The first time I discovered One Minute Briefs was back in September 2021, joining in with a brief to help Twitter spread the message of how businesses could grow using the social media growth tools provided. At this time, I had only just finished University a matter of months before, and was frantically worried about what my next steps were in terms of how I could make moves in the creative world, especially with my desire of working in creative advertising. I felt that there was a secret formulated way of getting into the industry, and if I didn't follow it, I would surely fail. However, when I posted my first OMB piece for this Twitter brief in particular, I felt something that I never thought I would feel again since moving on from University, a sense of achievement, a feeling of accomplishment and motivation that I had the capability to make a success of myself.
Twitter - Grow Your Business (2021) - My entry as part of an OMB brief.
Unfortunately it was never a winning entry, which felt upsetting to me at the time, as I thought it was a sign to give up, being that there were far better ideas that I could never live up to. Moving forward, I had instantly moved back to applying for jobs in the advertising fields, where I was being rejected left, right and centre once again. Although this is to be expected in the world of job hunting, it took a toll on my confidence and mental health once again, making me feel like my skills were mediocre, and I would never be up to scratch like other people in the creative world. Then, on the morning of the 8th of December, I was met with a notification on my timeline by OMB yet again, with another brief that took to my fancy, this time for Canva, the brief being to create an ad that shows how fun and easy it is to use the new Canva Draw app. At this point in time, I had been rejected from so many jobs in my desired field that I felt like I needed a boost of confidence, both mentally and creatively, making me instantly reflect on the time I created my piece for Twitter. I decided to hop back onto the Adobe Creative Suite and having another shot at it. Despite the name One Minute Briefs, it took me about 3 hours to even think of an idea to produce, baffling me to even how one could create an idea in just a minute. Once I had it though, I was extremely proud of the result, and all the feelings of pride rushed back to me all of a sudden, just like they had when I produced my Twitter piece.
Canva - Designed With Canva (2021) - My entry as part of an OMB brief.
Again, another loss sadly. However, this time felt a little different. I didn't feel so upset about it like I did before, as it wasn't my main objective to win this time round. I was only looking to boost my confidence in terms of provoking the sense that I was good enough to be a part of the creative world. That was the start of a turning point for me in my creative work, making me realise that what I was seeking wasn't just to win, but instead to help myself progress my work in terms of quicker thinking, stronger copy, better designs each time round, and more. It wasn't until December the 9th's brief, advertising a well-timed cheese and wine event, that I decided that I would dedicate myself to working on an OMB brief a day to progress my work and build my portfolio for (this site).
Everyday, I would be met with another loss, but even that being the case, I was less and less deterred by it. If anything, it started to give me more drive to just keep going at the briefs, as I wasn't expecting to win, and knew as time went on, my reason for doing them would stick with me more and more, driving me to focus on building my own reputation, both in the interest of helping my own creative confidence and widening my recognition within the creative world.
Move forward to the 21st of December however, where producing work on a Christmas card brief bought along something I never expected, my first OMB win! It felt unreal that my work had been chosen as a winner, and for a Christmas card brief too! What felt even better is how I had not expected to win it, so when the feeling came round, that sense of achievement felt elevated to what it would have been if my main intention was only to win! That night, I had a small celebration in my own fashion, not knowing that this was just the start of many of wins to add to my unexpected tally.
@OneMinuteBriefs; December, 22nd 2021
It took a while for OMB to get back to the usual swing of briefs due to the Christmas and new year holidays coming round, but when it eventually came back on the 3rd of January 2022, I was already excited to start exercising my creative muscles once again! In fact, it was the only thing on my mind, even during Christmas Day, a new obsession to say the least!
By this time, but not the first, I wasn't just producing one idea a day, but sometimes even three, as I believed that it was only one entry per person funny enough, a relief to me as for the first brief back, I was struck with so many possibilities at once for simply changing one letter in a brand name to change their meaning all together.
#OMBrandChallenge (2022) - My entries as part of an OMB brief.
It was the first day back and to my surprise yet again, a second OMB win! I was once again over the moon to have won and just like the last win, I was never expecting to have my entry selected once more. Again, it felt like another step-up in the creative world, and I had never felt so on top of my work. I had finally found a community that made me feel appreciated whilst also helping me develop my work with creative inspiration, both by admiring entries from other OMBLES (the name given to people within the OMB community) and having people provide messages of praise for certain pieces of mine, which really helped me create a defined style in my work, knowing how to create better pieces every day that went by.
