Another cool thing is a new program we’ve rolled out called our Bubbleship Program. As cute as it sounds, it’s a serious, dedicated partnership to non-profit organizations that sign on to a series of Thought Bubbles rather than just one. In this kind of arrangement, not only can we create several Thought Bubbles committed to the ongoing message of one organization (for a lower cost might I add), but we’ll also inherently give exposure to a lot more issues on our youtube channel, which is great news to our supportive bubbly audience. We love our youtube audience, and they always ask us to make more Thought Bubbles. Well this is one way we’re going to try to do that. If you’re interested in the Bubbleship Program for yourself or your organization, shoot us an email and we’ll tell you all about it. We have a neat little PDF package that explains it too.

As you may already know, we’re also partaking in the production of a feature documentary film called Sapience, and that’s been keeping us busy both on and off work hours, for almost 18 months. We’re so excited to launch a Kickstarter campaign for the film this coming week, which I promise you’ll hear about very soon.

And finally, there’s Crash Course. If you’re a long time Thought Bubble fan, you might recall one of our first Thought Bubbles for John Green, on the topic of healthcare reform. That was, and continues to be our most successful Thought Bubble in terms of view counts and reception. Well now we’ve teamed up with the Green brothers (Hank and John), on a new YouTube series they’ll be hosting called Crash Course. Smart Bubble’s the graphics team for John Green’s episodes on World History; contributing graphics to his weekly show with a 1 minute Thought Bubble, as well as supporting graphics outside of it. His brother Hank’s series is on Biology, and he’s got his very own graphic team who we’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with. Both shows are representative of Crash Course as a YouTube series that will educate audiences in a fun, engaging way. It’s no wonder we’re thrilled to be involved!

You can read a great article in the LA Times about John Green and Crash Course here, and be sure to check out the first episode of John Green’s World History on Crash Course which launched today! Hank’s first Biology episode will air on Monday. We won’t be posting these episodes on our channel, but you can subscribe to Crash Course’s channel and see our featured Thought Bubble in John’s show every Thursday.

So needless to say, we have big things in the works, and we couldn’t be more grateful and appreciative of the continued love and support from our audiences!

Until next time,

Bubble Out.

Finishing my one-year stint at Thought Bubble feels much like finishing high school. In fact, writing this blog post reminds me of that time over two years ago when I was writing my final yearbook message, thanking my friends and my teachers. The comparison is fitting in many ways, seeing as I’m “graduating” from my job here in order to pursue a university degree, but also because Jonathon, Suzanna, Peter and the rest of the TB team have really become both friends and teachers to me (yes, that includes Fable). When I first became an intern at the studio, I couldn’t have imagined all the projects and adventures that were in store for us, and, although we all had so much in common, I was so pleasantly surprised to develop such a close friendship with the crew.

So many moments come to mind when I think back at my time here this past year: celebrating my 19th birthday with Jon, Suz and Peter, trips to the park with Fable, seeing some of our favourite authors speak (and sometimes meeting them afterwards!), watching dozens of documentaries together, discussing the daily episode of Democracy Now! and sharing all of our ambitions and project ideas. I can’t thank them for the fun times we’ve had together without also mentioning all the help and support they granted me in my professional and personal endeavors. From learning basic skills on Photoshop and Illustrator, being taught how to shoot on a 5D, and so much more, I have the team here to thank for helping me nurture my talents, as well as prepare for (and get accepted into!) school.

As this phase of my life is coming to a close, I’ve been reflecting about everything I’d hoped to do during my year off. Although some of my goals are still left unchecked on my to-do list, so many events that took place this year were both unexpected and fulfilling and, looking back, nearly all of them involved Thought Bubble. This is most likely because of the faith and confidence Suz, Jon and Peter and put in me since day one, something I’m endlessly grateful for.

Although this is the end of my year at Thought Bubble, it certainly isn’t the end of our work together; there are many projects in the coming months that we are all very excited to share…Just wait and see!

Illustration source.

As a progressive vegan “fighting The Man”, it can only be expected that I often run into some challenging situations and debates. In fact, I might be better at giving tips on how not to argue, so I’d be glad to take my own advice.

Recently, I’ve heard over and over that when it comes to ideas on the left, there is no debating to be done. Climate change is fact, the global economy is a pyramid scheme, fossil fuels are bunk, and the like. Although it is easier to think this way, debating is a good place to start to create movements based on strong ties and understanding, and pushes us to educate ourselves. But sometimes I have to wonder if ‘debating’ is synonymous with ‘stalling’. Instead of debating whether grassroots movements are the answer, why don’t we engage in them? Instead of wondering whether organic, local food is better for us and the planet, why don’t we choose them and see how they make us feel? Instead of spending all our energy to figure out what the tipping point for climate change is, why don’t we push ourselves to live a life that eliminates our dependence on fossil fuels?

The answers seem so clear to some of us, especially when you’re surrounded by like-minded individuals day after day (like here, at the Smart Bubble Society studio). But when it comes time to share your ideas with a new group, it’s often surprising to hear completely opposing opinions (especially views that one would expect to see on a network like Fox News).

So, if you run into your own personal Glenn Beck, or your mom who simply doesn’t think the planet is facing a crisis, or your friend who says they just don’t care, here are some tips:

Listen – The easiest way to fully engage is to sincerely listen.

