Video

Super sweet, darkly humorous and incredibly clever safety advert for Melbourne Metro. Now viral and apparently the most awarded advert EVER by agency McCann Melbourne check out the full execution (no pun intended).

Ricky Gervais Tells A Story About How He Learned To Write.

Mental Floss:48 Names for Things You Didn't Know Had Names

It’s Not Porn, it's… (NSFW but NOT Porn...)

10 Qualities of Creative Leaders

   
An article on Brain Pickings from The Unpublished David Ogilvy (the original Mad Man) with his 10 Qualities of Creative Leaders.

1. High standards of personal ethics.
2. Big people, without pettiness.
3. Guts under pressure, resilience in defeat.
4. Brilliant brains — not safe plodders.
5. A capacity for hard work and midnight oil.
6. Charisma — charm and persuasiveness.
7. A streak of unorthodoxy — creative innovators.
8. The courage to make tough decisions.
9. Inspiring enthusiasts — with trust and gusto.
10. A sense of humor.

Joss Whedon '87 - Wesleyan University Commencement Speech

Joss Whedon '87 - Wesleyan University Commencement Speech

The Designer Says

From the book The Designer Says featured on Co. Design some inspiring words of wisdom from some of the worlds greatest designers...

"The nature of process, to one degree or another, involves failure. You have at it. It doesn’t work. You keep pushing. It gets better. But it’s not good. It gets worse. You got at it again. Then you desperately stab at it, believing “this isn’t going to work.” And it does!"
Saul Bass 

"It is important to use your hands. This is what distinguishes you from a cow or a computer operator."
Paul Rand

"I have a bunch of calendars I used before I went digital. Every once in a while, I’ll open up one from 1991 and look at all the names and appointments and things that, at the time, seemed so important. Meetings that I was really worried about, things that I was getting calls four times a day about, and I wonder, “Where did it all go? Where are they now?” It’s so strange, everything has disappeared. The only thing that stays behind is the work."
Michael Bierut 

"My work is play. And I play when I design. I even looked it up in the dictionary, to make sure that I actually do that, and the definition of “play,” number one, was “engaging in a childlike activity or endeavor,” and number two was “gambling.” And I realize I do both when I’m designing."
Paula Scher 

"My dream is to have people working on useless projects. These have the germ of new concepts."
Charles Eames 

A Mad Man's 10 Tips For Success

10 Tips For Success From George Lois, the original Mad Man on Co. Design

 5. Teamwork might work in building an Amish barn, but it can’t create a Big Idea.
The accepted system for the creation of innovative thinking in a democratic environment is to work cooperatively in a team-like ambience. Don’t believe it. Whatever the creative industry, when you’re confronted with the challenge of coming up with a Big Idea, always work with the most talented, innovative mind available. Hopefully … that’s you. Avoid group grope and analysis paralysis. The greatest innovative thinker of our age remains Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, a modern-day Henry Ford. Jobs was not a consensus builder but a dictator who listened to his own intuitions, blessed with an astonishing aesthetic sense.

A Lecture with Charlie Kaufman

A sensational and inspiring BAFTA lecture by Being John Malkovich screenwriter Charlie Kaufman

Tchaikovsky on Work Ethic vs. Inspiration

Another great article (with good advice) on Brain Pickings about Tchaikovsky's views on Work Ethic vs. Inspiration

“A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood.”

Neil Gaiman Keynote Address

This is a pretty inspiring key note address by the broad and brilliantly talented author Neil Gaiman with great advice for aspiring creatives.

Create a Culture of Innovation

From Co.Design, Scott Anthony, a managing director at the innovation consulting firm Innosight, offers a step-by-step guide to How Do You Create A Culture Of Innovation?

Steal Like An Artist 'Tour Sketch Book'

 More sketchbook inspiration from Austin Kleon (of Steal Like an Artist fame) with his 'tour diary'.

John Cleese on Creativity

Imagine- How Creativity Works: Jonah Lehrer

An examination of the new science of creativity explains how it involves distinct thought processes that can be tapped by anyone, revealing the practices of successful companies and creative individuals while considering how to use scientific principles to increase creativity.

I have not read this book, but the exert below piqued my interest; see a full review here.

On the creative processes that resulted in Nike's "Just Do It" campaign
"This is a great story from Dan Wieden at Wieden+Kennedy, the very honored Portland ad firm. ... He'd come up with seven videos for the new Nike ad campaign. ... He knew these different videos which featured different sports needed a shared slogan. But he just couldn't think of the slogan. ... At some point during the day, somebody must've mentioned Norman Mailer to him. And so Norman Mailer was in the back of his head somewhere.
"It's near midnight. His deadline's approaching. He's really, really frustrated at this point because he can't come up with this damn slogan. And then suddenly he thinks of Norman Mailer. He remembers Norman Mailer wrote this book called The Executioner's Song about Gary Gilmore. And he remembers Gary Gilmore's last words right before he's executed by a firing squad in Utah. His last words were, 'Let's do it.'
"And Dan Wieden thinks to himself, Geez, that's pretty brave. That's a pretty brave sentiment to have right before you die — to just get it over with. But he realizes 'Let's Do It' isn't quite right, so he tweaks one word. And there you get 'Just Do It.' ... But that's a perfect example of how, in a sense, that's an old idea. It was a line in a Norman Mailer book, and he tweaked it ever so slightly. He substituted one word and came up with one of the most influential advertising slogans of the second half of the 20th century."

Article: Don't give up the day job!

An article from the Guardian: Don't give up the day job! - how artists make a living

Super Obvious Secrets That I Wish They’d Teach In Art School

A brilliant artricle on one of my favourite blogs by Phil McAndrew

The Last Lecture

During previoulsy mentioned research on Internet Memes I came across this inspirational and moving (and famous- yes, maybe I’m a bit late discovering this…) lecture by Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.