Creative Week 2014 - Yanin De Jesus

Last year during the spring semester, the creative track had night class over at DDB, where we met Matt Eastwood, DDB New York's Executive Creative Director. We had received a brief for the product Brawny, where Mr. Eastwood helped us and critiqued us on our executions. I asked him the very common question "what advice would you give to your younger self?" His answer, summarized in one word, "Passion." He went on to show us “Kenya Bucket List,” a documentary about a four-year-old Maasai boy named Nkaitole (pronounced Guytolie) and his adventure outside his village, checking things off his "bucket list" before his 5th birthday, which is about the age where young children pass away due to unsafe drinking water. No doubt you would not feel the gravity drop in the room. Everyone watched with a heavy heart and as the video ended, we looked for hope and felt inspired by Mr. Eastwood and his WaterIsLife movement.

Mr. Eastwood started off his "SO, You've Created an Award-Winning Campaign. What Next?" at the 2014 Creative Week with the emotional video. "But what do you do next? How do you follow up?" were the questions, talking about how important it is to keep this life-saving campaign running. He introduced us to “The Drinkable Book, ... the first-ever Manual that teaches safe water tips and serves as a tool to kill deadly waterborne diseases – providing the reader with an opportunity to create clean, drinkable water with each page. “The Drinkable Book” features a brand new type of paper invented by McGill University & University of Virginia chemist, Dr. Theresa Dankovich, and works like a scientific coffee filter. Each page of the book is coated with silver nanoparticles, which kill diseases like cholera, E. coli and typhoid." - http://www.ddb.com/blog/creativity/revolutionary-clean-water-product-introduced-by-waterislife-and-ddb-new-york/

It was very exciting to see something grow and how it has reached and moved millions to make a difference. Mr. Eastwood also gave us an update on Nkaitole on how he was doing. Nkaitole has given Mr. Eastwood his stick, used to lean on while standing and help defend the village from animals, because he has outgrown it. He has a bigger stick and now a Maasai warrior.It was a great follow up from Mr. Eastwood's visit to our class in the spring.

There were many great panels at Creative week, a long with the LGBT, The 3% Conference, but there was another panelist who resonated with the "creative for good" in me. I'm always wondering how to give back, even if just a little bit to the community. John Bielenberg, Designer, entrepreneur and imaginative advocate for a better world, held his "BORN INGENIOUS" panel and discussed how to not be afraid of failure, make small bets and have affordable losses. How can we solve problems with ingenuity. He introduced us to his 6 small steps:
Be Bold: What's the bold challenge? what's the big picture? Don't be afraid to think big.
Get Out (make moves, get out the office, explore the environment.
Think Wrong: Don't just go with your first output, it might seem perfect but it's not always the answer.
Make Stuff: Talking doesn't do any good, prototype and making things makes progression. How can you make something better, but don't stop at your answer because it can take you places.
Bet Small: What looses can you afford to lose? Small bets can take you message farther and take unexpected turns.
Move Fast: Take everything you've learned, gain momentum, take something from nothing and make something, it can lead to something big.

It was very inspirational listenening to Mr. Bielenberg speak. Who thought pie would bring a community together? It's the simplest things with a little bit of ingenuity and resources that can solve problems no matter how big or small.