Ask them for their source – Although this type of question is often demeaning (depending on the tone in which it’s asked), it is important to find out where your adversary is getting his or her facts. We know that nowadays, media is manipulated by only a few corporations. Whose interests are being looked after in the news stories we’re using as reference?

Don’t take it personally – This is probably the most difficult challenge in debating an idea to which you feel devoted. We most often argue with our friends and family, which is a whole other ballgame than debating with strangers, something I’m sure many consider a much easier feat.

Don’t lose hope – Debates and arguments tend to take on a whole new dimension as they progress; it turns into a winner-loser battle. And sometimes your “opponent” may just want to see you lose hope. It’s hard not to walk away with your chin down when someone tells you you can’t make a difference, but in the end I always keep in my mind one of my favourite quotes:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead

I think we would have put it all off another several months if it wasn’t for the book that slapped me in the face like a good friend, Rework. If you don’t know it, get to! It was an awesome read that made us realize we didn’t need to plan out every last detail before unleashing this important new step onto the virtual world. Pacwebco further instilled that philosophy when they thoroughly embraced what we did have, and wonderfully guided what we were still missing (and scared of). We wouldn’t have even figured out those last few pages if it wasn’t for their helpful expertise.

So, I present to you the first iteration of Thought Bubble (or shall I say Smart Bubble Society) 2.0. Think of Smart Bubble Society as our corporate (but non-profit) umbrella, and Thought Bubble as our service. One day we hope to see a community grow, in which infographics that educate or inspire an audience are casually referred to as Thought Bubbles. And yes, you can start that wave for us now! Step 2.0 – way back when our blog was born – referred to the step in our world-domination plan where we would begin to foster a community around our work. It’s not about it being a social network in today’s terms of Facebook (which I personally just deleted, eep! Our Facebook Page still lives, however) but in terms of a community of people that embrace what we do, because they believe in our message. We’re already seeing that starting to happen, and it makes us even more determined.

Now stop reading, explore! We’ve got this blog, which shall continue to live on the homepage, some pretty pictures and new members to boast on the about us page, all of our existing Thought Bubbles organized by topic within our our work page, all about Thought Bubbles, including our different service models on the Thought Bubble page, ways to show us your love and support on the donate page, our evolving shop page (which will soon kick start with Thought Bubble mugs!), and last but not least, different ways to get in touch with us in our new location in Toronto.

We hope you love it as much as we do.

It’s finally here! Thought Bubble: explained. The purpose of our first short is to show you what we’re all about, using the very same medium we’ll be creating all of our studio projects in: motion graphics. Motion graphics create a seamless marriage between narration, typography and iconic imagery. They’re the communicative tool that bridges the gap between reading static information in books and magazines, and watching a film. When applied to a short, informative piece like this, motion graphics help facilitate a clearer understanding of even the most complex subjects. So, if you’ve read our previous post and wondered what exactly motion graphics are, or what exactly we are, your answer lies in the video above. We hope you’ll be as excited about Thought Bubble as we are.

If you can picture an illustrated Thought Bubble, then you can imagine this space within yourself. This space influences how we feel and act in our environment. It’s contents affect our daily lives, instruct our everyday conversation, opinions, and actions. To nurture and develop one’s Thought Bubble is to nurture and develop one’s self, one’s rationale, and most importantly one’s purpose.

During the first third of our lives we learn from teachers, textbooks and chosen works, but when our education is complete, we often stop pursuing important knowledge from current issues, history, politics, and social sciences. Continued education through our adult lives is a right we must reclaim in these modern times. Instead we become passive in our intake of information, and shift to drawing knowledge from sources that reach us in the quickest and most entertaining ways; the internet, radio and TV programming. These mass media circuits place social demands on our everyday lives that encourage their continued study. And sadly, today, they remain saturated with useless information, shallow entertainment, and irrelevant knowledge. The switch we need to make is towards the intake of useful, important information that will motivate us to become aware, educated, opinionated, and knowledgeable about the world.

Thought Bubble 1.0 (Design Studio) is our solution to a critically unaware generation. As a studio entity we plan to contract motion graphic shorts for authors and writers, politicians, NGOs, corporations, and any great thinkers that wish to spread their message en masse. Motion graphics are a bridge to communicating static information stored in mediums we increasingly ignore, and to transforming a generation whose primary sources of knowledge stem from TV series, celebrity gossip, and corporate-run news media. With the combination of typographic landmarks, iconic visuals, and strong narration, our shorts will clearly convey clients’ messages and impact viewers in an emotional and psychological way. The intended reaction is a deepened interest in the material being put forth, and a new-found critical awareness of it.

With a library of shorts, communicating ideas backdating through centuries of knowledge, Thought Bubble 2.0 (Web) will provide an online archive and social network where members will be able to discuss the shorts they’ve viewed, exchange ideas about them, and delve deeper into the issues they are learning about.

A final offline component is also planned. Thought Bubble 3.0 (Café) will offer a physical space for people to share their newfound ideas and awareness with others. Members of the Thought Bubble network and the general public alike can mobilize to hold discussions and debates in person, view and purchase featured books on display, and attend guest speeches and seminars by the very authors and intellectuals who’ve inspired our shorts. We hope to see Thought Bubble evolve into a vibrant atmosphere of intellectual development, socialization, and political motivation.
Is your Thought Bubble ready?