Scott Hull Associates

How to Be Creative:

1. Ignore everybody
2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.
3. Put the hours in.
4. If your biz depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.
5. You are responsible for your own experience.
6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.
7. Keep your day job.
8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.
9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.
10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.
11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds all together.
12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.
13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.
14. Dying young is overrated
15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.
16. The world is changing.
17. Merit can be bought. Passion cannot.
18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.
19. Sing in your own voice.
20. The choice of media is irrelevant.
21. Selling out is harder than it looks.
22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.
23. Worrying about “commercial vs. artistic” is a complete waste of time.
24. Don’t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.
25. You have to find your own schtick.
26. Write from the heart.
27. The best way to get approval is to not need it.
28. Power is never given. Power is taken.
29. Whatever choice you make, the Devil gets his due eventually.
30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.
31. Remain frugal.
32. Allow your work to age with you.
33. Being poor sucks.
34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.
35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.
36. Start blogging.
37. Meaning scales, people don’t.
38. When your dreams become reality, they are no longer dreams.

gapingvoid.com

VISUAL AMBASSADOR

Art Supports Healing, Activates Hope and Promotes Thriving

“Health and wellness” are two key aspects in most everyone’s life. They also happen to be two key markets in today’s communication industry. So while the conventional model finds pharmacies pushing the pills, insurance companies offering protection and hospitals and doctors providing knowledge, the question remains: Is that really what it takes to get people well?
 
Just as I was wondering this, my good friend Jose Said Osio invited me to a conference titled, “Healing Journeys.” He said, “This will open your eyes to the value of illustration in this new Health 2.0 – a value understood by few agencies or design groups,” adding, “let alone healthcare providers.”
  
It was an amazing experience. Attendees were cancer patients, family members, doctors and nurses, and there was a presentation by amazing board-certified medical oncologists alongside caring nurses and psychotherapists. It really addressed the idea of “healing the whole person” – physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually.  
 
So where does art come in? What are our creative opportunities here? Well, plenty. Patients don’t stay in hospitals as long as they used to, and art may be part of the reason why. It’s been proven to accelerate the healing process and quicken turnaround. And that’s good for everybody.
 
Doctors like Jeremy Geffen, author of “The Seven Levels of Healing” and “The Journey Though Cancer”, and Bellruth Naparstek, creator and founder of “Health Journey,” emphasize the body’s physiology changes as we go from worry to relaxation, from fear to inspiration – and that the shift can be triggered through the use of art. Art, they say, physically alters the brain by accessing a different brain wave pattern. This, in turn, affects the autonomic nervous system, hormonal balance and neurotransmitters. Eventually (ideally), art affects every cell in the body and reshapes our physiology into a more healing environment. Pretty neat. Arching your eyebrows? Read this:
 
How Art Heals (Scientifically Speaking)

• · Exposure to art slows down blood flow, reversing a typical stress response. Normally agitated blood vessels can contract in response to images of imagination set to music, saving as much as 150cc of blood when administered before surgery.
• · Non-verbal, imaginative images evoke a measurable response – and one that is more universal than what is evoked by written language.
• · Color can be used to convey a sense of joy, beauty and simplicity – all proven therapeutic emotions for patients.

 
Need help making the case to your clients? Keep reading:

Value Points To Consider And Harp On

• · Art can be the catalyst in developing cultural programs for hospitals, helping expose the staff to the wide array of patients they serve.
• · No one would argue that our lives are bombarded with stress, which is known to trigger or worsen illness. By allowing and encouraging us to linger in moments of beauty, art can reverse this process.
• · Art is one way to make patients feel more comfortable and at ease when they walk into a hospital – a mind state that’s obviously much more conducive to healing.
• · Medical research proves that blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration are all positively affected by exposure to the arts. You can look it up and everything.
• · Art-related reduction of stress, lessening of fears and improved communication all contribute to the total picture of health.

 
The art of healing is all about building a more effective doctor-patient relationship. With illustration – a tool that can lift patient and staff morale while cultivating feelings of love, gratitude, protection and support – the arts create safer, more supportive and functional environments. And that goes whether you’re in a holistic wellness center or an old-school healthcare facility.
 
The science is there. Art has the power to heal and help. Will you use it as directed?

We continue to be on the front lines of what is happening and changing in the commercial art world. Scott Hull, your Visual Ambassador, is the defining link between art and commerce.

Read below for a little sampling of some recent VisualAmbasasdor.com articles:

Revolution or Evolution

Does thinking stay in the box?

We all agree, this is a time of change. But how do we move forward, and when?

“The kind of thinking that will solve the world’s problems will be of a different order from the kind of thinking that created those problems in the first place…”

Read More…

Web Illustration

Whether they realize it or not, consumers make decisions based on transparency vs. what is real.

Illustration is authentic and genuine.

Illustration may be the very key in separating one brand from every other.

