Category: Art

Project Future – Can Something Become Practical in Theory?

Hey gang!

I am futuristic and that’s final. My mind lives in the future. Theoretically, I train envisioning that we can live in an entirely digital space. Practically, we live in this space doing regular things, but we also fend for ourselves using our brains. Oh, so this is life! Let’s put a couple of examples into perspective. Note: this post is starting to examine the concept of ‘internet of things’.

Abstract – thing / being / human / agreeance / motion

We live on a physical planet where issues like climate change are just beginning to surface. This a real and serious thing. A 16-year-old climate change activist from Sweden, Greta Thunberg is fighting with global politicians pleading, “How dare you!” Her statement is full of impatience. Does this quantify or qualify the time it has taken to have a crisis like climate change in focus? Now envision, in an utmost technologically advanced society, affecting the outcome of global issues via thought. Think about this – do Thunberg’s words permeate:

an action / integrity / longevity (experience) *creativity +strength

or

a brand / transparency / visuality (capability) *productivity -weakness

In certain applications that are already in place, we could debate the efficacy of an activist’s approach. However, would there be more power in advertising or marketing a cause if the objective considered certain design elements or art attributes? How do we implicate values like belief, trust and faith into a balanced and harmonious solution? And what would be the outcome of such an act? More opportunities? Less threats?

Think ads, television, movies, radio, books.

If those in charge of operating the goods either 1 – don’t fully comprehend new technologies due to incumbent roles and desires of maintaining diplomatic consensus or 2 – need to allocate funds to get everything in place, this does not mean they’re not participating in or understanding at all. And I’m talking highly established and evolved grey matter here! Executives of all sorts know, but the argument could be that we may potentially lack tacit knowledge and this is required to engage with younger generations or for that matter, older ones too. Throes of people that might already comprehend digitization (including all levels of being – thing, human etc.) are waiting for two things – a revolution and massive change. How is it going to pan out?

An example of Global Comprehension at work –

Do you remember when Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg endured a 2-day congressional inquisition on the possibility that his company helped to fix Trump’s election campaign by intentionally (or unintentionally) releasing Facebook user data?

  • What was that all about?
  • How would you explain it to a Baby Boomer, Millennial or Digital Native?
  • How did this issue affect us in terms of technology?
  • How did this issue affect us in terms of marketing and advertising?
  • How did this issue affect us in relation to design?
  • Does it bear any importance?
  • How do we begin to explain these types of situations without being merely journalistic or too afraid to elaborate in a caption?
  • Should it matter and why?

We are honourably asking, what does Facebook incentivize and why? Personally, I think they are doing something amazing and are truly planning for our future.

In spite of everything, both Thunberg and Zuckerberg bear weight and responsibility representing modern dilemmas that many people don’t want to talk about. Or perhaps won’t or can’t.

Q: So, what are these dilemmas that require Global Comprehension?

A: Critical mass (Thunberg example) and artificial intelligence (Zuckerberg example)

Hypothetical Solution: recognizing power in unanimity (Thunberg example/things in agreeance) and leading with a ‘Productive Creative’ brain (Zuckerberg example/things in motion)

Note: the term Productive Creative is explored in Hustle & Float, a book by Rahaf Harfoush, a strategist, digital anthropologist, best-selling author and Executive Director of the Red Thread Institute of Digital Culture. She also teaches “Innovation & Emerging Business Models” at SciencesPo in Paris. This quote explains Productive Creative further –

But what happens when the product or service we are providing becomes more intangible in nature? The economy’s gradual shift to include more knowledge work meant that creativity was suddenly a highly desirable trait. That’s where the Productive Creatives came in: to stay relevant and profitable in a rapidly evolving economy, companies desperately needed problem solvers, strategic thinkers, and idea generators. This new type of work created a ripple within traditional workplaces, which now struggled to apply the same clear-cut approach to the creative class. Organizations had to adapt the decades-old systems that developed standardized organizational capabilities to ones that cultivated individual experts who could respond to market conditions with agility.

