‘Give yourself permission to be creative’
- Here is a TED talk with that title by Ethan Hawke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRS9Gek4V5Q
Why are there so many blocks to confidence?
This is Design Kompany’s first short course since 2013, when we had offered the popular STEER. It was a way for us to package our six-series sessions at Design Kompany that we had offered many clients over the years to work out ‘brand identity’ into something digestible in chunks. Small and fun, light and easy. There was a lot of energy in those days around something new like online courses. I know, it was a long time ago, though. So there was a kind of buzz. STEER was good for us to work on putting together for a handful of people who, I hope, really got something out of it. The cost then was USD 200 and it was a series that continued with DRIVE. Action steps for your vision, was the big idea, there.
I did offer workshops, through Kismuth Books, though. I offered SELF and THE MIRROR several times. There were more people who I had nver met in real life, just the internet, joining in on things. I found it urious and cool, and that wast he 2010s fo rme. making small strides in hosting space for you and me to hango ut, virtually, learning and co-discovering about self, identity, inquiring into who we really are. It was parallel to brand identity for business, but more… introspective and individual. The philosophy of identity and metaphilosophy have always been key themes for me, personally, which is probably why Deisgn Kompany loves to talk about it, like a lot. Making DESK is a way to share some thoughts. Making UNBOXED is way to give you practical, hands-on creative confidence exercises to think carefully, and with intention, about yours. We’ll make it light and fun, but potent. Fun is the point, of course. That’s ‘let’s play’, around here, as our internal mantra. Never changed, since the start.
Thiking about why creative confidence is undervalued, I had imagined it was ‘society’s’ fault. Maybe because we don’t reward creative approaches, things that aren’t ‘the way we’ve always done this.’ And if you do happen to be in a place that does, it might be exploited for commercial gain because this is the world we’re in.
So pure query, for pure learning, and experiential learning in particular – learning by doing – are shoved to the sidelines.
So people can make more, make more efficiently, and make more money making more efficiently. But what if that’s not the point?
What if you could make, make more because you want to, and make more because the making itself is a process that shows you things you didn’t know you didn’t know?
WHAT THIS IS. UNBOXED is an eWorkshop, designed and hosted by Design Kompany’s Dipika Kohli (reviews). This happens through a set of design and journaling prompts. If you’re feeling creatively stunted, or if you wish to expand how you think and imagine, try our tools to get out of a rut or try new things. Guidance, practical exercises, inspiration, finding your way towards your own insights. Creativity can be an accessible and fun practice, for you.
WHO IS IT FOR. This is for you if you want to be someone who can lead innovation, either at work or for yourself. As in, “Can we do something new, here?” What that even means is something you want to know, with solid confidence, too. This is the time to get started making a dent in the process of figuring out how to be more creative, more confident with your creativity, and through those two things, more ready to lead teams towards real innovations.
Perhaps you feel stuck creatively and are open to new ideas, new approaches, and new people to introduce you to ways to get to true innovations. Perhaps you’ve tried workshops, courses, retreats, or eaven coaching. How is this different from all of those things? Well, it’s responsive and personalized. Unboxed is a week-to-week experience, with exercises and activities and calls and peer groups. Everything is designed based on what’s coming up for you, as we go. In this way, it’s not a canned approach but a highly personalized one, making the best use of your particular way of learning so you can enjoy the sensation of a weekly accomplishment.
Nothing changes overnight, but with a weekly habit and a practice to try to think more openly, more creatively, you may surprise yourself. You may find you understand customers’ needs better, because we’ll talk about how, or see people in the company culture changing because you are, to feel more free to try things and less afraid to fail. The safety of the status quo leads to the lowest common denominator o what’s possible. This is mediocity, or worse. And the culture of ‘safe’ or ‘how we’ve always done it’ is for sure an instant killer of innovation.
This is for you if you are in transition. For ex:
- You are changing careers
- You’ve been laid-off and are dealing with the identity shift that comes with that
- You want to try entrepreneurship
- You’re back to work after a break
What you’ll get:
- Confidence to try new things, anyway
- A sense of possibility
- Awareness of new ways of thinking
- Tools and a peer group to get to practice them with
Feel better about where you are and how you got there. Learn how to think in ways that will be surprising, new, and different from all that’s come before. Our program is inspired by many conversations with people around the world, with various styles of learning and languages and cultures. The big idea is that the heart of all of us is our creativity, what we can make, what we can inspire others to make, too, when we’re leaders and people who decide things. Because a true culture of creativity can grow anything. It’s opposite is control.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE. It takes place over 8 or 12 weeks. Walk away with a strong toolkit that you’ll have practiced with to get unboxed. Prompts are designed to be complete-able within 20 minutes, as most guests will be juggling many responsibilities as a modern day professional would.
PHILOSOPHY. ‘I’m curious what would happen if you were allowed to play. A little, or a lot. with others, or just on your own, with me in the cloud or in person because PLAY is what we do at Design Kompany, and playing our way towards something new is the name of the big game of joyful discovery. Why is this important? We are happy when we are at play. I think we all could use more joy, in a darkening world, these days.’
On a practical level, getting to build your creative confidence leads to bright, meaningful generative space for you and others to hit upon new ideas. Not being afraid to go out on a limb is big for creative innovation, and breakthrough. If you’re always holding yourself back, you’ll… stay in the back, not fulfilling your fullest potential and if that’s a problem for you, we can try this.
A creative confidence conversation and step-by-step guide to practicing how to be this way. Make and share, share and make. It’s not as simple as laying bare your personal writings on, say, TikTok or instagram, though I think some people confuse this plea for attention with ‘confidence’ to ‘be yourself’ and ‘express myself’. I don’t think that’s the same thing. Real confidence is different: it’s in the moments when you just feel so right about something, when you know, this is it. And this is good.
There’s a kid in all of us asking big questions, a childlike awe that is there and doesn’t ever go away. What if we could play with that? Let that personality come out, again. Play and relax and enjoy the time shared. So it’s well spent. So we can make memories and look back on them, fondly, later. We did that. We made that. That was us. That was… you. It could be you.
Creative confidence matters in personal and professional contexts. It strengthens adaptability, and learning how to take other perspectives. Build your self-trust, and move from hesitation to creative expression with ease. You can get out of your own way. That’s the first step.
WHO IS IT FOR. This course is for you if you want to get out of a mental rut. To build a creative habit. It’s also valuable for you if you want structure, feedback and a small community to dialogue with. No experience necessary. Ages 21+.
How to participate
FEE. To be a part of DK’s eWorkshop UNBOXED, kindly note there is a participation fee. It’s USD 410* for 12 weeks. *For guests in Cambodia. If you’re not in Cambodia, we’ll adjust the price based on where you are, for parity.
APPLY. The first step is to apply. To tell me where you are with your creative confidence if you wish, and what hope to get from working together. The link is: https://designkompany.com/apply