Brené Brown On Sweaty Creatives, The Perspiration From Fear And Dealing With Critics.

Over the years, since I saw her original TED Talk, I've tried to take Brown's advice to heart. 

There is nothing more frightening than the moment we expose our ideas to the world. In this presentation at the 99U Conference, author and vulnerability researcher Brené Brown shows us how to deal with the critics and our own self-doubt by refusing to “armor up” and shut ourselves off. “Not caring what people think,” she says, “is its own kind of hustle.”

Instead we must “reserve a seat” for the critics and our own self-doubt. “Tell them, I see you, I hear you, but I’m going to do this anyway.”  

A manifesto for creative professionals

Paul Jarvis verbalizes some truths about creative work:

We are amplifiers. Clients need to bring their skilled craft to the table for any project to succeed.

We work on trust. Clients pay us because they trust in what we do and the skills we possess.

We'd rather be challenged with innovation than model any project after one that already exists.

Every project must be useful and good for the world.

We work for our client's clients, so we sometimes side with them.

We only work on projects where we believe our clients can succeed. Their success is our mission.

We don't work with committees or teams; we work with leaders and decision makers. Art and creativity goes to committees to die horribly.

We go all-in on every project. Our clients must as well.

The New York Public Library Like You've Never Seen It Before

There has been a lot of talk about drones this week. This is a beautiful use of the technology, a unique look inside nypl’s architecture using ultralight, flying technology.

The New York Public Library is a stunning piece of architecture. Its Rose Reading Room has 51-foot ceilings and measures the length of a football field (that’s more than a Manhattan block), yet it has no columns, making it one of the largest open interiors in the world.

If you’re Nate Bolt--Facebook design researcher, amateur filmmaker, and friend of the NYPL’s skunkworks team--you get invited to fly a drone through the space. Bolt shot the video you see here using an ultralight setup--a DJI Phantom quadcopter drone loaded with a GoPro and an iPhone. That’s roughly $1,500 in equipment weighing just a bit over two pounds. It allowed Bolt to film with a god-like perspective as the camera floats over shoulders and through doorways to explore the nuance of such grand architecture.

Royal Shakespeare Company: The Design of Richard II

Love this glimpse behind-the-scenes at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Find out how designer Stephen Brimson Lewis created the critically acclaimed design for the world of Richard II. "What's the best place that an actor can be for each moment?" he asks. He describes how the design for the play came about, starting with the unique opportunity that the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's shape offers to a designer.

Oxford University Press and the Making of a Book

A silent film made in 1925 by the Federation of British Industry. This film was one of a series illustrating industrial life and it highlighted the Press's work to audiences around the world. Film courtesy of the Oxford University Press Archive.

Great find by my friend Sal Destro.