The world you want

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“If you want a new world, start making it right now, in whatever you are doing.” ― Brian Eno

A notebook about how we work, learn, love and live.

In a complex economy that is so weighted to benefit those who have the most resources, it can feel disempowering to be faced with it's obvious inequities and indignities.

But such challenges present an opportunity to simply notice: "I don't like this. This makes me feel very uncomfortable."

And it allows us an opportunity to ask: "What do I want instead?". After all, every human creation started as an idea, as a vision. We always have the agency to envision how we want to live.

The belief that the way things are is the way they will always be is truly disempowering. But to imagine how they could be instead is liberating.

Happy Friday.

Habitat, Social Infrastructure
"In many ways the solution is simple – our high streets need people living in them."

"The concept of a 20-minute neighbourhood, born during Covid, is straightforward: a neighbourhood where people can meet the majority of their daily needs within reasonable distance of their home by walking or cycling. The idea is to promote more sustainable travel, reduce private car usage and encourage people to return to a way of life that sees basic needs met locally.

"The 20-minute neighbourhood concept is no bad thing when considering housing development trends of the past: suburban, edge-of-settlement developments without sustainable access to local amenities, solely reliant on motor vehicles. Town centres were characterised by large car parks for people driving from the suburbs to the town centre for one or two days a week.

"What if the town centre were to become a ‘local living centre’ – a sustainable community with enough people to support a local economy of shops, cafés and restaurants? In many ways the solution is simple – our high streets need people living in them." - Lee Mainwaring

Article: Could A Solution To The Housing Crisis Also Save Our High Streets?

Civics, Social Messaging
An art installation that educates residents on the changes happening within their neighborhood.

Ten “voicers” are spread across Gowanus, aimed at educating locals to changes in their neighborhood. Participants can scan QR codes to record voice notes to reflect on what they learned. Image by Cameron Blaylock

"Brooklyn-based nonprofit Van Alen Institute has launched a new participatory public artwork in Gowanus, Brooklyn. With Your Voice... is aimed at educating Gowanus locals about the 56 Points of Agreement: a set of commitments made by the City of New York to the community as part of the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning." - Alexandra Surprenant

Article: With Your Voice, a New Public Art Project in Gowanus, Educates Locals on Neighborhood Investments

Civics, Commons
"We are amidst one of the largest wealth transfers in American history."

The folks at Common Trust and Purpose have published a new book that explores the reinvention of our economy through shared ownership and "steward ownership": Assets in Common. Unlock the power of interconnected, purpose-driven enterprises to build a resilient, equitable future.

"We wrote the book" they say, "with action-oriented pragmatists in mind. We’d like to influence and inspire the people who get stuff done, who make projects happen...". This summer they've been running an eight-part series (five podcasts and three excerpts) centered around the themes of the book. The series summarizes "innovative employee ownership models, shared services cooperatives, mutual credit systems, steward-owned holding companies and more, all based on research into real initiatives working at scale."

In this excerpt they hold up "the ripest opportunities" for entrepreneurs, investors, NGOs, philanthropies, and local governments to "reshape our economy from an extractive force into a regenerative one."

Book Excerpt: Assets in Common: Opportunities for Action

Civics, Commons
A platform for community engagement and dialogue inspired by an ancient Greek play where women, seeking a voice in governance, established outdoor kitchens.

"Once a regular town square in Stockholm, a space has been reimagined to bring people together in a unique way. Architect-artist Elin Strand Ruin, working alongside local women, transformed it into the Kitchen Square — a vibrant open-air kitchen fostering a strong sense of community and connection. This innovative project highlights the power of shared meals and cooking experiences to bridge social divides and revitalise public spaces." - Jeroen Beekmans

Article: Cooking Up Community: Transforming a Town Square into an Open Air Kitchen

Related Article: Take A Seat: The Long Table is an Antidote to Loneliness

Company, Product Design
"We focus very little on role models of men"

Hrefna Sigurðardóttir and Birta Rós Brynjólfsdóttir, of waste-focused studio Flétta, one of Iceland's many women-run design studios. Photo courtesy of Folk Reykjavík

"Unlike in most parts of the world, Iceland's design scene is overwhelmingly female.

"...This year, Iceland's annual design festival, DesignMarch, began just three days after Milan design week, which is still the biggest event in the industry calendar. For anyone attending both, the stark contrast in the visibility of women was impossible to miss. While women were once again pushed to the margins in Milan, in Reykjavík their work and presence dominated across the exhibitions.

"In some ways, the prevalence of women in the design scene is reflective of Icelandic society as a whole. The country has topped the World Economic Forum's gender equality rankings for the last 14 years in a row." - Nat Barker

Article: The Country Where Design Is Dominated By Women

Communication, Guerilla Marketing
"All of nature needs a habitable planet, so we’re giving nature a voice through this campaign.”

