Tom Froese

“Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely daydreaming, but vision with action can change the world.” -Nelson Mandela

“You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.” –Mahatma Gandhi

First FAITH, then ACTION. You’ve got this.

Dana Chisnell is an elections geek and UX research nerd (her words) who has trained thousands of people, including government workers to test their designs. But what she really loves is giving design literacy to the world. She’s the lead on a project to develop a series of Field Guides To Ensuring Voter Intent. The Field Guides, originally funded by a Kickstarter project, are designed to be quick, easy, and accessible help for local election officials to do the best possible design. She has won two MacArthur grants to expand the Field Guides series. She’s what you might call a “seasoned professional” who, with Jeff Rubin, wrote Handbook of Usability Testing, Second Edition. She’s design researcher at the United States Digital Service, helping teams at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and at Veterans’ Affairs create better customer experiences.

Q&A with Dana Chisnell (CMVancouver August Speaker)

How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?
I use a dictionary. I don’t actually think about creativity. I think about solving problems.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration?
In the bottom left hand drawer. In the kitchen, that’s where the utensils are that I don’t use very often. In the dresser, that’s where the cashmere sweaters are.

What’s the one creative advice or tip you wish you’d known as a young person?
Work. It all comes down to work.

Who would you like to hear speak at CreativeMornings?
Bea Arthur (except I think she’s dead). Mike Monteiro.

If you had a magic wand, where would you be in five years?
Arguing with the magic wand repairman about the warrantee running out.

What myths about creativity would you like to set straight?
That creativity trumps work. It doesn’t. Work always trumps creativity.

If you could interview anyone living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?
Grace Hopper. Because Grace Hopper.

‘Should’ doesn’t help you. ‘Should’ doesn’t get things done or add to your sense of fulfillment in life. The next time you say to yourself that you 'should’ do something, what you really SHOULD do is take action to make it happen.

“The more one does, the more one can do.” –Amelia Earhart

Go looking for adventure.  It rarely comes looking for you. 

“It’s a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you’re ready. I have a feeling that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now.
-Hugh Laurie

Stop waiting for things to happen and go out and make them happen.