It would be time to show people – from all walks of life – what is actually going on. There is no need to be livid or paranoid or just plain complacent; if we just had Global Comprehension in place!

So let us say that today, we have the power, we have the goods, and we most definitely have the stage to set our differences aside and come up with new and inventive ways to approach our problems. So, the question becomes – can we altruistically and artificially fix problems like climate change? Could all the world’s brains come together and compute a solution that’s entirely technical (it could just be code of us walking around – engineering a practical application of semantics and proxemics really), but that would emote a creative shift in the planet’s thought processes, all things included? Without the desire to push our creative and technical limits, we will not progress. We will not move forward with fundamental ideas like artificial intelligence or critical mass.

If we can understand the essential framework of these new systems, future generations can develop and implement changes. Gen Y will test and research, then together, all generations can draw some very much needed transparent, accurate and responsible conclusions. The funny thing is, when the revolution (arguably renaissance even) is over and done with, what will be left? In other words, if there is no dilemma, did the dilemma even exist in the first place? This is my theory on Practicality – one planet, 1 human!

Uh-oh!

Today, let’s be practical (according to http://www.dictionary.com):

  • relating to practice or action
  • consisting of, involving, or resulting from practice or action
  • of, relating to, or concerned with ordinary activities, business, or work
  • adapted or designed for actual use; useful
  • engaged or experienced in actual practice or work
  • inclined toward or fitted for actual work or useful activities 

This is a timely discussion and we are all a part of it. How does this make you feel? Worried, scared, unusual? Would you be interested in exploring these ideas further if they were presented differently? As a note, I am always speaking to a mainstream audience. I think connections need to be made for each and every one of us, not only for those residing in an academic pool.

Great work, talk soon!

 

 

5 Ways Social Media is Changing the Way We Communicate

Hey everyone! 

Let’s jump right into it. 

We all know things are different. We rarely use our phones to place calls anymore. Progressively, we are relying on different social media platforms to reach out – to friends, family, co-workers and customers. We can interact with more people at once. No need to place a phone call (unless you want to close a deal); we can send a snap using Snapchat, add tags to Instagram Stories or relay continuous messages via applications like Facebook Messenger. And think, we are doing this while doing the same thing with others. All at once. In synergy, together. Thing are really changing!

The following listicle written for Jelly Marketing, touches on this new ‘permanent impermanence’ or our ability to communicate in infinite ways via digital platforms, a.k.a. social media. Social media is here to stay. Read on to find out HOW social media maximizes communicative potential!

1 Creating New Sets of Social Skills

One of the most amazing ways communication has changed via social media, is in its integration of new sets of social skills or groups of attributes more focused on visual communication. The people we are interacting with are more inclined to be engaged, because they are constantly absorbing positive social imagery – videos, gifs, stickers, emojis and even colourful applications in the form of digital writing instruments like pencils and paintbrushes. Communication has become fun! It’s almost as if this function of elements has paved a way for our social skills to light up a space. Try using Canva to bring light to your brand, for example. In this space, our feelings and emotions are heightened, so as a result we are more likely to engage in this new way, time and time again. In our current adaptive environment, this may contribute toward new forms of success.

New York Behavioral Health emphasizes this idea stating –

“Our ability to process emotional cues is associated with personal, social and academic success (Knapp & Hall, 2010).”

2 Leading with Identity

Social media has provided us with ways to express ourselves, something that is more difficult to do in a short face-to-face encounter or during a mobile phone call. We can use all the different platforms to form our image & identity, then we can choose the ways we want to share this information with others. And the greatest thing about social media is that again, it is a 2-way communication channel, so we can interact with other individuals who have similar interests or attributes. This may increase our levels of self-image or esteem. Of course, there are many discussions that would argue against this, but the point of the matter is – it’s your identity and YOU can choose. We can start to pick apart our best features and develop them further using social media aspects like, a profile picture or Facebook cover photo. Even curating a group of boards showcasing who you are and what you like on Pinterest can help develop your identity!

Dr. Uğur Gündüz is an Associate Professor at Istanbul University for the Faculty of Communication and he wrote a research article published in 2017 for the Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences on The Effect of Social Media on Identity Construction (www.degruyter.com).

