1 whole year already! Where did all the time go? Well, this means it's time for a recap, of the best period of my LIFE! I can't believe the time I've had, and it's honestly been such a blast! Here we go...
On September the 22nd, I decided to jump onto Twitter after remembering an account that I had been told about a few months before, called One Minute Briefs. The concept of the account was simple but brilliant: "One Rule. One Minute. Create an ad.". So, looking at the brief of the day, being to "Create posters to celebrate how Twitter has helped @OneMinuteBriefs grow for the past 10 years!!", I did just that! This was my entry:
I was extremely proud of what I had produced as since leaving University I felt as if I was never going to be able to have the chance to get creative again, but One Minute Briefs had offered me a chance to get back onto this creative path that I was so enthusiastic about, and at some points felt like I had to let go due to the scarcity of work in the advertising world, so much so I had started applying for jobs in totally different sectors that I knew just weren't my forte. From restaurants to music stores, I just knew that at least by producing work for the daily One Minute Briefs there was a chance for me to keep developing my skills in order to get noticed. Even though I wasn't shortlisted for this brief either, I knew that I had enjoyed producing my piece.
It did take me a few more months after that in order to decide that I wanted to start becoming something of a full-time OMBLE, so on the 8th of December 2021, I hopped back onto check out the daily brief, this time being to "Create an ad that shows how fun and easy it is to use the new Canva Draw app." with the hashtag #DesignedWithCanva. Here was my entry:
I was only producing one graphic a day at this point, as I was very unaware to how you were able to submit more than just one entry, which now looking back, I'm gutted I never got the chance to produce some other wonderful ideas I had for the brief! Nevertheless, I had once again given myself another reason to feel proud, and it was at this time I realised that building my skills with One Minute Briefs was definitely the best path to go down for me. And not to exaggerate, this was possibly the best decision I had made for myself, as little did I know this was about to open one huge opportunity for me. From there I was producing an piece each day all in the hopes to see my name up in the winners bracket, something I admired to be a huge honour in the advertising world - surprise surprise, it really is!
Entry after entry, I was determined to keep getting better with my work, all in the width of December, my favourite pieces I had produced that month being my Quality Street and Ecologi graphics (see above). I was still to see a win at this point but I did notice that my work and my ideas were improving a lot more, somewhat more than what University did for me (even though I did learn a lot there). This drive felt like no other, a feeling that I had expected to only be found in some ancient ritual that I'd have to master only in the hopes of ever becoming somewhat good at my desired path.
It wasn't until the last OMB of the year on the 21st of December 2021 that I had finally done it, I accomplished a goal that I thought would be months or even years away... I was picked as a winner for the #OMBXmasCards brief! I remember that day being me jumping around all excited, I had even went to the shop to get myself a bottle of prosecco just to celebrate (and what better time to celebrate than just days before Christmas). Here is that winning entry:
Looking back I believe that I have improved a lot since then, just like everyone in the world. However, being an OMBLE isn't about how skilled you are at creating the best graphic over someone else, because at that point it would simply be too competitive. Instead, that's what makes OMB unique, the execution and the idea itself. No matter how you produce your idea, whether it is on paper, Paint, Canva, Adobe, toilet paper or even your living room wall (DISCLAIMER: DON'T do this this if you're living with parents or friends), you've always got a chance at winning! It's all about the taking part that matters after all!
It wasn't until the 3rd of January that OMB got back together for the first brief of the year, and even after all the Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year celebrations, the only thing on my mind was what the next brief was going to be! I had become entirely obsessed with One Minute Briefs, like Romeo falling head over heels for Juliet, only this time I had fell in love with an online social media account... 2022 everyone, get used to it, love is love! Anyhow, the brief that day was the #OMBrandChallenge - changing one letter in a brand - and I was more determined than ever to get some ideas out into the world once again. I remember producing two ideas that day, and then when out and about in the park, I was eager to rush home in order to produce an idea I had for Netflix, Petflix - I know I know, I'm somewhat of a comedic genius myself... Here are these *cough cough*, self-proclaimed masterpieces:
And then the winners were announced... to my absolute delight, I had done it again, my second ever One Minute Brief win with Petflix! I couldn't believe it, I felt like my work was being appreciated in a place where I was amongst the most supportive and caring community ever in my opinion!