In web design, there are so many established standards, and even trends. Shiny logos, drop shadows and the always present browser chrome. Involving art as a driving element, changes the web. It intensifies the point you are trying to get across…

Read More…

The Real Fake Housewives

I love the Real Housewives of New York, it’s my guilty pleasure. What is it that’s so entertaining about botoxed socialites who have never ending drama? With the most lavish parties, jaw dropping shopping sprees, and cosmetically enhanced beauty, these women paint a vivid picture of the upper echelons of our society.

In a recap episode the host posed a good question: do you feel guilty for extravagant spending while so many people are going through hardships? The answer is a definitive “no,” and for good reason. Shopping supports business, their charities raise money for causes, and every one of their mega splurges equals a small step toward recovery for our economy…

Read More…

(In the creative business arena, that is.)

In his latest book, “A Whole New Mind”, the author Daniel Pink writes about our culture moving from the Information Age to the Creative Age. And you know what? He is dead on. I’m seeing signs of it everyday.

Also on the rise is a book by Richard Florida explaining the rise of the “Creative Class” and how we should start to embrace it if our community hopes to grow. This book showcases the vital emotions of optimism in the creative world—and what a refreshing find!

You ask, “So what?!”…

Well…this dialog regarding the currency of design started at a HOW Design Conference where Jose Said Osio was giving a talk titled “Dealing For Dollars”. This was the first time someone was actually explaining the process of bridging the gap between art and commerce—Not the theory of making a living at design, but actual application of visuals that, in turn, brought in revenue. The session brought a new concept of talking creative language to business-minded companies.

Over the years Said and I reconnect to check in on the other’s life’s journey and to share new ideas in the area of visual innovation. After all as design professionals, we’d both had our ups and downs and more importantly, both had climbed out of our ruts and adapted to a changing market. Said had faced the demise of the type industry and the downturn of the “.com world”.
I had been confronted with the “perfect storm”— change in the illustration industry, an embezzling employee, plus the crash in the stock market. Both of us, having survived these downfalls, chose wisdom over bitterness, and a friendship formed.

Earlier last year I contacted Said regarding a marketing idea for the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta. Being the always-inquisitive person that he is, Said wanted to check out Adobe’s trade booth (which the firm he hangs out with, Tolleson Design, had helped direct the branding of Adobe’s CS3). Along with that, he volunteered his time to connect with attendees and also helped out with our own booth. It was a learning experience for all of us.

During our time in Atlanta, Said and I collaborated to analyze the market of visual content. Our koan thus became “Is art dead?” How do creative minds view the visual element of the process? How did they view the world of illustration, stock images, visual content, and the future? What is the new currency?

While interviewing attendees and discussing topics with our attending artists, we realized a community of like-minded thinkers was starting to develop—People who were asking the questions, a tide was rising, a new wave rolling in:

• Who are the visual content providers that can provide the next expression?
• How can we create opportunities for creative thinkers to express their own thoughts?
• What’s it take to identify the right what-ifs?
• What business models are working?
• Can the Visual Ambassador be a catalyst in mentoring a culture that is asking to be established by visual thinkers?

So begins the renewed journey of trekking different territories in search of the effects of visual storytelling in the global bazaar. Perhaps we’ll discover some of the answers, uncover new complexities, perhaps we’ll only find more questions. However, one of those enduring truths is that emotional involvement has to be there at every step of the process. Passion doesn’t just make the art of a visual expression more fun to create—it gets results, it provokes a response because it mirrors the collective journey of the human experience, and it intrigues and moves people.

That’s what.

Illustration courtesy of Larry Moore

In collaboration with this April’s newsletter, and after pouring our blood, sweat, and brain cells into its conception, VisualAmbassador.com is launching at last!  This new website features an illustrious board of what we like to call “Diplomats” who will headline the outpouring of creative information that will be shown. This blog is a solution to the mediocrity and impersonal droning of today’s business/art world.  It will talk about things that are important personally and professionally to the commercial artist and the client.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged, that in this industry right now, we need a breath of extremely fresh air.  The Diplomats, along with Scott Hull himself (drum-roll please…) will constantly be researching and looking for new ideas and solutions to the everyday problems we face in the creative world.  A world that seems to be on the decline in these hard economic times.  But never fear, it isn’t as bad at it seems.  And if it is, at least we have a solution.

We are reaching a new era of conceptual thinking and strategic implementation of art into the commercial society. And through Visual Ambassador, we will bring collaboration, creativity, and innovative ideas to your business, all in one over-loaded, highly resourceful blog.  It will be a showcase for articles and segments from culturally relevant sources with a keen observation of the changing industry. We will be talking about what no one else is.   We will be truthful in all of our findings (even if it hurts), because we are not scared of it. Because we produce results.  Because we have a system that works.  Because we know your customer.  And we know how to get to your customer. And how to get you to your customer.

Using the wisdom of professionals seasoned in the business, and fresh voices that keep up with cutting edge trends and culture, we are combining all of our ideas into one giant melting pot of information.
We are pro-creating a new era of art and trying on each other’s wings.

Welcome to the defining link between art and commerce.