Here is an excerpt relating to my idea of leading with identity –

Social media enables identity expression, exploration, and experimentation; something natural for the human experience. It is the agencies in real life, which provide a source of names for different sectors, that inspire the internet communities and the interactions they make within themselves.

3 Adaptive Learning

The ways that we communicate via social media are vast. It is not only a means to communicate with other people in new and creative ways or for establishing a specific digital identity. It is a structural tool that can be used to learn, teach and educate ourselves and others by employing incentive and authoritative techniques. Take for example, Instagram. Today’s Social Media Coordinators put together detailed strategies while skillfully composing content + format. We are learning to use the left side of our brain by applying grids, patterns, permutations and combinations. On the other end of things, we are training the right side of our brain by developing context and adding visuality to the mix.

The future of Generation Z will rely on social media to communicate findings and research relating to topics that are impacting the world. A couple of examples are the state of the science behind climate change or evaluating mental health based on technological consumption. According to a recent study, more and more teachers and professors are incorporating social media into their classrooms to engage students and support their educational development, whether online or in person (Ashford University).

4 Critical Mass

In marketing, critical mass is the idea that one, small movement in the form of an idea or expression can expand the sheer power and capacity of digital media. This can work in two ways, one – it helps users become aware of today’s most pertinent topics, current events, trends and critical intelligence that affect the way we communicate and do work. We don’t need to rely on a newspaper, we can obtain various points of view on the same topic from several different sources. Then, we can cross-postulate for our own purposes or to share with others across platforms like a blog or company e-newsletter. We can even use the least amount of words to create sustainable influence and significant reach (Twitter). Sharing information has never been so easy! We need to take advantage of critical mass in that sense. The second way is – contributing toward HOW businesses communicate. This impacts brand awareness, brand loyalty and even methods for prospecting and retaining clients. Sellers and buyers can flaunt their understanding of today’s fluctuating market (not just stocks and bonds stuff) without having to depend on outside sources, if they are connected to social media. It’s a two way street and we’re giving each other high fives!

Merriam-Webster points out that, “Once these elements reach the size that enables a company to operate efficiently, it is said that a company has reached its critical mass. Critical mass is the point at which a company becomes profitable.”

In this case, the elements are social platforms which provide new hubs of information that can make or break a company’s profitability. Social media has truly become a vital and crucial form of business development. Businesses cannot thrive without it. We communicate and work with it. Period.

Check out this article for more information – Social Media: The World’s Newest Source of Profit

5 Communicating Your Vision

In an era prior to social media, how did we figure out or map our goals? Probably with a vision board, a thought bubble written down on paper or by simply sitting down, daydreaming about what we could accomplish. This has changed so much today. Now, we can objectify our goals and visions using platforms like LinkedIn. Here, you have ample space in the About section to describe your ideas. It becomes a part of your LinkedIn profile, so other people, including employers, can see what you’re all about. But what’s even better is, you can use this section to produce timely updates relating to your journey. Others are watching and they can see the progression.

Instagram alone has become an indispensable tool for business owners. Through thoughtful curation and strategy, businesses can be portrayed in a respectable light that touches on what they offer, how they care about their customers, and in other words, what they do best. Think – campaigns that reflect a company’s core values, promotional posts that keep customers interested in products and services or spotlights on employees and company best practices, so customers can really know what they’re putting their money toward.

The hope for today is that we may collaboratively succeed using our most innovative tools (social media) and techniques (social media strategy), to communicate with others from all facets of life.

Jelly Marketing is an award-winning Digital Marketing & PR firm providing digital ads, social media, SEO, & public relations services to brands in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Their case studies explore various client objectives and the innovative + mainstream ways we can produce results by catering toward communicating vision. Have a look!

That’s it for today and remember everyone, always think of PRAC and are you living it today – Popularity, Relevance, Authority & Credibility.

The power is in us to incite wonder and change!

Talk soon!

What is Marketing?

Hey gang!

