Summer Servings: What the Sustainable Digital Team Brings to the Table

Today, I’m writing from our patio where, for the past ten minutes, I’ve been contemplating whether I should change into something warmer. It’s been a while! The temperatures here have been challenging, with many restless nights under the ceiling fan, and sloth-like movements during the real dog days, brought here by the poniente, the oven-fan-style wind that hails from Africa. Last night, however, it changed direction and we’ve been now blessed with the levante, a cool wind that brings the chill of the Atlantic for a welcome refresher.

How is your summer going so far?

Most of our team went off travelling before the summer season really kicked off – it worked out better this way for varying reasons. Sharon, who travelled through Asia wanted to beat monsoon season; Bob, who also doubles as a travel tour guide, likes to get the late spring season booked for hikes around different locations in Europe; Claus has been honeymooning around Spain after getting married in Argentina, and Luis and myself, well, we pretty much went freewheeling while our daughter is still not tied to a strict school calendar.

As we all swapped holiday anecdotes and pictures through our company’s WhatsApp group, I started thinking about how travelling – and particularly, the way we travel – informs so much about who we are and how we work as a team. Familiarizing ourselves with the unknown (your organisation, your project), building a clear picture of how we want to approach the journey (with you), and diving in using all the tools and inspirations we’ve picked up along the way.

So, here’s a little summer special for you, from us. A glimpse into our travels and all the ingredients we’ve collected to then bring to the Sustainable Digital table.

Shining a Light on What’s Most Important
by Roxanne Sancto

The David Bade Room, Brussels

I recently took our daughter on a girl’s-only trip to Belgium, where we stayed in a unique bed & breakfast just outside of the city center. Each room in this historic building is designed by a different artist and we lucked out with the “Dream Room” – a colorful, abstract space designed by David Bade. Inviting a collaboration between the artist and the visitor, it is much more than a simple accommodation but an experience. This is how I like to think about our intake calls and working relationship with our clients too – it’s much more than brief/execution. It’s the beginning of a collaboration, an exchange of ideas and inspirations.

One of the things that excited us most about the room – beside the “dreamcatcher”, an installation that invites visitors to document their dreams – were the windows. Decorated with small shapes of colored paper, it invited the most beautiful, kaleidoscopic light into the room. In the mornings, while our daughter was still sleeping, I would sit and watch the light dance in red, green and blue, reflecting on all that was important to me in that moment. This is another thing I take pride in doing with our clients: working together to find the very best way to highlight the essence of your organisation and everything it stands for through words, color and design. 

Building the Foundations of All Good Communication
by Sharon Hedges

One of Sharon’s beautiful shots from the Hoi An Lunar Lantern Festival

Early in the year while the frost was still biting the earth here in the UK, I set off to Vietnam, kicking off the next phase of my life as a digital nomad.  Living and working on the road has a magical way of shaping perspectives and promoting the continuation of growth - both personally and professionally, which I absolutely thrive on.

Somewhere embedded in my mind are some words from Kipling’s Just So Stories…they go like this:

I keep six honest serving men (perhaps we should now say ‘folk’?)
They taught me all I knew
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who

If you think about it, by asking these 6 simple questions you can learn almost anything.  Subconsciously I am doing this all the time - at home, while travelling and immersing myself in new cultures but also in my work, every single day.  My job is to truly understand the value proposition of a client’s business or organization, and to then best convey it to its target audiences - both to help build brand awareness and generate income.  

By asking What, Why, When, How, Where and Who, the foundations of all good communication can then be built.

Design as Expression of Self
by Luis Roldan

Armoire surréaliste (Surrealist Wardrobe). Artist: Marcel Jean. From the “Rendezvous of Dreams – Surrealism and German Romanticism” exhibit at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.

I spent a long weekend in Hamburg, Germany last month. I went there with a friend, for a concert. Something I really like to do when I get to a new city is just walking aimlessly - see where my feet take me, every corner and crossroad an opportunity to discover something new.

One of the things I fixate on the most is design and its relation to people. Be it an old church or port building, a bookshop window display or a mural, I can’t help but to look at how it was thought out and why. There is, of course, the functional aspect of it. But there are also the design aspects that are there to entice a reaction from the viewer (or the visitor or prospective client). And, most often than not, this comes down to the little details. It’s all in the details, most of the time.

In this sense, these experiences really help me to feel recharged, reinvigorated, and inspired in my work of designing and structuring a website. Every design is an opportunity to study and learn something that can be applied to my work — be it the striking and unforgettable shape of the Elbphilharmonie concert hall, the assortment of unique, colorful designs of restaurants in the Ballindamm boulevard, or, especially, a museum exhibit.

In this case, it was the “Rendezvous of Dreams – Surrealism and German Romanticism” exhibit at the Hamburger Kunsthalle. The most important takeaway I took from here, is how details can help to connect with the viewer’s emotions in subtle ways.

Putting Together the Pieces
by Bob Lawson

Sustainable Digital Founder, Bob Lawson getting his Yoga on in Austria.

Planning a trip is so much fun. Since I make a point of visiting new places, places I usually know little about, I start with research. I learn new things, expanding what I know, one bit at a time. Before I know it, I’ve learned something new and this is something that I really enjoy.

And then it is time to find hotels, flights, and cars, not to mention planning out everything I’m going to do. Finally, the planning is over and I’m on the road, having a great trip.

I find these dynamics are not unlike building a website for a client.  First, I collect all the information I can, attempting to get inside the client’s head to understand their vision. Then I collect everything I’ll need from text to photos to outside services that will be part of the site. Finally, I put it all together and get great satisfaction from seeing the final website and knowing it fits the client’s vision. I love this.