On my travels around last week’s Hello Digital ‘09 I picked up a flyer for Advantage West Midlands’ Creative Advantage Fund, which is a venture capital investment fund for the West Midlands’ creative industries.
“We make investments in SMEs with a view to capital growth. Since we were founded in 2000, our portfolio has included companies in television, film, software, theatre, toy design and jewellery,” says the blurb. “We are currently seeking to make investments of between £75,000 and £150,000 in SMEs based on individual creativity and the exploitation of intellectual property.
“If your business is located - or willing to move to - our region and could benefit from equity investment, fill in the expression of interest form or send us an e-mail with a short explanation of your business. We want to hear from you.”
So if that fits your business, what do you have to lose? An expression of interest form can be completed online, while a PDF of the investment guidelines can be downloaded here.
Of course the Creative Advantage Fund should not be confused with the entirely separate Advantage Creative Fund (really, I’m not making this up), which is a “venture capital fund” that makes “equity investments from £10,000 and up to £250,000 in creative companies based in the West Midlands.” According to the website however, “there is currently no funding available for new opportunities until the next round of funding has been finalised.”
Stuck for ideas? Charlee Sully gives some useful tips…
Ever been lost for inspiration but have a deadline fast approaching? Most artistic types get creative block from time to time, but I have found several different techniques which have helped me. Here are my 10 tips for generating creative ideas:
A short walk will wake you up, clearing your head for a day of creativity. Try going for a walk before work, or perhaps an afternoon stroll will give you the boost you need after lunch.
Often an idea will appear in the most unexpected places, when you aren’t consciously thinking about it. Sometimes you may be going to sleep, taking a shower or travelling on the train and that elusive idea will pop into your head.
- Play a word association game
Although this may remind you of being back at school or college – it can work! Write down the topic or project title on a large sheet of paper and get mind mapping.
If you have time (and money) to spare, a weekend break to a different city or a holiday may be just what’s needed reinvigorate your creative brain and get the ideas flowing again. Just remember to take a notebook, sketchbook and camera with you.
- Visit a gallery or museum
Working on a modern art project or designing a new fashion collection? Instead of doing your research online, head to your nearest gallery or museum and get exploring.
The rhythmic action of chewing gum is said to help relieve stress by getting rid of nervous energy, it can also help improve focus, concentration and alertness.
- Grab a coffee and people watch
People are wonderfully diverse; small snippets of conversations, huge ranges in fashions and more, an hour’s people watching may give you great ideas for your creative work.
Second hand shops and antique stores are full of weird and wonderful objects, which may prompt ideas. They are also a great place to look for props for art projects, or perhaps you will find some old books that will help you with a design brief?
Office greenery improves the air quality, brightens up a dull corner of your desk and is said to improve creative thinking.
If all else fails, go to the pub. Some of the greatest ideas for businesses and products have begun in the pub, so grab a friend, head to your local and see if you can come up with the next big thing.
Charlee Sully is a freelance designer and runs The Usual Studio, an ideas-led graphic design and communication studio.
Photo credit:
Word IDEA on the dices by
Kriss Szkurlatowski
If you, like Charlee, you would be interested in guest blogging on Media Talent Bank, please contact Dave Allen at info [at] mediatalentbank.com.
When I don’t have my Media Talent Bank hat on (or Animation Forum West Midlands or Inspiration Bank hat on for that matter, for my hat-stand is extensive), I coordinate the iTunes U project for Birmingham City University, which launched last month.
So, now all the initial fireworks have petered out and the party hats now hang limp, I thought it might be apt to pick out a few series' of podcasts from the iTunes U site, which might be of interest to you media/creative/artsy types who browse this blog. So until I get tired of copying and pasting, here are some ever so useful links for your downloading pleasure (links will open up iTunes by the way):
- Eastside Projects - Series of podcasts looking at the work being done by and within Eastside Projects, an artist-run gallery based in Digbeth, Birmingham. Podcasts include and Introduction by curator Gavin Wade, and a presentation and interview with internationally-renowned artists Simon and Tom Bloor, who provide context to their new exhibition As Long As It Lasts.
- Tales of Creativity – Video podcasts featuring profiles of creative entrepreneurs who’ve attended Screen Media Lab’s Insight Out courses. More can be found on this site www.talesofcreativity.co.uk.
- LUCID – or the Location, User and Context-Aware Information Delivery project to close acquaintances, features of wealth of podcasts exploring all sorts of cool stuff to do with mobile technology. Essential downloads for those into their programming or ‘digital’ things.
- The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online – is a fairly self-explanatory set of snappy podcasts featuring academic and blogger Andrew Dubber, available in mp3, iPod video, or large video formats.
- Learn to Edit Using Final Cut Pro – Excellent how to’s for would-be video editors.
- Panel Discussion from JEECamp – What’s the future for journalism? Or more accurately, is there one? Audio podcasts from the Journlaims Enterprise and Entrepreneurship conference reside here. Many thanks to Laura Oliver from the ever-useful journalism.co.uk for producing this set.
- Creative Networks – Likely to be added to over time with the video archive of Creative Networks talks, the series currently features a talk by TV theme-tune composer David Lowe and a speech by film producer of Midnight Express, Chariots of Fire and The Killing Fields, Lord Putnam.
- Positive Placements – Find out how to get a foot in the giant door called The Media, in these enlightening podcasts produced by two media students. The podcasts features interviews with media luminaries such as Midlands Today presenter and Luton FC chairman Nick Owen.
- The Round Table Sessions: School of Visual Communications – Recommended and not just because the back on my head features prominently; fascinating discussion between art-school academics which really gets lively from part 2 onwards.
- Various guides to Dreamweaver, InDesign and Web Design – These are proving to be massively popular, so here’s a link to their parent category.
As you’ll see there’s plenty more material on the site, so don’t forget to bookmark itunes.bcu.ac.uk for an easy link to the main University page. If for whatever reason you prefer not to use Apple software or just iTunes, you’ll be pleased to know that all the content also features on www.bcu.ac.uk/podcasts.