Farrah Bostic

Hat tip to Marshall Kirkpatrick for the recent book recommendation: IntraConnected by Daniel J. Siegel, MD where the concept of identity is deeply explored as both an internal and external experience—what Siegel refers to as "MWe," the integration of "Me" and "We." Below are a few thoughts on what I take away as a creative entrepreneur and agency builder. But first, a couple of initial passages that resonated: "... 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑—𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝, 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒—𝑖𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓." "... ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑, 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦-𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓—𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑒—𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠: 𝑎 𝑊𝑒, 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛: 𝑀𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑢𝑠 𝑊𝑒 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑀𝑊𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠." --- I find these ideas especially valuable for creatives of all kinds, as they highlight how relational awareness shapes both individual and collective identity. From personal experience, it's easy to become closed off—but recognizing that our sense of self is deeply intertwined with connections to others (e.g., clients, collaborators, and the broader community) can foster a greater sense of belonging and open doors to new, expansive ways of thinking. For those interested in an eye-opening read, I hope you enjoy ✌️ #identity #entrepreneurship

5

2 Comments

If you're a Designer or Design Leader, you should sign up to receive the upcoming Ecosystem Leadership Report: Design 2024 from friend and colleague Diego Núñez. I had the opportunity to sit down with Diego a few weeks ago to provide insights and views on what the future holds and why it is important for Designers to live life creatively. The report delivers an in-depth exploration of the transformative trends in design leadership from top industry leaders and voices sharing actionable strategies on innovation, team dynamics, and leadership in the digital age. Link to sign up to receive this report is in the comments section below! #design #designleadership #trends #creative #ux #product #business #impact #insights #ai #ethicaldesign #collaboration #ecosystems #report

32

6 Comments

SXSW chose "Hoodwinked" for a book talk. This is such a bucket list moment for me! Here's the talk: Is Everything a Cult? Date: March 8 (tentatively) Cults used to be defined by charismatic leaders and remote compounds. Not anymore. Today we think of cults as brands like Apple or Fenty, influencers like MrBeast or Jessie Lee Ward, conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones, or MLMs like LulaRoe and doTerra. In her new book, "Hoodwinked: How Marketers Use the Same Tactics as Cults," Dr. Mara Einstein explains how social media and digital technologies have made us vulnerable to cult tactics, and why marketers are driven to implement these approaches in order to grab our attention and “create community.” If you don't want to wait until March, you can pre-order Hoodwinked now wherever you buy books, and come check me out on TikTok.

30

3 Comments

Brand building is what we do.

13

4 Comments

Really nice essay on "the multitudes of self" by Nick Susi. Thoughtfully researched, comprehensive insights, and a touch of personal reflection. Articles like this are the reason I've become so energized by the topic of #identity — endlessly inspiring, so many layers to unpack, deeply human. It's a long (but amazing read) so here's the table of contents if you're interested in grabbing a ☕️ and digging in:  𝟏 : 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: How do I be all of me? 𝟐 : 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐲𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐚: How do we build reputation without the side effects of status games and infinite scale? 𝟑 : 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚: How do we expand our identity without exceeding our capacity? 𝟒 : 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑&𝐃: How do we put more choice and control over our identity back into our hands? 𝟓 : 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: How do we integrate and maintain coherence around our present Storied Self – or is this not the point? 𝟔 : 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲: How do we record memories without losing the true presence of the moment? Enjoy 💡✨✌️ https://lnkd.in/gRabqTyw

4

I read about one branding agency that at the beginning of every project asks AI for ideas, and then says "That's what we won't do. We have to go beyond what AI would." Marc S. Pritchard, the head of brand at Procter & Gamble, says that regardless of the technology, the creative will always come from the people and the heart, and I completely agree. The latest AI tools for designs, writing, etc., are extraordinary, and can act as assistants, but by their very nature they will rely on what came before. When I see the videos and audio, etc., that they produce they have high production values but are predictable. Only a human will have a breakthrough, unique creative idea that connects with other people. https://lnkd.in/erVzFxDy

