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Feast is an online creative community where you can learn from industry leaders, share your own morsels of genius and just generally fill up on inspiration.

The Motif and the Motive

Feast 2011

The overarching theme for 2012 is "Create a Better World," because most of us want to make a difference but don't know how, and we figured what better way than by using what you've already got – your creativity?

Creative Tools

This month we're showcasing some of our favorite creative tools that make work and everyday life easier, or at least a heck of a lot more fun.

Mentorship Program

Each month, Feast will feature an Artist in Residence who will serve as ambassador for that month's topic by mentoring select students, writing guest articles and sharing their unique creative perspective.

All of this will be shared publicly, of course, because what's a Feast without company?

Learn more

Feast 2.0 Contest

Tell us what you want to see next from Feast and we'll enter you to win some really rad prizes.

The contest ends May 31st.

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Creative Tools

May 2012

“Tell us what you want to see next from Feast and we’ll enter you to win some really rad prizes!” Read more

Paper by FiftyThree

When it comes to creative tools, it’s hard to beat the original pen-and-paper duo, so the talented folks at FiftyThree didn’t even try. Instead, they created Paper, an app that lets you sketch on your iPad just like you would with a pen and paper.

Evernote

With the Evernote organizer app you can save anything — written notes, voice notes, photos, web clippings and maybe even your sanity.

AmpliTube2

If you play guitar or bass, AmpliTube2 by IK Multimedia is one of the greatest tools you can get to play with your sound. This plug-in for your iPad or iPhone acts as a full mobile production and recording studio and lets you play and record anytime, anywhere.

Magnetic Bike Lights

Night cyclists, rejoice! Danish design firm Copenhagen Parts has designed a sleek, minimalist Magnetic Bike Light that does away with clunky batteries and inefficient dynamo systems to deliver a good-looking lamp that doesn’t make you sacrifice style for safety.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera

This pro-level camera at non-pro prices may be a game changer in the way video is shot and produced.

Adobe Photoshop CS6

In this tutorial, Richard Harrington and Rafael Concepcion walk you through the new features of Adobe Photoshop CS6. They show you the new features and functionalities of the newly launched Adobe Photoshop CS6, and talk about which components specifically make it such a groundbreaking tool with incredible performance (and style).

Creative Vision

April 2012

April Mentorship: Creative Vision

Meet April's Protégés!

“Every video has a purpose, whether it's to simply start a conversation or drive the viewer to action. Knowing the desired goal will help you create a video that contributes to the end result. ” Read more

Storyboarding

Storyboards can be invaluable to the success of a video or film because, inevitably, you will have to take your idea out of your brain and put into the real world, and the earlier you do it, the more time you’ll have to perfect it — and get others on board.

The Power of Music

The power of music is incredible and, if used well, it can take your PSA from good to great. Humans are hard-wired to respond to music, so the importance of incorporating it into a visual project like a PSA can’t be overstated. The right music will set the tone and energy of your spot and illicit the emotional response you want from your audience.

Social Media Philanthropy

March 2012

Save the Children

Facebook isn’t just for poking anymore. Here’s an example of a relatively simple but effective way to leverage a social platform like Facebook for an established non-profit.

(2015)Quilt

Two great non-profits, ONE and (RED), have teamed up to rally as many people as possible to help end the global AIDS crisis by 2015 together. To do that, they created a digital quilt that anyone can be a part of by making their own square and pledging to spread the word.

Drops For Life

Cyrus and his team at R/GA created a hugely successful campaign for Georgio Armani, called Acqua For Life, that utilized social media to provide 10 million days of clean, safe drinking water for a child. During this limited-time campaign, every time someone “liked” Acqua for Life on Facebook, Georgio Armani donated $1 to the Tap Project. UNICEF estimates $1 provides 40 days of clean water, so 250,000 “likes” — and $250,000 — translated to 10 million days of clean water. And all it took was clicking a little thumbs-up icon.

