My First Creative Morning: Rainbow Parade

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My First Creative Morning: Rainbow Parade

This was my first time at Creative Mornings, the monthly talks started by Swiss Miss design blogger Tina Roth Eisenberg. I’ve been following Swiss Miss for a few years now and her blog always has useful tips for design lovers who love technology like you and me. The talk was by graphic designer and “lucky-so-and-so” blogger Jessi Arrington.

I felt like a “lucky-so-and-so” myself because the talk was all about bright color. The talk itself was short and sweet but the rainbow parade around DUMBO that ensued was the best Friday eye-opener you could imagine. When I got home, my husband asked me if I was drunk. THAT’S how energizing it was.

Takeaways from the talk were as follows:

Think “Why Not?” instead of “Why?

This helped confirm my decision to take that color theory class at SVA that I’ve been wanting to take (coincidence) even though I think I should be taking more businessy classes; I REALLY WANT TO TAKE THIS CLASS so f*** it, I’m gonna. She referenced Steve Jobs homecoming speech and his calligraphy classes as a ‘you never know where this can lead’ example.

Don’t be glib and standoffish, be empathetic and participate.

She said this in her own way but the basic message is ‘get the chip of your shoulder and connect with people.’ Participate for crissakes. Don’t put baby (meaning you) in the corner.

and last,

Do the thing that makes you tick. Don’t do what you think others expect of you as a substitute for the real thing. It’s okay to be yourself. Really. It is.

Cindy Gallop said something along these lines at Web 2.0 in September and my old myspace page has a list of convictions that expand on the theme. Back story: I was in a hotel room int he 9th arrondisement in Paris in October 2006 when it hit me that I just had to listen to myself (I can’t believe I’m linking to this but here goes). I decided then and there that I needed to hightail it out of New York and move to Paris to write a novel, which is exactly what I did 3 months later. (Now, 5 years later, I’m married with a finished novel that I love more than anything I’ve ever done – and back in NYC ready to push it into an agents arms!)

Here are some photos of this morning and then, since we’re always work-first at What Women Make, my favorite pick from Jessi’s graphic design work.

First, the parade: