Frank Chimero: Do Things The Long, Hard Stupid Way

Ending the week with a bit of optimistic storytelling by designer and illustrator Frank Chimero, at the Do Lectures, talking about the side benefits of doing things the long, hard, stupid way. The book he mentions during the talk, The Shape of Design, is now finished and you should read it. The beautifully produced printed book is sold out but you can get it as an ebook or read it online. In the talk he also discusses the idea of gifts and our creative work as gift giving, especially in a digital age. Themes from a must-read book by Lewis Hyde called appropriatelly The Gift. So this weekend spend some time thinking about what things you can create and meaningfully give away. 

Creativity Researcher Teresa Amabile Explains The Unexpected Benefits Of Tracking Daily Progress

It turns out that taking just five minutes a day to document your work progress and feelings can have a powerful impact. After analyzing over 238 diaries from happy workers, Teresa Amabile, at the 99u Conference, shares key takeaways for staying motivated at work, including the importance of measuring progress, documenting challenges, and taking time to reflect.

Teresa Amabile is a professor and director of research at Harvard Business School, and coauthor of The Progress Principle. A psychologist, Teresa studies how everyday work life can influence people and their performance. Her research encompasses creativity, productivity, innovation, and inner work life — the confluence of emotions, perceptions, and motivation that people experience as they react to events at work.

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Jack Dorsey's Keynote at Disrupt 2012

Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder of Twitter and Square, Delivers His Keynote at Disrupt SF

It's a short keynote, only 12 minutes, so I'm only going to say watch it. It's worth your time to hear his outlook on the future of technology. ​

Paula Scher: Once you know what you're doing, it's not as good

Sometimes you have to ignore the brief, says renowned designer and artist Paula Scher. With a dry wit, Scher takes us behind-the-scenes on four landmark projects -- from revamping MoMA's identity to reinvigorating a Pittsburgh neighborhood through design -- to illustrate how asking questions, pushing into uncharted territory, and doing something you've never done before leads to great work.

​I love the work of Paula Scher. She has created some of my favorite arts marketing identities, including this poster that actually made me stop my hustled walk towards the subway so I could stare at it for a little while:

In this talk, from this year's 99u conference, ​she continues to explore themes she's shared before. In the talk, as in the past, she discusses failure, demonstrates those things that they don't teach you in design school and displays her love for typography. For more check out her TED Talk on serious play and how her career took off because she hated Helvetica. 

amiina: Mixing it up, Iceland style

Icelandic five-piece band amiina takes the PopTech 2012 stage with a glockenspiel, a musical saw, a couple of violins, drums, and a laptop. They got their start as the string section for the legendary Sigur Ros and have gone on to play and record beautifully complex music. A treat to end the week.