"Flora and Fauna joined the Democrats’ reinvigorated 2024 presidential campaign when a team of creative professionals from Portland, OR, launched 'Creatures for Kamala,' a grassroots effort designed to energize voters around Vice President Harris.

“'We asked ourselves: Who benefits if Kamala is elected president?' said Joshua Berger, chief design officer of Creatures for Kamala. 'The answer is every living thing. All of nature needs a habitable planet, so we’re giving nature a voice through this campaign.'

"The group is offering a selection of free downloadable artwork that features a wide variety of nature’s own showing their support for Kamala, starting with birds, trees, fish and butterflies. New artwork for everything from buttons to lawn signs, in both English and Spanish, will be released between now and Election Day (Nov. 5)." - Steven Heller

Article: Nature for Kamala

Communication, Visual Identity
Tupperware now depends on retail and online channels to sell its products. So it needed a visual identity that would do more of the work.

"Historically, Tupperware could count on the social equity of its sales reps to sell the brand. However, Target isn’t about to host Tupperware parties in aisle seven, so Landor has built a fresh identity with a strong shelf presence that communicates the product features that are most important to today’s consumers.

"Landor’s refresh is built on the concept of 'utility is beautiful.' Tupperware is designed with functionality, performing essential kitchen-related functions. By highlighting functionality, Tupperware clearly expresses its value proposition." - Rudy Sanchez

The elegance and power of this system is neatly summarized in the simple flourish that has been added to letter T in the brand's logo:

Article: Landor Throws a Tupperware Party (With a Brand Refresh)
(free registration required)

The brand was founded as Tupper Plastics in Farnumsville, MA in 1936. LoGoLOOK has a good history of both the company and its logos.

History: Tupperware

One-liners

Article: Eight fashion brands have banded together to form The Fashion ReModel, a project that hopes to create a $700 billion market for reused, rented, repaired and remade clothes.

Article: US’ outdated composting infrastructure offers golden investment opportunity.

Article: Mike Tyson has launched ‘Mikeadelics’ , a home-grow kit for psychedelic mushrooms.

Article: In collaboration with schools, businesses, civic establishments, and public libraries, the St. Paul, Minnesota-based nonprofit group Little Free Library has facilitated the sharing of more than 400 million books since 2009.

Article: Doctors are prescribing museum visits to draw on the power of art to improve health and wellbeing.

Playlist

This is a delightful 3-song set recorded in a club in London in 1968. The band features Mick Taylor on lead guitar, who left to replace Brian Jones in The Rolling Stones the following June.

Video: John Mayall w Mick Taylor 1968 FRENCH TV.

"(John) Mayall, who has died aged 90, was one of the key progenitors of the British blues movement, a reliable and generous guide to a new generation whose members were devoted to learning the music that had emerged from the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta and the clubs of Chicago’s South Side.

"Out of ... Mayall’s Bluesbreakers flowed a stream of prodigies who were soon ready to head off in their own directions. When Clapton left Mayall after a year – and one hugely influential album, Blues Breakers – to form Cream, he was replaced by the 19-year-old Peter Green. When Green left a year later, taking the group’s drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and bassist, John McVie, with him to form the first version of Fleetwood Mac, his place was taken by the 17-year-old Mick Taylor. Two years later Taylor would accept an offer from the Rolling Stones.

"While they were with Mayall, they became the young gods of the club scene: a new generation of note-bending guitar heroes, beautiful long-haired boys whose skills had been attained through long hours of bedroom practice and were now delivered to audiences mesmerised by their virtuosity and the intensity of their demeanour." - Richard Williams

Article: John Mayall Was a Lightning Rod for the Blues Who Changed the Course of British Music

Weekly Mixtape
In memory of John Mayall

Playlist: John Mayall

Image of the Week

"It seems these days that the amount of those with no fixed abode advertising their needs, tops any flyposting material or billboard infrastructure.

"This is where people should be putting their money, not towards a pair of pants that JB has once worn to once home his Crown Jewels."

Instagram Page: Pattern Up

"Pattern Up are part of a new movement of guerrilla creatives making mischief to make a statement. Armed with parody posters, fake objects and eyecatching installations, these artists mostly choose to stay anonymous and put up their art undercover at night, ready to be discovered by bleary-eyed commuters in the morning. Often, they join forces, working as a loose collective." - Kyle MacNeill

Article: ‘If People Are Upset, We’re Doing Something Right’: The Artists Subverting the Language of Ads

What's Love & Work?

Love & Work is the weekly newsletter by me, Mitch Anthony. I help people use their brand - their purpose, values, and stories - as a pedagogy and toolbox for transformation.

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