Senior Aardman designer Gavin Strange, aka JamFactory, explains what can happen if you dare to dream big.
Senior Aardman designer and JamFactory creative Gavin Strange has carved a living from saying yes to every opportunity. He might have a four-metre tall Gromit sculpture on display in Hong Kong and a recent rebrand for Aardman under his belt, but simply trying his hand at everything has led to a flood of unimaginable opportunities.
After "wandering around work with a camera" he was invited to photograph stop-motion legend Nick Park in his home ("I was trying to keep my brains inside my skull!") while his personal film project BÖIKZMÖIND has led to work on an upcoming Aardman feature film.
"Don't wait to be asked," he urged, during a moving, high-energy talk at this year's excellent Reasons To Be Creative conference in Brighton. "I've never been ashamed of putting stuff out there. Do anything you can to say yes."
During a standout speaker session, Strange wowed the audience at the three-day design and technology conference with mind-blowing example after example of what can happen if you dare to dream big.
Gavin Strange points to his recent branding for Aardman Animations at Reasons to be Creative 2014
If you've never seen the excitable Bristol-based creative on stage, fear not: you still have a chance. He's talking at net magazine's fast-approaching Generate London conference, held at the Grand Connaught Rooms on 26 September. There are still a few tickets left so head here to grab yours.
In the meantime, here are seven top tips from Strange on how to catapult your craft into the design stratosphere. Catch him at Generate London for a bucket-load of inspiration and find out more…
01. Say yes!
You never know where it might lead...
02. Don't wait to be asked
You're never above or below asking.
03. Being crap is okay
It's liberating when there are no expectations!
04. If you don't have a style, it's okay to have strengths
You can be more flexible.
05. Dream big
Do stuff you don't know anything about.
06. Finish that project
It's dead easy not to, but everyone's got time.
07. Use and abuse trends
Dissect them, use them, mix them up, move onto something new.
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Julia is editor-in-chief, retail at Future Ltd, where she works in e-commerce across a number of consumer lifestyle brands. A former editor of design website Creative Bloq, she’s also worked on a variety of print titles, and was part of the team that launched consumer tech website TechRadar. She's been writing about art, design and technology for over 15 years.
