Proverb "The truth made simple."

Malcolm Gladwell: Curious, Undaunted, & Extremely Inquisitive

Described as “a detective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed,” Proverb would like to feature writer Malcolm Gladwell for his ability to uncover hidden truths. 

Gladwell’s work topples the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, consumers, race and intelligence, finding inspiration in sneakers, pasta sauce, and cookies.  Currently a staff writer with The New Yorker, this star lecturer and bestselling author searches for the counterintuitive in what we take to be mundane.  

Named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Gladwell is the author of four books, “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference,” (2000), “Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking” (2005), and “Outliers: The Story of Success” 2008, all of which were number one New York Times bestsellers.  He also published “What the Dog Saw,” (2009), a compilation of stories published in The New York.

This curious, undaunted writer has covered topics from serial killers to steroids, visiting obscure laboratories and infomercial set kitchens.

In 2004 Gladwell participated in “The Pursuit of Happiness” TED conference, where he explored the nature of choice and happiness through the pursuit of the perfect pasta sauce. 

Read the fascinating article where he chronicles the decades-spanning rise in IQ scores.

And if you do anything, watch his video lecture at TED, "On spaghetti sauce."

Yvette Campbell: "...Tough times are when you need the arts."

As a dancer turned executive director, Proverb recognizes Yvette Campbell for her vision, perseverance, and commitment. 

A native Californian and one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People of 2011,” Yvette Campbell became passionate about dance at The University of California at Berkley, graduating with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Art-Dance. This multi-disciplinarian performed and toured with the university’s dance company, where she won the university’s highest honor in dance, The Eisner Prize. 

After suffering a dance injury while studying at The Ailey School, Campbell worked as the School Administrator, and trained three successors. After leaving Ailey, she danced with Elisa Monte Dance for six years as a principal, touring over 26 countries.  In 2000, Campbell retired from performing and relocated to London where she continued teaching and choreographing.  In 2005 Campbell served as the Director of the Ailey Extension for more than five years, a continuing education program which she named, developed, and organized from its inception. The program has since served more than 42,000 adult students.

In 2011, Campbell became the Executive Director of the Harlem School for the Arts, an institution providing arts education in music, dance, theater and visual arts to the Harlem community for the past 46 years. An extraordinary visionary, talented, and confident leader, Campbell has already raised over two million dollars to advance the Harlem School of the Arts. Campbell’s love of the arts is evident as she strives to make HSA one of the premier schools of the arts, serving the Harlem community and beyond.

When asked about the challenges ahead, Campbell says “These are tough times, but tough times are when you need the arts. The Harlem Renaissance, blues, jazz, hip-hop — they all came out of hard times and the possibility of change.”

Read more on Campbell & the Harlem School for the Arts here.

Archie Boston: One in a million?

As a nationally recognized art director, designer, author and educator, it should come as no surprise that Proverb recognizes Archie Boston for his outstanding contributions to design and teaching.

Considered one of the nation’s leading design instructors and a highly respected graphic designer, Archie Boston was the first African American to receive the prestigious AIGA Fellows Award from AIGA Los Angeles in 2007. He has been honored by the New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Art Directors’ Clubs, Communication Arts, Print Magazine, and the Type Director’s Club. He is also one of Graphic Design: USA Magazine’s top 35 design pioneers.

Most renowned for his contribution to design education, Boston chaired the graphic design program at California Sate University Long beach for 12 terms over 32 years, and was named Outstanding Professor of the Year in 2004. He was also the first black man to serve as president of the Art Directors Club of Los Angeles.

Currently operating his own design-consulting firm, one of Boston’s most recent projects involves a series of historical design documentaries, which are now available in university libraries across the country.

In his final lecture at CSULB in 2009 Boston said, “I want to be remembered as a professor who cared about his students and did what he thought was best for them. I want to be remembered as someone who stood up against criticism and spoke out on controversial issues. And finally I want to be remembered as a designer and educator, someone who documented my experience as an African American.”

Visit his personal site here or read the AIGA article here.

 

Film Chronicles: Ava DuVernay

This month, Proverb honors filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who recently became the first black woman to win a best director award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her feature film Middle of Nowhere.

Los Angeles native and UCLA graduate, Ava DuVernay appeared on the film scene with her critically acclaimed 2008 hip-hop documentary, This is The Life, which debuted on Showtime in April 2009. In 2010 she directed and produced My Mic Sounds Nice, a film documenting the history of female hip-hop artists, airing as BET Network’s first original music documentary.

Two other network music documentaries directed and produced by DuVernay include Essence Music Festival 2010, a two hour concert film chronicling the nation’s largest annual African-American entertainment gathering, and Faith Through the Storm, a documentary about women in New Orleans who have reclaimed their lives after personal devastation during Hurricane Katrina.