This content was developed prior to leaving VanWhistle Media. I wrote it in my small, orange notebook. I was thumbing through that today, putting some definitions together for my Definitions post. It’s amazing how you can return to something, months later and it has become more relevant than it was when it was originally written! The photo was taken at the Starlight Drive-In Theatre in Enderby, BC.

Social Emotion - Peering Into The Human Psyche

What do YOU think?

If you would like to see the Abstract for this post, shoot me an email anytime – info@chonafecanlas.com.

Cheers guys!

Latest Banner/Billboard

Hey everyone!

2 down, 1 to go. #continuouslearning

Abstract – work / power / size / EQ / PQ / IQ

I designed a banner/billboard while studying the last bits of the Hootsuite Social Marketing Certification course. I usually take 5 minute breaks here and there, to do something creative. I find it helps with my focus and energy.

Find more focusing tips here – How to Stay Sharp During Exam Preparations

When designing work intended for large scale applications (think brand loyalty + awareness), consider an art theory I will call ‘Fever’ (see this post for more background). Note: You’ll have to dig around your mind to figure out the connections there!

But back to the theory…

Say you were looking through a 3000 page art history book. You see a tiny, little thumbnail image of a painting. Now, in your mind you’re imagining a massive piece of art, covering half of a wall in a prodigious art gallery. Fast forward to a trip you decide to take to England, where you’ve scheduled 4 museum visits per day. When you finally arrive at Tate St Ives (Art Fund Museum of the Year 2018 Winner) in Porthmeor Beach, St Ives, Cornwall, you come across Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red (1937-42). You can’t believe your mind!

It’s…so…SMALL!

How can that be, you think. Well, that is the theory.

I’m sure someone has written about this before, but my version entails –

Any work (work = image + subject matter) that produces reactionary propensity (influence) via media outside of the original source (appropriation). This may be based on an ability (equanimous object + subject or audience mental equilibrium) or on the evidence of power or size in the creator’s or audience’s interpretation. In other words, the work generates a sense of power or size, partly because of the artist’s or audience’s ability (talent) and partly from the image + subject matter itself (content). The work, creator and audience can choose how to participate, which results is an unintentional, yet intentional amplification of ‘grandeur’.

Believe me, I’ve tested out this theory with many works throughout my life. It is so cool!

Power of the work. Power of the people. Power of the experience.

So, coming back to the matter at hand. When creating work on a small scale, it is important to preview the work and to evaluate its ‘power’ as a billboard placed on a busy street or a light box advertisement hung over a retail store’s checkout space. We should advertise both the company and the ‘size’ or capacity of the image + subject matter itself. If everything checks out (sorry I’m punny), you should proceed to the checkout with the work’s development. Note: your work should imbue a positive force. Make the choice, because you have it!

Example of positive force –

I remember standing in line once at Sephora and just staring at the large and beautiful space directly above the cashiers’ heads. I daydreamed about covering that space with something amazing. At the time I envisioned graffiti, but today it would be a lot more reminiscent of this post’s featured image. I might just have to keep the slogan too!

The power is in us to incite change and wonder!

The power is in us to incite wonder and change! (1)

Hope everyone has a spectacular weekend! See y’all next week.

And remember, we stay on top!

fe

PS – The topic of Fever could imbue significant change in Western medicine.

#girlstories

Hey gang!

I forgot to post my ad for #girlstories, which launched a month or two ago.

The purpose of this campaign is to empower women from different demographics and psychographics to tell their personal stories using creativity to dispel fear, judgement, and other negative attributes that we may associate with categorization.

Wikipedia describes categorization as:

…something that humans and other organisms do: “doing the right thing with the right kind of thing.” The doing can be nonverbal or verbal. For humans, both concrete objects and abstract ideas are recognized, differentiated, and understood through categorization.

I’m learning about Facebook Ads right now and it just seems fitting to mention this topic today! I love being analytical, because I don’t have to worry about ‘categorization’, it’s just an ‘interest’ hey!

