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A new music startup created an instrument that can turn your microwave, electric toothbrush, and baby monitor into hauntingly beautiful music. Its branding converts all of those fascinating outputs into an infinite series of Victorian-inspired patterns. Eternal Research is a brand founded by musician Alexandra Fierra, and its dedicated to unlocking the existing music hidden in everyday things,” per its website. The companys debut product is called the Demon Box. This fully analog device uses an intricate array of sensors to detect the electro-magnetic fields (EMFs) of almost any electronic device around it, and then turns those EMFs into music. The brand hit its funding goal on Kickstarter in a matter of hours, and the first Demon Boxes (which cost $999 a pop) are set to ship in November. The Demon Box blends the study of music-making with modern technologyand for its launch it needed a brand to match. The New York-based agency Cotton Design was tasked with creating a visual identity that an infinitely audio-reactive generative model that transforms sound into historically accurate Victorian patterns. Like the instrument itself, the brand eschews convention to create something unique. [Image: courtesy Cotton Design] A music brand inspired by vampires, high fashion, and the Victorian era When Talia Cotton, founder and creative director at Cotton Design, first met with Fierra, she felt as if Fierra was on another frequency than the rest of the world. Fierras approach to music is all about craft, experimentation, and the intricacy of the sound that exists in the everyday world. Her vision for Eternal Researchs branding combined that attention to detail with a mysterious, almost vampiric visual sensibility. [Image: courtesy Cotton Design] She kept on sending us these examples, Cotton says. She sent us an empty unboxing experience for YSL, because she said there was something special about that unboxing experience. There was a box, that held an envelope, that held a scarfall these different layers of the brand that she thought were very thoughtful. She also sent us an old collectors edition VHS tape of [Bram Stokers] Dracula in a coffin-shaped box. These small pieces of Fierras inner world slowly started to piece together for Cottons team, which included coder Noah Schwadron and project manager Sewon Bae. But there was one source of inspiration that became a kind of north star for the brand. [Image: courtesy Cotton Design] [Fierra] is a collector of old books from the Victorian era, Cotton says. She has a very deep appreciation for the craft that is associated with that period in time, which is defined by ornamentation, and by the careful, slow process of making these outputs. Each Victorian pattern was unique. Eventually, Cotton realized that Fierras fascination with Victorian design sensibilities was the perfect basis for Eternal Researchs brandthe challenge was to figure out how to pull off an identity for a modern music brand company based on inspiration from the 19th century. [Image: courtesy Cotton Design] How Eternal Research pulled brand inspiration from A24 Cotton describes Eternal Researchs brand as geared toward two different consumer bases: one who is just discovering the brand, and another who is an avid follower prepared to pay the sizable $999 cost of the Demon Box. To appeal to both of those consumer segments, Cottons team needed to balance a strong element of personalization with a sense of approachability. This was really tricky for us, because on one hand there was the ornament, the detail, the special-feeling experience, and on the other hand, [Fierra] was very gung ho about making this feel open; like anybody could understand it, Cotton says. For consumers that are just discovering Eternal Research, Cottons team took inspiration from brands outside the music tech space with cult followings, like the movie studio A24which Cotton says pulls some of its mystique from seeming almost unbranded. Similarly, Eternal Researchs most frequently used assets, including its logo and sans serif wordmark, are kept simple and unornamented to invite new customers to learn more. [Image: courtesy Cotton Design] But as fans of the brand dig deeper, the branding storypulls them into a more and more expressive world. That world is anchored by a generative model, coded from the ground up by Schwadron, that turns any sound input into a Victorian-inspired ornamental design. These patterns, which can be made in an infinite array of combinations, appear everywhere from the brands social media content to its website, letterheads, and packagingand the model is available online for anyone to use. [Image: courtesy Cotton Design] A brand that turns sounds into Victorian patterns Cotton Designs audio-reactive design relies on historical sources to create period-accurate Victorian patterns. The team sifted through hundreds of vintage book covers, illustrations, and re-creations to understand how these patterns were constructed and which motifs recurred most commonlydown to the angles of individual curves and the kind of floral patterns that were most popular. The base of the generative model can be understood as a kind of map. Each map is composed of a grid and a series of circles, which tell the model where the patterns lines should go. Every time the model is reloaded, it creates a random base map. From there, it takes in a sound input and interprets not only the inputs volume, but also its frequency, texture, and timbre. These sound qualities are digested by the model and correlated to more than 30 different pattern parameters, like line density, length, animation speed, the number of floral accents, and more. With all of these layers stacked on top of each other, the outcome is a model that can literally make an infinite number of sound-based Victorian illustrations. While audio-reactive designs have become more popular in recent years, this project is perhaps one of the most expressive, detailed applications of the technique to date. Paired with the music generated by the Demon Box, the brand is like an otherworldly symphony for both the ears and eyes.
