turning serendipity into predictable patterns of inspiration

Turning serendipity into predictable patterns of inspiration

RE:DESIGN/Inspire Chicago, 09.24.12 Michael Surtees

Hi, I’m Michael Surtees

Publish the blog Design Notes

Principal & Creative Director of Gesture Theory

Spends a lot of time designing products, iPad apps and social analytic tools

@MICHAELSURTEES | RE:DESIGN/Inspire | 09.24.12 | 2

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.—AlberT einsTein


becoming inspired is not about waiting for the moment but to be actively seeking it.


Creating an environment that allows for unexpect-ed results that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.


listening to internal dialog is a challenge. it’s a trick balancing the subconscious that makes you think and the dialog that makes you stop.


Observing is a two way street. There’s the unknown ahead and the past to learn from.


serendipity & inspiration?


new York City Color study

small steps: what if i captured what was outside my window everyday


Animated gif at http://designnotes.info/?p=1550


Ten15am Project

Group think: people around the world shooting at the same time every day


David Y. lee: brooklyn, nY@MICHAELSURTEES | RE:DESIGN/Inspire | 09.24.12 | 27

sahra s Zanetti: Melbourne


nick Mclelland: new York


Verna Pitts: Minnesota


barry Choi: Toronto


Michael surtees: nYC


Greig Anderson: Glasgow


Jody sugrue: Toronto


Melissa H.


Paulo Pereira: nY


revbean


c w t h


Jennifer Daniel: nYC


AiGA 20/20

Changing the tempo: sharing what it is like to walk to work in 60 seconds


Video at https://vimeo.com/6975248#at=0


#walkingtoworktoday

Merging it all together


#Typography Caught in The Wild Of #nYChttp://designnotes.info/?p=7187


From Copyranter: If you know the show, you smile at the inside joke. If you don’t know the show, you Google “March 25 and maybe you guess what it is or maybe you think March 25th is National Commit Suicide Day and you start the search for the perfect building to throw yourself off of. Or, if you see it in NYC, you think of the Fallen Man.

http://copyranter.blogspot.com/2012/01/mad-men-season-5-teaser-poster-is.html


http://perezhilton.com/2012-01-18-mad-men-teaser-poster#.Tx1iTmO49Ce


http://crushable.com/entertainment/mad-men-season-5-poster-march-25/


http://www.wetpaint.com/network/articles/new-mad-men-poster-sparks-911-controversy-is-the-ad-insensitive-


#walkingtoworktoday still continues today. It can be found on Twitter,

Instagram and Flickr and is open to anyone that want to share an image


Taking a couple other people’s process into consideration


Daily Drop Caphttp://www.dailydropcap.com starting in september of 2009, Jessica Hische posted a new illustrative initial cap daily (or at least regularly)

• Started project after leaving her day job• Inspired to keep motivated and on a schedule • Wanted to do something physical because she’s on the computer all day


http://www.dailydropcap.com


Art in The Age Presents... Jessica Hische https://vimeo.com/13683523


Average noah Kalina (A PHOTO A DAY FOr 12.5 YeArs) http://thanland.com/articles/average-noah-kalina


noah takes a photo of himself every day for 12.5 years http://everyday.noahkalina.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iPPzXlMdi7o@MICHAELSURTEES | RE:DESIGN/Inspire | 09.24.12 | 78

sVA Dot Dot Dot lectures: brendan Dawes (bits & Pieceshttp://vimeo.com/3449834

Drawing tool line & dot tool news APi feed


sVA Dot Dot Dot lectures: brendan Dawes bits & Pieces (6:02 - 7:50)

http://vimeo.com/3449834


http://doodlebuzz.com/


What did they all have in common?

• Worked on making something every day (or almost every day)

• They all used their daily routine as part of their process to explore and experiment

• Shared their results online


Exercise Part 1. Take the next 15 minutes to go outside and shoot things that interest you at a consistent interval. This might be shooting something every thirty steps, maybe it’s every 45 seconds. The key is to place a time constraint with shooting.


Exercise Part 2. Take a few minutes to go through the photos. Did you notice any patterns or repeated visual elements that reoccured with what you shot?

looking at the images through a timeline, what kind of narrative comes through?


Starting your own project A lot of times we see things and feel the impact for the moment but we don’t always document them.

• Write down things or experiences that recently occurred and made you stop and think.

• How would you use technology or not, would it be a simple sketch, write, shooting a photo everyday, perhaps make a video?

• Think about when you are in a zone to be creative (early morning before you turn on the computer, later in the day after lunch, maybe at night before bed)

• How much time can you set aside easily (5 minutes, an hour)

• Would you do this by yourself, could it be a group activity? • How would you track progress, how would it be shared?


Thanks!

Please feel free to say hi

blog: Designnotes.info email: [email protected]

Twitter: @michaelsurtees instagram: Michaelsurtees

Flickr: flickr.com/photos/michaelsurtees


turning serendipity into predictable patterns of inspiration

Design

im michael surteespublish

forthe moment

national commitsuicide

search forthe perfect

lot of time

albert einstein

ten15am projectgroup

thefallen man