hours one morning.” I realize now that our team is talented in many ways, but we're not skilled at being models and being the photographer at the same time. Let's just say that when Mel saw our homemade shots, she suggested in the kindest way that we do this the right way. We had a good laugh. After much deliberation, I turned to my friend Andrew Steinman, whose key strength, besides being a phenomenal photographer, is making ordinary people feel at ease in front of the camera, to the point of having fun.
This morning we had a blast. While Andrew and his crew got set up, we noshed on coffee and bagels. There is something to learning how to be comfortable in front of the camera. Most of us are shy, and while we want to look great, we’re a bit awkward. Andrew quickly diverted our attention, lightened the mood, and put everyone at ease. Soon we were all laughing, joking, and teasing one another.
We all work so hard, Our work is sensitive and we’re all dedicated to the success of this business. Having a photo shoot was a fun morale booster and a great change of pace. It turned into an excellent company event where everyone relaxed and socialized.
Being a consummate perfectionist, Andrew took tons of great shots. While you’ll get to see many of the shots throughout our website, there will be many you won’t see. As a side company perk, my team will be able to take some great shots home to enjoy and remember the event and the day. Out of what I thought was just going to be a side project for our brand repositioning, evolved an invaluable and fun company experience.