2

There is a lot of interest right now in using synthetic moderators for in-depth qualitative insights. Tools like Cambri, Voicepanel, Outset, Strella… and dozens more like them, promise they can do it.  Here’s what I think: You need to build rapport before someone opens up about their motivations, aspirations, and unmet needs. As of today, synthetic moderators can’t deliver the warmth needed to create that level of resonance with a participant. Plus, a recent study shows AI moderators are not good yet at noticing someone is lying or playing with the system, which makes for failing quality control (https://lnkd.in/dGBFqtya). These tools are an evolution of the good-old survey, so they are great for A/B testing or feature testing in incremental innovation studies. No wonder a lot of their use cases are in FMCG.  And as an evolved survey, they are also great at allowing you to run the study in multiple markets, and then seamlessly synthesize all results in a single language. With the technology available today, that’s how far their synth moderators go. #AI #SyntheticModerators #UXResearch #DesignResearch

2

I struggled for years to be better understood, which was a dreadful feeling for someone working to translate ideas into compelling communications! Things took off when I realized that the best conversations are actually collaborations. Here are 6 transformative techniques to help you better understand and be better understood in every interaction. https://lnkd.in/gACrrAfr

16

Just over one week left in the 20% early enrollment discount for upcoming cohorts of my Design Leadership at Scale: Director+ course. Q3 cohort is August 19-29 Q4 cohort is November 11-21 Use the code DLS3EARLYBIRD in the checkout sequence to secure this discount. DLS Director+ is one of the top-rated design courses on the Maven learning platform. This 2-week intensive training (roughly a 2-3 hour/day commitment) is ideal for established design leaders positioning themselves for future executive roles and career advancement. The focus of the course is on helping leaders to navigate the challenging transition from managing functional teams to driving enterprise-wide impact. Content includes: • Identifying core leadership qualities and superpowers • Mapping organizations and understanding key cross-functional relationships • Learning the signals of mature design organizations • Measuring and articulating the value of design to the business • Increasing impact and influence across the enterprise I also have a limited number of 50% off scholarships available for applicants impacted by a recent layoff or job separation. https://bit.ly/3wqqt32 #design #designleadership #designmanagement #designatscale #designcareers

58

3 Comments

Boost Your Freelance Career with Strategic Pro Bono Work Are you caller to web design, development, writing, oregon immoderate originative tract and uncovering your portfolio a spot thin? In a marketplace flooded with seasoned professionals, newcomers often conflict to basal out. So, what’s your edge? Overcoming this archetypal hurdle mightiness look daunting, but there’s a strategy worthy considering. Consider offering your services connected a pro bono ground to physique a robust professional portfolio. Curious astir however this tin help? Here’s a concise usher connected leveraging pro bono projects to pull much paying gigs. 9 Things You Should Know About Freelancing Full-time 9 Things You Should Know About Freelancing Full-time For astir of us, freelancing full-time seems similar a imagination travel true. We get to beryllium our own... Read more Understanding Pro Bono Work Pro bono—essentially nonrecreational enactment done escaped of charge—serves a nationalist bully and, successful the freelance world, enhances a freelancer’s image. However, opinions connected pro bono enactment are sharply divided. While immoderate professionals knock it for undervaluing the industry, others advocator its benefits, particularly for newcomers. Those against pro bono reason that it leads to artists underselling themselves and becoming casual targets for clients looking for inexpensive labor. But alternatively than simply rejecting these offers, wherefore not crook them into opportunities? Use these experiences to physique your portfolio and credibility. The Challenges of Starting successful Freelancing Typically, high-paying projects are reserved for the experienced. No substance your accomplishment level, without a important online presence, breaking into the tract tin beryllium tough. Establishing an online presence is crucial. When I began my freelance penning vocation soon aft university, the deficiency of published enactment was a large barrier. My interruption came lone aft I completed a task for free, which led to referrals and much work. If you’re caller to the field, see initially lowering your rates—a strategy I ne'er thought I’d endorse. For example, if a task typically budgets astir $2000, you mightiness connection a 25-50% discount. For a single-day project, you could adjacent suggest to bash it for free. However, being the lowest bidder mightiness suggest little quality. Counter this by intelligibly communicating your situation: you’re offering a little complaint due to the fact that you’re gathering your presence, but you volition present top-notch results. Selecting Projects with Potential Not each task is worthy your time. Be selective and take projects that could pb to further opportunities. This is important for gathering a sustainable freelan...