Prior to her groundbreaking career as a filmmaker, DuVernay founded DVA Media and Marketing in 1999, an award-winning firm providing strategy and execution for more than 120 film and television campaigns. She also founded AFFRM, the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement, an initiative to distribute and gain a wider screening for independent black films.

DuVernay’s most recent achievement as the winner of the US Directing Award represents a shift in African-American filmmaking. Her feature, Middle of Nowhere, received glowing reviews from both critics and audience after its Sundance premier in January. This compelling drama tells the story of a woman’s separation from her incarcerated husband and the journey to reconcile her marriage with her identity. 

 

New Mus(e)ic - Jose James

We’re a huge fan of this talented young singer/song-writer/producer at Proverb, most recently for the release of his fourth album, No Beginning, No End. Combining jazz, soul, drum’n’bass, and spoken word, Jose James has created a unique brand of vocal jazz, which awarded him the 2011 DownBeat Critics Poll “Rising Start Best Male Vocalist.” Often referred to as a “jazz singer for the hip-hop generation,” James’ blend of modern jazz and hip-hop presents widely in Europe, and has debuted on several of our mixtapes at Proverb.

Performing both solo and in collaborative projects, James traces his inspiration to John Coltrane and icons of ‘70s jazz-soul such as Gil Scott-Heron and Terry Callier. He has worked with some of the genres’s most respected players, and has performed in premier concert halls such as L’Olympia, Royal Festival Hall, and De Roma.

“Trouble,” James’ new single from No Beginning, No End, was inspired in part by Marvin Gaye and the beats of underground hip-hop artist Madlib. Telling the story of a man trying to love a woman, his world, and himself, James hopes that it will “inspire people to keep strong and enjoy the beauty of their own lives.”

Check out a video of his single, Trouble and the interview with iRockJazz.

 

Congrats Boldfacers: Paul & Wesley Karger

 

Congratulations to the owners and brain children behind Twin Focus Capital for their profile on BOLDFACERS. The investment entrepreneurs have made a splash on the scene, but they didn't do it without hard work and sacrifice. After taking a number of jobs, funding themselves through college, and making lasting connections in the corporate sphere, they launched Twin Focus Capital, which is now in its sixth year and manages over $1.5 billion for high-net-worth individuals, institutions, and family offices in 16 countries.

Check out the article & video on Paul & Wesley on the BOLDFACERS website.

 

 

Corporate Culture

How to infuse your corporate culture with life & vibrancy:

- Focus: Aligns the entire company towards achieving its vision, mission, and goals.
- Motivation: Builds higher employee motivation and loyalty.
- Connection: Builds team cohesiveness among the company’s various departments and divisions.
- Cohesion: Builds consistency and encourages coordination and control within the company.
- Spirit: Shapes employee behavior at work, enabling the organization to be more efficient and alive.

Corporate culture is a hot topic among businesses who want to attract the best talent, translate their values to their products and services, and show customers what they're all about.

Read more in this interesting article: http://www.fastcompany.com/1810674/culture-eats-strategy-for-lunch

CreativeMornings: Goodbye Coffee Cup Lids

Join Peter Herman & our very own Daren Bascome, on Friday, January 27, at 8:30am at Space with a Soul (281 Summer St. 7th Floor, to discuss the Compleat cup. They'll be sharing insights on the product and graphic design and their mission to entice folks to ditch sippy cups (and that extra plastic) and instead, "fill, fold, and drink."

If you'd like to get inspired, before work, click here for free registration: Register here

New Year, New Goals.

At the beginning of every year, people all over the world make resolutions & goals for the upcoming year. This is a time of evaluation and reflection, a time to recount your hits as well as your misses. We are using this time to redefine our goals, for socail media that is. 

Here are a few of the social media questions/goals/topics we have considered for 2012:

- How can we get the attention of influential followers & bloggers?

- How can we brand ourselves better? What is our elevator pitch?

- What do our readers want to know, see, and hear?

- How can we connect on a deeper level with like-minded invidividuals, companies, & brands?

- How do we turn our social media efforts into new leads, partnerships, & meaningful relationships?

- How do we increase engagement, comments, & feedback?

These have got our wheels spinning. We hope that they have you taking a second look at your goals for whatever it is you've devoted your new year's resolution to as well. Feel free to let us know what you think, if there are any goals we should have that we are missing, or if you think that 2012 will serve up a whole other purpose for networking platforms in the coming year. 

Branding Trends in 2012

Robert Passikoff, the President of Brand Keys, complied a list of 12 branding factors that “will have direct consequences to the success, or failure, of next year’s branding, engagement, and marketing efforts”.

Passikoff believes that in order to be successful brands will have to put emphasis on product’s quality and value that will appeal to many different audiences. Among other key branding factors, Passokoff highlights things like: expectations, advertising, mobile commerce and simplicity.

To learn more about Passikoff’s expectations read the full article: 12 Branding Keys for 2012