#FWD: Famine, War and Drought in the Horn of Africa

Last year, during the worst of the famine, war and drought in the Horn of Africa, the USAID program enlisted R/GA to come up with a way to get the word out fast. And what better way to do that than with social media.

Communicating Creativity

February 2012

“Ignacio explains how he approached this first round of feedback, and gives great tips for ways anyone, anywhere can improve their creative portfolio. ” Read more

February Mentorship: Communicating Creativity

See Michael & Katie get creative!

I’mpossible

Ignacio gives an inspiring speech to emerging creatives at the VCU Brandcenter about overcoming their fears as they get ready to break into the advertising industry.

The Portfolio of the Future

While new platforms and technologies give creatives more tools than ever before for showing off their work, it also raises the bar for how it’s shown. It’s not enough to have great ideas any more – the ideas have to work seamlessly with the media they live within. Learn more about the portfolio of the future…

Top 10 Portfolio Mistakes

Creative Director Suzanne Pope lists the top 10 mistakes creatives make in their portfolios, and offers advice for how you can avoid them.

What makes a great ad?

Chances are you’ve heard your creative director extol the virtues, in great detail, of all the greatest ads ever made. The brilliance of the copy, the boldness of the graphics, the important nuances in the color, font and punctuation choices. It can seem like an impossible feat to match. But what if we told you all of those great ads had just one, single thing in common? One thing you can focus on to make sure you get it right and your creative director goes on and on about the brilliance of the copy, the boldness of the graphics, blah blah blah?

Funny Makes Money

If your portfolio doesn’t have a sense of humour, most agencies will laugh you out the door. Writer and creative director Dale Roberts shares the wisdom of including wit in your book and gives tips on being funny without seeming desperate.

Advertising For Change

January 2012

January Mentorship: See their work

Talking about advertising without considering the relevancy it has is of very little value today. The world is changing day by day and we don’t want to be perceived as a group of funny creatives who are working just to entertain themselves. Check out Vicky's Protégé's creative ideas for change.

The Tap Project

By getting restaurants to charge people $1 for a glass of tap water, the Tap Project has provided safe drinking water to millions of children who might otherwise have died. Who would have thought it could be that easy?

Campaign to Free Burma’s Political Prisoners

What if you could free a political prisoner just by picking up a pen? That was the goal of the Free Burma’s Political Prisoners campaign. The idea was simple, but the results were extraordinary.

The World’s Biggest Hug

When Brazilian advertising agency Monumenta was asked to raise public awareness of the underage victims of sexual abuse, they knew they had to do something big. Real big. So they decided to get the statue of Christ the Redeemer to give the world’s biggest hug.

Save water. Pee in the shower.

You read that right. In April 2009, a Brazilian ad agency created a campaign that told people to save water by peeing in the shower...

Copy Transform & Combine

December 2011

“This December, we bring you Kirby Ferguson, a New York-based writer, filmmaker and speaker. He is the creator of the popular video project, Everything is a Remix.” Read more

Kirby's Protégés

December was a great month! Check out Kirby's Protégé's ambitious projects.

Everything is a Remix

Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix explores the lines that connect all realms of creative endeavor. By looking closely enough at specific examples of how creative people are influenced by their peers and predecessors, Kirby makes a compelling argument for his bold claim that everything is a remix.

How to Steal Like an Artist

Without stealing, how can we create inspired work? Don't all our great ideas come from someone else's great ideas? The first time you thought to yourself, "I want to be an artist/author/musician," didn't that come from being inspired by someone who was already doing it?

The Fundamental Elements of Design

This is a great video by Erica Gorochow on the fundamentals of design and how to use them to make a brand iconic.

The World’s Most Important Six Second Drum Loop

How influential can a six second drum solo be? It depends how often it gets remixed. In the case of the influential Amen Break, artist and author Nate Harrison makes the claim that a single break beat was responsible for spawning entire subcultures.

