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The Creative Factor
The minds & methods shaping craft, career, & culture. Wednesday Newsletters. Edited by Matt McCue. Branded by Coalesce.
Welcome to “Let’s push this to January” season. There is no better time than now to reschedule a meeting you don’t want to take. Now let’s jump in.?
Every week we share three new stories with insights and takeaways for your own work and practice. This week, Halli Thorleifsson tells the tale of designing the first Google Santa Tracker; a few leaders in the creative community share the recipes for their go-to holiday drinks; and we highlight one of our favorite, unexpected gift recommendations from our 2023 Designer Recommended Gift Guide.
On a fateful Thursday in 2012, everything changed for Haraldur Thorleifsson when he heard that Google needed someone to create the first Santa Tracker. Without hesitating at the chance, he cleared his weekend and showed up to a pitch meeting that Monday with a prototype of an illustrated village with moving parts, sound, and snow. Thorleifsson was about to change the name of the game for kids around the globe during the holiday season.?
His is a story with all the hallmarks of a holiday classic, but more than that, it’s really about creating something iconic under several tight constraints. “Nobody said ‘no’ to me, because I didn’t show Google anything until it was done. I didn’t show them a concept for a game — I showed them a fully-developed game,” he says. “I did that because I didn’t want to get into iterations. We didn’t have the time for that. It was the only way that I could make it work to make the launch”
Read his full interview here, where Halli tells the inside story about how he capitalized on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and led a hodge-podge team to design Google’s first Santa Tracker.
This time of year, when other publications are easing out of December with best-of roundups, we’re still putting in an honest effort and asking subjects the hard-hitting questions. The most important one is, of course, What’s your go-to holiday drink??
For Laura Podesta , PR Manager at Fiverr , the answer is as easy as the recipe itself: merry mulled wine. Take one bottle of red wine, one cup of orange juice, three tablespoons of whole cloves, and three cinnamon sticks. Then simmer in a pan on low heat. Once hot, serve in a goblet with a slice of orange. “Most people make mulled wine with brandy, but I prefer just OJ and skip the brandy,” said Podesta. If wine is good for the heart and oranges are good for the immune system, then this is practically a health food.?
For the complete collection of holiday drinks, from the Wassail to the Bullshot to “Uncle Dan’s whiskey sour,” read the piece here. Service journalism at its finest!
领英推荐
What sets apart a good Christmas gift from a great Christmas gift? The creative idea behind it. From fine art and confounding board games to the fastest endurance bike on the market, each product on our 2023 Designer Recommended Gift Guide has been recommended — and road-tested — by leaders in the creative community.?
Near the top of our holiday list is Megalomanics, a new board game created by WeTransfer Chief Creative Officer Damian Bradfield designed to initiate conversations around wealth, power, and modesty. “If Rupert Murdoch, Sam Altman or Elon Musk are on your Christmas card list this year, treat them to something fun they can play with all the family; a card game featuring themselves called Megalomaniacs,” says Bradfield.?
Browse the gift guide here and find something from our list to add to yours.
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Newsletter written by Contributing Editor Madeleine Magill .