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E-Commerce
In 1998, five kids met in a cafe in Belgrade. Still in their 20s, they were, to all outward appearances, nothing special. They werent rich, or powerful; they didnt hold important positions or have access to significant resources. Nevertheless, that day, they conceived a plan to overthrow their countrys brutal Milošević regime. The next day, six friends joined them and they became the 11 founders of the activist group Otpor. A year later, Otpor numbered a few hundred members and it seemed that Milošević would be the dictator for life. A year after that, Otpor had grown to 70,000 and the Bulldozer Revolution brought down the once-unshakable dictator. Thats how change works: in phases. Every transformational idea starts out weak, flawed, and untested. It needs a quiet period to work out the kinks. Through trial and error, you see what works, begin to gain traction, and eventually have the opportunity to create lasting change. If youre serious about change, you need to learn the phases of change and manage them wisely. The Emergent Phase Managers launching a new initiative often seek to start with a bang. They work to gain approval for a sizable budget as a sign of institutional commitment. They recruit high-profile executives, arrange a big kick-off meeting, and look to move fast, gain scale, and generate some quick wins. All of this is designed to create a sense of urgency and inevitability. Yet this approach usually backfires. Every idea starts out weak and untested. You might think that you have a sound concept. You may have even seen it work before and achieve impressive results. But until the idea has gained traction in your current context, you dont really know anything. Youre shooting in the dark. Thats why in the emergent phase, you want to move deliberately. For example, in his efforts to reform the Pentagon, Colonel John Boyd began every initiative by briefing a group of collaborators he called the Acolytes, who would help hone and sharpen the ideas. Only once the ideas had been subjected to intense scrutiny would he move on to congressional staffers, elected officials, and the media. The truth is that change is never top-down or bottom-up, but always moves side-to-side. You will find the entire spectrumfrom strong supporters to committed opponentsat every level. Thats why you need to go to where the energy already is, not try to create and maintain it by yourself. Find people who are as enthusiastic and committed as you are. Thats what was achieved in that cafe in Belgrade. They didnt have a movement, resources, or anything more than the rough contours of a plan. But they had a core team that was committed to shared values and a shared purpose. Thats where every change effort needs to start. The Engagement Phase Once you have your core team in place, youll want to start mobilizing others who might be open to joining your effort. The tipping point for change in most contexts is only 10%20% participation, so you dont need to convince everyone at once. You want to attract, not try to overpower, scare, or shame people into bending to your will. The first thing you want to do is to identify a Keystone Change, which has a clear and tangible goal, involves multiple stakeholders, and paves the way for future change. When we work with organizations, we always encourage the teams we work with to make it smaller, until their Keystone Change is laser focused on one process, one product, one office, or one . . . something. Another key strategy is to design a Co-Optable Resource that others can use to achieve their own goals, but also further the change you’re trying to build. A good Co-Optable Resource must be both accessibleno mandates or incentivesand impactful, meaning that it needs to deliver practical value and be scalable. For example, in a cloud transformation at Experian, the CIO didnt simply mandate the shift, which he had full authority to do, but instead started with internal APIs, which dont carry the same risks and wouldnt encounter much resistance. That was the Keystone Change. Then he set up an API Center of Resistance to help product managers who wanted to build cloud-based products. Whats key during the engagement phase is that you are working to empower rather than to persuade. By helping others to achieve things that they want to, you can build traction and set the conditions for genuine transformation. The Victory Phase Once you have shown that change can work with a successful keystone project and begun to attract a following, you will begin to gain traction. This is when you need to start planning for the victory phase, which is often the most dangerous phase, because thats when you are most likely to encounter vicious opposition. Once the opponents of change see that genuine is actually possible, thats when the knives come out. They will see that genuine transformation is possible and will seek to undermine it in ways that are dishonest, underhanded, and deceptive. Thats what you need to be prepared for, because it almost always happens. The good news is that these efforts are usually desperate and clumsy. They often backfire. Whats key is to not take the bait and get sucked into a conflict, although that will be tempting. When someone viciously attacks something we believe passionately in and have worked hard for, it offends our dignity and we want to lash out. Whats important to remember is that lasting change is always built on common ground. So you want to focus on shared values in how you communicate and how you design dilemmas. You will never convince everybody, nor do you need to, but you do need to create a sense of safety around change and show that you want to make it work for all who are affected by it. Protect Your Ugly Baby Pixar founder Ed Catmull once wrote that early on, all of our movies suck. The trick, he explained, is to go beyond the initial germ of an idea and ut in the hard work it takes to get something to go from suck to not-suck. He called early ideas ugly babies, because they start out, awkward and unformed, vulnerable and incomplete. Theres something romantic about the early stages of an idea, but its important to remember that, much like Catmulls ugly babies, your idea is never going to be as weak and vulnerable as those early days before you get a chance to work out the inevitable kinks. You need to be careful not to overexpose it or it may die an early death. You need to protect your ugly baby, not shove it out into the world and hope it can fend for itself. You need to resist the urge to jump right in with a big launch. Change follows a predictable, nonlinear pattern often described as an S curve. It starts out slowly, because it’s unproven and flawed. Few will be able to see its potential and even fewer will be willing to devote their energy and resources to it. Early on, you need to focus on a relatively small circle who can help your ugly baby grow. These should be people you know and trust, or at least have indicated some enthusiasm for the concept. If you feel the urge to persuade, you have the wrong people. As you gain traction, identify flaws, and make adjustments, your idea will grow stronger and you can accelerate. Large-scale change cannot be rushed. It is not a communication problem and wordsmithing snappier slogans wont get you very far. It is a collective action problem. People will only adopt it when they see others around them adopt it. Thats why you need to approach it carefully. Give it the respect it deserves, and it can work wonders for you.