1

🌟 New Episode Alert! 🌟 Join us in our latest fireside chat with Jen Gaudet as we explore the unique benefits of choosing a boutique UX research firm like OneSource Labs, Inc. over larger counterparts. 🚀💼 At OneSource Labs, Inc., we prioritize value over volume. Unlike larger firms, which often operate on a transactional basis with higher overheads, we focus on crafting customized UX research plans tailored specifically to the unique needs and goals of each client and project. This personalized approach ensures not only higher ROI but also deeper insights and more actionable results. 📊🔍 Our dedication to customization allows us to serve decision-makers across global enterprises effectively, ensuring that every research initiative is aligned perfectly with their strategic objectives. Whether you're in digital, product, marketing, or creative departments, we understand the nuances of your industry and work closely with you to drive meaningful change. 🎯💡 Proud to bring this episode to you from OneSource Labs, Inc. Discover the transformative impact of a focused, bespoke UX research partnership. Watch now and see why more isn’t always better—better is more. #UXResearch #DigitalTransformation #UserExperience #BusinessStrategy #OneSourceLabs 🌐

31

2 Comments

Consumers are tapped out. Portfolios might get wiped by 50% or more. But this post has tips that provide hope and will help your brand connect with consumers. As marketing leaders and brand builders, our role is often to empathize. In some cases, our brands must be aspirational for consumers, but at other times we have to meet the audience where they are. It's a nuanced job. You have to tap into the market and what people are feeling the most. And right now, people are plagued with the following problems: higher energy costs, higher fuel costs, higher cost of foods, and cash is super tight. Markets are upended. How should your marketing strategy and your budget be revised? Seven quick gut checks you should do NOW. 1. Shift Budget to High-ROI Channels: Prioritize digital channels that offer measurable results and higher ROI, such as social media and email marketing. Reduce spend on lower-performing campaigns ASAP. 2. Emphasize Value: Allocate budget to promote products that offer the best value. If applicable to your brand, run promotions and/or flexible payment options to appeal to cost-conscious consumers. 3. Invest in Community and Support Initiatives: Allocate resources to create content that fosters community and support, such as webinars, online live events, and helpful guides. 4. Enhance Transparency and Authenticity: Invest in communication tools that allow for transparent and authentic engagement with consumers, such as live chats and behind-the-scenes content. 5. Focus on Essentials: Conduct an audit of your marketing tech stack. Redirect marketing budget towards essential products or services that help meet current consumer needs. 6. Boost Emotional Connection: Allocate budget for storytelling initiatives that create emotional connections, emphasizing hope and positivity. People really need it! 7. Focus on your Funnel: There are consumers in your funnel right now that are close to converting. Rather than allocating more to cold-prospecting, adjust budgets to push users further down the funnel. Double-check your loyalty program and optimize the hell out of it! BONUS TIP: Find a brand to partner with. Make sure you share similar values and target audiences, and have complimentary services. You will both be stronger together and can co-create a bigger value for consumers. Create an exclusive experience that make consumers feel special and hopeful about the future! If I can help in anyway, please do not hesitate to reach out: [email protected] -- we've helped numerous consumer brands scale from $0 to eight figures. #marketing #marketcrash #economics #inflation #consumers #marketingleaders #cmo #fractionalcmo #consumerbrands #b2c #performancemarketing #brandmarketing #ads #digitalads #advertising #portfolio #storytelling

8

If you're interested in branding even the *littlest* bit, I recommend joining the J2 team and DesignPhiladelphia on September 17th to hear about the delicious mix of truth and poetics that is brand strategy. Sign up and save your spot at the link in the post below 👇 #design #brand #strategy #brandstrategy #designphilly

6

I have a weird confession to make… when I started working at IDEO, I was skeptical about the value of design. 😬 Don't get me wrong—I cared deeply about design. As a lifelong Apple fan, I always tried to live up to their high standards of user experience when I was designing my own products. And IDEO is one of the top design firms in the world, so I knew what I was getting into. 😅 But I had been an indie app developer, used to working quickly on a shoestring. The idea of spending 12 weeks, hundreds of thousands of dollars, traveling to three cities with a team of four people—all to research, prototype and design ONE product? 💀 It seemed excessive. Extravagant. Certainly impossible to justify financially. 💸 In my mind, there were design patterns for everything—just follow best practices, and it would be clear for users. Right? …right? Almost immediately, I learned three things: 1️⃣ Designers are not the judges of good design; customers are. Every time I thought I nailed a design (totally clear! very intuitive!) the users just shredded it. Luckily, it wasn't just me—in a decade at IDEO, I never saw a design team nail it the first time (though we’d always get there after a few iterations). 2️⃣ "Design" is SO much more than I realized. I knew about visual design and user experience, but IDEO's human-centered design (HCD) process often defined (or redefined) the fundamental elements of the product/service. Together, 1 & 2 showed me that HCD was deep work that had real value to the user—but what about the business? It wasn't long before I learned: 3️⃣ When design hits, it HITS. In the blog post linked below, I describe a 5 week design sprint (not mine) that directly resulted in $4B of new business for a client. Not every design project has an ROI that extreme. But when I saw how asymmetric the return on design could be—and learned what some of our clients were spending on advertising per month—it started to seem irresponsible NOT to invest in designing the future of the business. 👉 Nathan Tower and I are excited apply what we've learned to a single business. Know a business that could benefit from a couple of designers? Send them our blog post! 📝 Blog post: https://lnkd.in/gCHU2ZDE 🌐 Our website: https://infinitecake.net/ 🤝 Or follow us here: https://lnkd.in/gEwSUbnK #entrepreneurship #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #businessowner #design