Multiple brief entries (2022) - My entries as part of multiple OMB briefs.
On the 3rd of January, I had also seen a position with OMB to join their OMBoard (the name of the One Minute Briefs team who help run everything OMB). During the period of waiting to reply, I was producing more and more content each day, still dedicating myself to each brief as passionately as I could. By the 12th of January, I received an email back from Nick Entwistle (Creative Director and Founder of the Bank of Creativity, also the main operator of everything One Minute Briefs), and after a flow of discussion between the 3rd to the 12th of January, reading the words, 'Delighted to welcome you to the OMBoard as your enthusiasm and positivity is fantastic.' was the best achievement I had ever felt since graduating University, if not topping it! I finally felt like the calling I had been waiting for had arrived at a time where I was at my peak in creativity and confidence. It made me realise that the rejection I had faced in the past may have hurt, but had actually been a way of finding my place in a community I felt (and still feel) spurred on by each day.
However, I have discovered that it's not just my creativity that has been supported whilst being both an OMBLE and part of the OMBoard, but also my mentality too. I have many examples of this that could turn a blog post into a story book. To name just a few, making friends within the OMB community that I have both had DM me and message me in response to some of my posts has helped me in ways I cannot thank them enough for. For example, Rae Joan (@raejoancreative) and Lynne White (@LynneMWhite1) on Twitter (just to name two out of many legendary humans on Twitter) have both taken their time out to not just respond to me, but also DM me to have friendly conversations with me about their ventures and my ventures in life, creating a the bond of friendship I've always been looking for. Even more to add, Rae Joan (@raejoancreative) has just recently gave me a lead for a possible opening in a remote job setting! I want to say it is little things like this that make me realise how the OMB community is the best, but in reality, these things are just way to big to be called 'little things'. To see support like this in a community that just keeps surprising me and many others day after day, it goes to show that you're never alone in the creative world, especially when involved with OMB.
Another example of phenomenal support both creatively and mentally is Nick. Inviting me onto the OMBoard was one thing, but DMs via. Twitter to give me both creative advice and mental support, as well as job hunting support, has blown me away, and is more than I ever knew possible from one sole. For example, in terms of creative support, any risqué posts that I may have tried testing the water with or may have slipped past my eyes, there have been DMs helping me to rethink the ideas, improving them thoroughly (thank you for the save or two... or three).
Jameson - Love Jameson (2021) - My entry as part of an OMB brief.
An example of mental support however was just on the 22nd of February, where I was met with a sudden accident in the family, where my small Jack Russell cross was rushed into the vets due to a severe wound to her back. It put me out of sorts, and to make matters worse, I was also met with an email by an agency I had been determined to get into for quite a while saying I was unsuccessful in the process, bringing me to a very low point that day. I then tweeted out that I wouldn't be entering more than once for the brief, and was more than instantly met with a message by the OMB Twitter page (Nick) saying, 'message me anytime!'. I knew right there that I could message and feel supported in a way that I was never made aware of in my time of learning about what it is like to be in a creative position before, something I feel should be made more of a deal of in the wider world of job searching. Mental health is just as important as the creative drive you get, and I couldn't thank Nick or the community more for that.
Two people I've also found friendship in are Sean and Gareth, part of the social media team over on Facebook, the team I am also with in helping with daily posts, such as making sure the brief is uploaded each day, and creating niche posts to interact with everyone more! They have been extremely warming and inviting towards me and, just like Nick, have made me feel a part of the OMBoard like no other! I couldn't thank them enough.
Finding this community and having both Nick and everyone to support me has gave me so much strength and confidence, making me wish there was a way I could thank them more than I already have! I keep thinking to myself each week how well ran OMB is too, making real world ties with brands for OMB briefs and more, which is the most impressive things I've seen in my life!
To Nick, Sean, Gareth, the OMBoard and the community, plus every brand interaction I've had on Twitter, I can't thank you enough for how far I've come, I couldn't have done it without you. As for the future of my involvement in OMB, I look so forward to what's around the corner for not just me, but for you OMBLES too. Also, for anyone else looking to join either as an OMBLE or part of the OMBoard, I have this to say:
This is the coolest, most caring, most up-lifting team to be a part of! If you're considering joining, or have only just found out what OMB are about, let me be the first to say that the opportunities associated with OMB are really not ones to be missed, both for creative reasons, and to help you realise that your work is good enough!
To the future of OMB!