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E-Commerce
I just got back from a week on the beach. The water was crystal clear, the sky blue, and my butt was in a lounge chair all day. I certainly enjoyed myself and caught up on a ton of sleep. But did I return to work today bursting with ideas and fresh energy? If Im honest, not really. It feels more like I left my brain sunning itself on the seaside. Meanwhile, I need to dig myself out from under a mountain of work and complete my massive back-to-school to-do list. Where did I go wrong in my vacation planning? If I was looking to maximize floating time and the amount of tasty fish I ate, nowhere. But according to psychology, as much as I enjoyed my break, I also fell prey to one of the most common vacation myths. Like many people, I assumed that sloth is the most effective way to unwind and refresh. I would have been better off if I had swapped my swimsuit for a skillcation instead. Whats a skillcation? First, whats a skillcation? Exactly what it sounds likea vacation dedicated to either learning a new skill or improving an existing one. This could range from a low-key guided birdwatching getaway or a sweaty boot camp to a week of cooking classes in a bucolic setting. Consulting agency Future Partners has found that 39% of travelers are drawn to such trips, Thrillist reports. HuffPost claims skillcations are a trend thats gaining popularity. Ben Martin, of hospitality strategy firm HKS, told HuffPost that learning-focused travel satisfies a desire for personal growth and cultural engagement. And indeed one way to look at the skillcation trend is as yet another way the productivity and personal growth-focused ethos of work life is seeping into our off-hours. But theres another, more positive way to look at the rising interest in holidays that promise to teach you to learn to knit or sail or identify songbirds. Science suggests this type of travel actually satisfies a deep psychological need. This ultimately leaves us more refreshed than bobbing in the sea for a week. The psychological benefits of skillcations With the world and the economy feeling precarious these days, just about all of us are stressed. Recently, best-selling author Adam Grant had fellow psychologist Sabine Sonnentag of the University of Mannheim in Germany on his podcast Worklife to discuss the best way to reset and truly refresh our brains. When we feel like were low on energy and inspiration, its natural enough to think you need rest, Sonnentag explained. Relaxation is what many people think when they think of recovery, unwinding, maybe doing nothing. Just relaxing. And so in terms of more physiological processes, it means a low sympathetic activation. So, lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, she said. There is certainly nothing wrong with a little rest. Some is, of course, essential for health and happiness. But that is not the only avenue to becoming recovered, Sonnentag stresses. What often works better than rest to leave us feeling psychologically refreshed? Something called mastery experiences. These are activities that are challenging. So for instance, learning a new language or having a hobby that really asks to step outside ones comfort zone, Sonnentag says. Things exactly like what you experience on a skillcation, in other words. Why mastery experiences are so refreshing Signing up for a skillcation might help you improve your pickleball game or Italian cooking skills. But it will also get you physically moving and push your boundaries. Together that is likely to promote a deeper sense of refreshment for a number of reasons that Grant and Sonnentag explore together. Getting physically tired and then sleeping soundly after is often more physically restful than fitfully snoozing between reapplications of sunscreen. Its also likely to more thoroughly distract you from whatever is stressing you out in your life. You cant fret about work while youre learning to rock climb. But you can as you go through the pages of a trashy beach read. (My personal experience affirms this is true.) But perhaps more important, mastery experiences remind us just how resilient and capable we are. You take a suntan back from your average beach vacation. You return from a skillcation armed with a sense of achievement and competence. Which is more likely to give you greater energy and clarity when you get back home? Learn your way to real relaxation As time use expert and author Laura Vanderkam wrote in her book What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend: Other kinds of workbe it exercise, a creative hobby, hands-on parenting, or volunteeringwill do more to preserve your zest for Mondays challenges than complete vegetation. Whats true of weekends, its true of vacations, too. Far be it for me to say you shouldnt visit a tropical paradise for your next vacation if thats what you want to do. Ill always want some beach time in my life, personally. But if supposedly restful vacations somehow havent been leaving you feeling rested, maybe its time to try something different. A skillcation might be just what your brain needs to feel focused and fired up again. Jessica Stillman This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
Category:
E-Commerce
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