It’s as simple as this:

doing the right thing –> creating campaigns

with the right kind of thing –> Facebook advertising

Facebook’s mission for 2019 is Embrace Automation. Perhaps a further step towards developing AI…

“Using Dynamic Ads, advertisers can upload an entire product catalog and set their campaign time, and let Facebook do the rest. Working in conjunction with the Facebook Pixel, Facebook will automatically show the right products to users who have visited your website previously.” –  Ignite Visibility

It doesn’t sound so simple, but it can be!

If we take this notion and apply it to a creative + technical writing style (see my first paragraph), we can attempt to mimic the theory and eliminate a need for keywords, bringing us one step closer to attributing right-brained thinking to adaptive modes of learning.

Check out this interesting article, A Glance at the Past & Future of Keyword Research on Semper Plugins.

In place of keywords, we can utilize Facebook Ad concepts like targeting, audiences and insights.

But, who is the pixel? Or, shall I say: who is Pixel? 😉

Okay, that’s my concept exploration for the day! Back to the matter at hand…

When crafting my ideas, I stay true to (what I believe is) the genuine nature of short story telling: condensed length + resisting the sense of obligation to apply edits to the original draft.

Okay, but I still run a wee minor check before I post – always!

This speaks to the campaign’s purpose – revealing our true self (it ends up being paradoxical at times – think: can we express truth condensed?) while maintaining the raw and gritty nature of our human existence.

At the end of the hour, we remain women (and men), powerful regardless of what we know, how we advertise ourselves and why we do it!

#girlstories Girl Stories is a series of creative, short stories focused on empowering creativity in women

These stories will be posted at least once per month. I hope you enjoy them and if you have any ideas for new character names, I’m all ears!

The Development of Trogg

Trogg a new potential character from Elevententeen

Redux – A Work in Progress

(Title inspiration: Reduxwood West)

Hi everyone!

You can find the original blog post under the name A Work in Progress (you can also find it under Technical Work on my homepage).

Since determining that my actual most fit vocation is art/creative direction (yay!), I had to update the original post for transparency and accuracy. I guess the act of doing that is responsible!

Another thing to clarify – saying ‘customized content solutions’ is just a more ambiguous way of saying art/creative direction. And, saying ‘define or refine your brand’ is my way of slowly dissecting the meaning of Digital Presence and how it can impact a business’ success. Is it not crazy to think only half a year ago I didn’t respect my artistry (and 20+ years of it)?! INSANE!

Imagine this graphic in a movie’s title credit (inspired by Star Wars).

Blox is an artistic identity that was developed in the early 2000s. Since then, it has become a moniker for Chona's creative and technical work embodying explorations of (a concept she developed called) Digital Pre

 

Fruit Salad

Hi everyone!

These are the kinds of stories I love telling my daughter, Bishop. I want her to understand linearity and its purpose. So in the most basic of elements, the beginning and an end. Also, inserting subject matter that she is currently familiar with, like numbers, colours and fruits. Her stories lately start with, “One day!” as if she is saying ‘today’ with so much resolve, confidence and sobriety. She is not referring to daydreams in or of the future. It is a great mentality that I sometimes wonder (with my preposterous knack for discounting – this is why I value BELIEF), did she get that from me?

The answer is: Yes, she did. Of course!

If all else fails: trust your daughter!

Enjoy!

Abstract – the / an / referring / which village are you from

She bombed down the hill, biting her teeth into a teal blue apple. The shiny surface reflected confidence and her sobriety. She was going to win this game! But then suddenly, the mysterious sasquatch was coming. She could hear his roar and he zoomed through the trees landing victoriously onto a pile of soft snow. His green tuque made him look like a kiwi fruit. Bishop was suddenly starving, but there was no time to stop.

A team of yellow capricorns danced around the finish line, laughing and hiccuping at the sight before them. The orange judge was serious and studious. He seemed to bear more focus on his clipboard than on the race. Flipping her hair and toying with the pens behind her ears, another judge was vivacious and fixated. Her red dress was imprinted with marigold polka dots and it swayed in the warm breeze felt by all at Sunshine Village.