52

9 Comments

This is extremely exciting. Not just because Readocracy.com was featured in Tech Policy Press, but because of the context: "#Privacy, security, and inclusion are not natural elements of our technologies. They are largely a result of [...] movements (privacy by design, security by design, and product inclusion) that have pushed for these concepts to be viewed as defaults in the technologies on which we depend every day. One area of impact, however, remains largely unaddressed, and it is becoming the most urgent of all, with the most significant liabilities: the impact of designed media systems on our information environment. ...unintended, often divisive [social media platform] outcomes are largely the result of upstream #design and/or process decisions. Allowing anonymous users to go viral is a design decision; providing zero in-line context of a user’s previous activity — whether they are a brand new user, a high volume spammer, frequently break community rules, or have zero balance in the sources they share — is a design decision; providing zero real-time feedback on the divisiveness of a post the user is about to publish — especially in the age of generative AI — is a design decision. In just the same way we would consider a poorly secured password flow a negligent cybersecurity decision, we should begin to look at effortlessly toxic information environments through a similar lens." Read on to find out why Readocracy gets a shoutout as a platform exemplifying "#InformationIntegrity by Design"! Especially proud of this context. We are pioneering a less divisive, more thoughtful internet and world *in a systemic, highly scalable way*. This is a great way of framing it. Thanks to Camille Stewart Gloster, Esq for pinpointing what I hope becomes a full-blown movement and standard. I'll be right here fighting for it.

38

2 Comments

We all know AI is moving faster than anything we have seen before. I read a daily, curated update called "The Rundown AI" which has so much in it, I barely have time to scroll through the headlines (and it's a good curation!) If AI is going to be doing so many tasks that humans are doing today, what are the skills which humans will need to be great at? In other words - how will you earn your salary in 5 years time? Will it be increasing, or decreasing? A lot, or a little? I've thought a lot about this (and read everything currently available!). I have a clear point of view, built from logic, insight and intuition. The thing is, we need to be developing the skills that will future-proof our human future value. Whether that is year 2 of scaled AI, or year 8 We need to know this now, so we have a runway to change. Because taking cost out of organisations is always an objective. Building workplace value as humans needs to be ours. I can show you how. If this is interesting to you, please come to my session at SWSW on Monday at 2.45pm. Let's evolve human workplace value, and thrive with the exponential change that is here. My session details are here. https://lnkd.in/gnBwQBAk #futuresalary #skills. #capability #SWSWSydney David Morgan Nina Christian

9

2 Comments

Happening soon! It's not too late to register (free + virtual 🎉) for 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: https://lu.ma/f0uvdsnw Build deeper stakeholder relationships and research awareness by 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 designing the research consumption experience for your work. Join our guest expert Jeni Bulcock on October 4th for actionable tips you can start using today to: 💪 Strengthen stakeholder relationships 🧵 Create a socialization plan that’s tailor-made for your organization 🎯 Select socialization techniques based on your org culture 🤝🏻 (And stick around to make new professional connections!) Don’t miss these learnings! Ensure your insights make a meaningful impact within your organization. #uxr #uxresearch #userresearch #researchers #insights #impact

7

1 Comment

Making sense of a mountain of information and overcoming analysis paralysis is a dark art. Often overlooked, but growing in appreciation. Why?   We have so much market research and consumer insights, we don’t know how to make it useful and actionable. Sifting through recent archives and insight studies can often surface more clues than you’d think. Piecing together the puzzle can highlight gaps and where further knowledge might be needed. Rather than a repeat an identical piece of work. More often than not, it creates the building blocks for new thinking when framed clearly. A confident sense of direction, not to mention a beneficial application of what has already been investigated. #clues #insights #strategy

33