Strands of Genius: The First Step to Building a Second Brain - The PARA Method, Lessons on Good Writing. From a Bank, The Nickname of Watch Hands
Guest curated by Ryan Lewis, Senior Editor, World Famous
Each year we aim to highlight 50 creative thinkers that have inspired us by giving them the opportunity to guest curate this newsletter, Strands of Genius. This edition is guest curated by Ryan Lewis, Senior Editor, World Famous.
:: A BIT MORE ABOUT GUEST CURATOR, RYAN LEWIS ::
LOCATION: Seattle, WA
Hi, my name is Ryan. I’ve been working as a video editor for 16 years and most of that time focused on 30 second commercials. A lot of my professional time is spent going through large amounts of media and distilling it all down to make a sharp little story. I’ve focused on links today that have helped me in that endeavor. How to manage large amounts of digital information. How to develop a tone of voice. And how to be creative in a small space.
Ya know, one day you become best friends with your art director after making dinosaur noises to try to explain an edit ... and the next day, you're drinking whiskey with Rosie and Faris in a cabin in Tennessee! The world is a beautiful web of brilliant people and luckily I got caught up in a web that included those two.
Editor’s Note (Genius Steals): Ryan Lewis is a bestie of one of our besties and we’re so thankful to know him! He’s got the energy of a golden retriever and the smarts of someone who both directs and edits — because that’s how he rolls. We haven’t yet gotten to collaborate professionally but we’ve got our fingers crossed that we’ll get to one of these days! Thanks for being here, Ryan Lewis!
:: THE LINKS ::
THE FIRST STEP TO BUILDING A SECOND BRAIN - THE PARA METHOD
I think most of us here think of ourselves as creative people, and organization ... isn't exactly our strong suit. Then when it comes to DIGITAL organizing ... phffff, forget about it! So finding Tiago Forte's book "building a second brain" was literally a game changer for me! My note taking and digital organization life finally took shape, and I can actually find stuff now, who knew!? This is a quick article from the author on, what I would consider the first step and most basic building block toward his larger system of "building a second brain". (Forte Labs)
LESSONS ON GOOD WRITING…FROM A BANK
Monzo is a UK bank start up that wrote a document about how to talk and write, and it's fantastic. So much about good writing is clear writing and the banking industry is definitely guilty of confusing their clients behind technical or complex language. It's refreshing to see a brand talk like their target audience. (Monzo)
THE NICKNAME OF WATCH HANDS
Okay, bear with me here, but watch dials are INCREDIBLY interesting. For hundreds of years designers have made this one and half inch circle a playground of the imagination, where they are tasked to combine function (what time is it) with finesse (oh, cool watch). This is an article that breaks down the names of watch hands, but in scrolling through them all you can see an incredible breadth of creativity with just a few pieces of tiny pointy metal. (Unwound)
Looking for more from Ryan Lewis? Coming Friday, look for an interview from him in your inbox!
:: AND NOW… SOME FAST FAVORITES ::
:: Game :: Deep Sea Adventure
:: City :: Kansas City
:: Book :: Steal Like an Artist
:: Podcast :: Team Deakins
:: Album :: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
:: QUOTE OF THE DAY ::
“Creative products are always shiny and new; the creative process is ancient and unchanging” -Silvano Arieti
Thanks for having me, y'all!
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)