Creativity by Combination

In her popular blog, Brain Pickings, Maria Popova argues that in order to create any kind of meaningful art, we need to be curious and open to the things that might inspire.

Taste Before Talent

In this third part of a four-part video series, American radio legend Ira Glass says the key to talent starts with good taste.

Telling The Story

November 2011

“Our November Artist in Residence, Mario Tama is an Emmy-Award nominated staff photographer for Getty Images. Click here to read his bio and see some of his thought provoking work.” Read more

November Mentorship: See Their Work

How can you make a difference in your community, and by extension society at large, through photography? Watch our Protégés tackle Mario's challenge.

Facing Change & Raising Awareness

Sometimes the most radical thing an artist can do is to stand aside and let their images speak for themselves – especially when they speak for the voiceless.

War Stories Straight From the Source

Basetrack is an experimental media project tracking the deployment of a battalion of US Marines as they serve in southern Afghanistan. A small team of photographers, journalists and technicians collaborate directly with military personnel to transmit their reports and reflections as they travel through the area of operations.

Showing America The Americans

Robert Frank's landmark photography book The Americans, helped to transform American photography through his focus on tensions surrounding class and race and his use of unusual focus, low lighting and cropping techniques...

Kids with Cameras

Anyone who saw the 2005 film Born Into Brothels could not help but be touched by the story of two documentary filmmakers empowering the impoverished children of Calucutta by teaching them how to take photographs. The Kids With Cameras foundation continues their work with groups around the world.

Coney Island: Capturing the End of an Era

Getty Images Photographer Mario Tama set out to capture the Coney Island love affair before it fizzled out.

What's The Big Idea?

October 2011

“With this cycle of Feast’s theme being “Create a Better World”, we want to start by exploring it in its broadest, and most open, sense.” Read more

Artist in Residence: James Leal-Valias

Each month, Feast will feature an Artist in Residence who will serve as ambassador for that month's topic by mentoring select students, writing guest articles and sharing their unique creative perspective. The first course is being served up with our Creative Director, James Leal-Valias, at the head of the table. The topic, if it isn't already blatantly obvious, is "What's the Big Idea?"

October Mentorship: See Their Work

With this cycle of Feast’s theme being “Create a Better World”, we want to start by exploring it in its broadest, and most open, sense. Stay tuned to this spot to see how our Protégés progress throughout the month. We'll be adding to the conversation each Monday. In the meantime, click through to learn more about them and read the brief!

Think Different

This classic and inspiring ad from Apple reminds us that even the craziest ideas are sometimes game changers. Thanks Steve, for leading a team of visionaries. The revolution you helped start is the reason we're here.

The 15 Below Project

When the Canadian advertising agency TAXI was preparing to celebrate their 15th anniversary, chairman Paul Lavoie challenged his staff to come up with something special to mark the milestone. Steve Mykolyn, then the agency's executive creative director, took the challenge to heart. Instead of coming up with some kind of cool new swag or planning an amazing party, Mykolyn decided to turn his attention to a much less sexy problem – helping the homeless.

Liter of Light

Nearly 3 million families on the outskirts of Metro Manila have no power and no safe way to light their homes. Using an ingenious method, Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) seeks to end that problem, bringing eco-friendly light to millions of homes in The Philippines.

Contagion

To promote Steven Soderbergh's latest film, "Contagion", agencies Lowe Roche and Curb Media took the term 'viral' to new levels.

Boarding a Plane

If you've ever boarded a plane, you already know how frustrating it can be. Despite the airline's best attempts to load people row by row, it seems like someone always clogs the aisle as they attempt to cram their luggage into the overhead compartment. Astrophysicist Jason Steffen decided to do something about it.

IKEA Hackers

The flat pack furniture from IKEA has proven to be so affordable and practical that it’s almost ubiquitous – more than 41,000,000 Billy bookcases have been sold in the past 30 years alone. But with so many people owning the same furniture, it can be difficult stand out from the crowd. Enter the IKEA Hackers.