Make life simple
Copywriter and all round good egg Huw Thomas asked if we would like to create a joint self-promotional poster which could also be used for charity purposes. The brief, simply put, was ‘Make life simple’.
I wrote down a bunch of thoughts on what would make life simple. A draft of the text was sent to Huw via email. He added his thoughts and sent it back. I added further thoughts and sent it back. The email tennis went on like this for a few drafts until we were both happy with the flow of the text. At that point I was ready to commit ink to paper. To make things more interesting I sat on the Southbank in London and created a draft in public view, something I’d never done before. I also did it upside down so people could read it as they passed by.
Spreading the word
Lots of people stopped to read it. I was amazed by the feedback. Many people asked if they could buy it. One father read it out loud to his children, as did a care worker to a young girl in a wheelchair. Mexican, Russian, German, Sri Lankan, Spanish, French tourists all stopped to translate it. Japanese and Korean tourists took lots of photographs (thanks to Kimsun Mi for the shots). One guy said abruptly “Life’s not like that!” and marched off. Another guy said “Avoid drama queens, my sentiments exactly!”. One Rastafarian guy simply said “Genius man!”. It was a good day. It was an inspiring day. Next time I’ll take something comfortable to sit on.
Learnings
→ Don’t be afraid to try new things
→ Don’t be afraid to work in public
→ Don’t be afraid to work upside down
Charity
Three charities have auctioned posters for fundraising: The Rainbow House, QSA and Art Against Knives. There’s not many copies of the posters left but if you’re involved with a charity, or know someone who is, and would like a batch please get in touch via email.