I was now entering everyday, multiple times to be in fact, glued to my screen, completely engaged with every entry (yes, I am now wearing glasses as a result, aha...).
In fact, it was on the 3rd of January that I had also seen on Twitter a post on the OMB account that there was open spots to join the OMBassador team! Being that I was jobless, and having not much luck in finding work in advertising ANYWHERE, I decided to try my luck, so I dropped an email to see what might happen! Sure enough, Nick replied with everything this may entail, and I was instantly excited at the very thought of helping to run some things behind the scenes at OMB whilst still being able to enter briefs, a dream come true if I'm being totally honest.
What followed was a series of messages between me and Nick, asking about what my current employment status was, where I was based and which social platform I would be most comfortable running. On the 12th of January, Nick let me know that he was delighted to welcome me to the OMBoard as my enthusiasm and positivity is fantastic. This was the equivalent of Leonardo DiCaprio winning his first Oscar award back in 2016 for me. I felt like I had achieved something that after so long waiting felt like a dream that could only be achieved in the wildest of circumstances. However, I had finally found a role with OMB that I felt really passionate about. Before I knew it, I was in a group chat with two strangers (strangers that I now call friends) called Gareth and Sean, who were really quick to make me feel instantly invited into the scenes out the back, part of the team...
Now, not only was I entering more and more, I was working with Gareth and Sean in posting the daily brief to FB every morning, posting fun interactive posts and stories on FB and a few bits more, more than I could have ever wished for. Between January and March, it was this everyday... and honestly, I couldn't imagine it any other way, I felt like I was having the time of my life doing what I was doing! I was soon saying hi in a new group chat created to say hi to all the other wonderful OMBassadors, some I recognised from saying hi to on Twitter, and OMBLES I hadn't yet had the chance to say hi to just yet. Rae, Simon, Jack, Zed, Hannah, Sanna, Michaela and more, I loved that everyone was so unique yet got along together so well. Knowing them for what would be coming up to a year next year, I'd class them all as my friends without hesitation!
On the 15th of March, that's when a lot changed for me. After a lot of discussion between Nick and me on the Twitter DMs about my future at OMB, I was asked to send over my CV, as I was very eager to see if there was anything I could do to more with OMB. Everything was happening so fast, I never saw myself in such a position after being an OMBassador for just under three months, an opportunity that felt as big as winning a golden ticket for Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. After more discussion, it happened just like that, I was now in a role alongside Nick to start running more OMB operations including the Twitter page and creating new brand partnerships for fun, daily briefs. At this point, I think the best way t describe my reaction was something along the lines of, "AAHSJSKHAKAAJDHJKLAAHALSH". If you're not familiar with this language, I was very excited in other words...
One thing led to another, and in the space of not even 6 months, I felt as if I had went from cloud 1 to 9 faster than how quick the Doc's DeLorean travelled in time on Back To The Future. By April, I was introduced after a brief for The Drum to The Drum's Chip Shop Awards, in which I was eager to enter a few of my ideas from OMB into a few various categories after being shortlisted for the OMB category in the awards itself.
To my delight, one of the four entries, that I had put forward had miraculously made it as a finalist! Here are those entries:
This was the first time I had ever been nominated for anything in my creative work ever, and what an honour it felt. That was the first time ever that I felt as if I was able to finally recognise my own skills and worth, knowing that I had the potential. Up until that point, I had always felt that there was always someone better out there than me, when in reality, you're not actually anyone else, you are you, something that you should never try to change when being a creative or anything for that matter!
Currently...
It's now September the 22nd once again, and looking back at my former, unsure self, it feels strange to think of how quickly time has flown by, carrying with it a new me, a me that I feel has been able to grow at the pace I had always dreamed of. I am now in a stage of my life I can comfortably say, I feel the king of my own world, so beat that Jack and Rose from Titanic! I even feel that over time, my work has improved to a point where I've been confident enough to approach some brands with my own ideas for possible collaborations. Here are just a few examples:
Even if these ideas don't become as big as I want to just yet, I've learnt that in the words of Coldplay's song Up&Up, "I'm gonna get it, get it together and go Up and up and up", because there is no way I'm ready to get down off this creative train just yet...