Village A is competitive. Always looking for the advantage. Has an alarming penchant for recognition, which bears a sense of positivity in their pursuits. Village A is not at first welcoming, but becomes comfortable if their surroundings seem to agree. 

Suddenly, Chona came flying down the narrow corridor wearing a vintage, pink one-piece snowsuit she found at Value Village precisely 10 years ago. There was no one behind her at this point, so she raised her arms proclaiming, “Funny. These bags seem heavier than they were yesterday. My stuff must have grown!” The clock was ticking down to the last few seconds, then a huge bell signalled the end of the race.

Village B is innovative. Always looking for the answer. Has an alarming penchant for reassurance, which bears a sense of positivity in their pursuits. Village B is not at first welcoming, but becomes comfortable if their surroundings seem to agree.

The champions switched outfits (because that’s what champs do when they win) and all stood boldly on the podium, waving arms, pleasing the crowds who came to watch them.

“Purple purple. The medals are purple! That is so cool!”

SEO

Hi everyone!

Just a short burst of info here. What are you drawn to? Do the colours play a significant role in your interpretation? What connections can you make with the chosen imagery attached to each hashtag?

A perfect brainstorming exercise for design newbies – make a list under each hashtag including transferable elements (actual aspects and items like a brand name or object) and attributes (descriptions and words) for each. Aim for 50 answers, then narrow down to your top 10 answers, then again to your top 3, then top 1. What conclusion can you draw from this experiment?

Always remember the acronym PRAC – Popularity, Relevance, Authority & Credibility. This will help you target your audience and ensure that your content is set up to improve your overall search engine rankings.

Yes, yes…SEO is a lot more complex than a simple acronym, but sometimes starting off with something more general helps to develop your digital marketing strategy or plan more succinctly down the road.

I will get into this topic (SEO) further in the  future!

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Consonance

IMG_2928

Hi everyone!

We do what we do! But without our mind getting in the way?

I sometimes find myself questioning my work. I ask myself – is it too ‘complicated’ for the ‘average’? Does it come off as ‘fluffy’ or ‘dense’? These words mean too many things, but we get used to one meaning, and that is not right.

And when our minds enter ‘the complex’, we should stop and perform self-talk. People avoid self-talk for fear that it gives others the impression that we’re ‘crazy’. I mean, my mouth moves when I’m thinking too hard! So what! Okay, it might just look ‘odd’. But nowadays, self-talk should be used as a positive, gentle form of therapy to get us back on track to believing in the idea of original intention. Google explores this concept readily, when it comes to understanding how people surf the internet. That being said, why is it today, that we feel an attachment to guilt, pity or shame when it comes to feeling a different way about something? Well, it could be ‘different’ things – an idea of interdependence, requirement or necessity.

When I came across the word consonance, I felt blessed and it quickly resonated with my current circumstance, because it challenges the notion of sleep (figure it out). Like take a break here and there, not everyone hates you, if anything shout it off the tallest rooftop – you are loved everywhere! Just go in with that attitude anyway, smile until it hurts. Find the humour in everything and go ‘nuts’, it’s not going to kill you to have fun! Here’s a bit on consonance as it relates to working and the whole job interview process thingamajigger.

Scott Olster, Ideas Editor at LinkedIn, wrote a brief article around “the idea of business trends, perspectives, and hot topics you need to know to work smarter”. He says –

Success can easily end up feeling hollow when it’s defined and measured by other people’s standards. For our work to have lasting personal value, author Laura Gassner Otting writes that we need to focus on developing what she refers to as consonance.

Laura is a writer for Harvard Business Review and she defines consonance as –

“Consonance is not just purpose writ large (and lofty). It’s your purpose, freely and clearly defined by you, and put into action through awareness of and alignment with your life’s plan. Consonance is when what you do matches who you are (or who you want to be).”

As I enter the interview zone, I will remember alignment with your life’s plans as another tip that will help me remember why this is taking so long. I’m dying here guys!

Hello. Thank you for the opportunity, now I have something to say…

Do you relate to this? What is the interview process like for you? Easy? Intense? How do you prepare?