By Published On: June 27, 2022

Examining Creativity

With the goals of adding amusement to our workdays and avoiding the bummer of current events, we started kicking off our weekly staff meetings by sharing marketing ads/emails/videos/whatever with each other. There are no rules. Good or bad, pretty or ugly, uplifting or offensive, we share it. And it’s been a blast. Especially when we come across something that sparks a “what were they thinking?” conversation. It’s also a great way to keep up with trends in marketing, to see what our favorite brands are doing, and to spark ideas for our own work. We highly recommend doing something similar with your team to encourage creativity and have a few laughs.

Sustainability in digital

As part of d.trio’s ongoing interest in sustainability, inclusivity, and alternative energy, we’ve been talking a lot internally about how to change thinking around issues of climate change and representation. And we know that effort needs to start with us. When we transitioned from a print agency to a digital agency, it was easy to think our impact on climate issues had lessened. In reality, the impact just became less visible. Every digital piece requires a lot of energy—likely more than a printed piece—to create, store, host, display, and use.

The design team at Microsoft is thinking about this too. They developed a set of Green Design Principles to remind designers (graphic, product, UX, experience, app, etc.) to keep sustainability and inclusivity at the forefront of every design process. It includes building evaluations of potential harm into each project and consciously choosing to design things which consume fewer resources and promote user health. It’s an ambitious project, but it raises some interesting ideas and questions around the work we do every day.

Fiduciary fun

We’re thrilled to be working on a new website for a fiduciary wealth management client. The focus is on client and advisor success from a life goals perspective, with an additional goal of recruiting and supporting women advisors. As a woman owned business, we love the sound of that!

Small art, big talent.

Seriously, you HAVE to see these

AFTER HOURS

Danette traveled to Colorado see her first-ever live show at the infamous Red Rocks Amphitheater. The weather was perfect, the AirBnB was adorable, the hiking was stunning, yoga on the rocks was unforgettable, and both bands delivered outstanding performances. A weekend getaway doesn’t get much better than that.

Beth sadly needed to have two trees removed from her yard due to the threat of them falling on her house and others. On a positive note, it provided two days of entertainment, along with a thorough education in opposing varieties of tree removal: Guy in a bucket vs. SpiderTreeMan.

Two new murals recently appeared within spitting distance of our office—one apparently depicting the contradictory (or possibly complementary) feelings of the artist, and another celebrating the final season of the talented Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx. A third one, at three stories high, went up near our beloved First Avenue to honor the Great Purple One. Keep ‘em coming, Minneapolis…we love this stuff!

We’ve been trading ideas for books, movies, and TV shows with each other and wanted to share them with you. Here are some of our favorite escapes so far this summer:

  • Reading: Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King; City on Fire by Don Winslow; The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah.
  • Netflix: Pieces of Her
  • Neflix & Hulu: All the documentaries
  • HBO: Hacks, Barry
  • PBS: Sanditon; Hotel Portofino

About the Author: cat-tonic

cat-tonic
Born of curiosity and enthusiasm, we’re a scrappy group of smart, passionate marketers who work hard and play hard. We show up every day and fight for our clients who are making the world a better place. We listen with curiosity, explore deeply, ask hard questions, and sometimes put forth ideas that might make you squirm. Because we believe the status quo is good for growing mold but not much else. The way we see it, change is the way forward and the magic happens when curiosity, math, science, instinct, and talent intersect.
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