Juice break. No waiting.

When I was part of an in-house marketing department I wanted to schedule regular meetings for the team of writers and designers to get away from the work at hand and do something fun to spark new ideas and freshen our perspectives. I wanted to combat the notion that in-house creatives never get to do anything creative. Yes, we do, but you have to take time to refill the well, replenish the creative juice.

I envisioned calling the sessions "juice breaks," with juice and cookies and show and tell. A sharing of everyday observations. The work- and non-work related things we see and do and care about. Ads, books, shows, packaging; copy, colors, typography; the things that grab our attention and make us think, question, feel.

For one reason or another, juice breaks never got started. Too much "real" work to do. Never enough time to think about much beyond the next project. It was heads down and work. Someday we'll do something fun. Once we get through this project. Once we get past this deadline. So it goes.

Juice breaks, like so many ideas, stayed inside my head, always waiting for the right time, more time, or free time. Until now.

Welcome to Juice Break. Here I'll post some of the everyday things I see that pique my interest and set new ideas in motion, and I hope you'll join me. Stop by when you need a quick diversion or you're feeling stuck. No cookies but hopefully plenty of juicy ideas and creative sparks. No waiting.