Creator’s Jam: Gearing up for a world post COVID-19
We’re in the midst of a global crisis facing humongous shifts in how we navigate our day to day lives. This comes with a lot of challenges as we learn to adapt to new ways of living, working and interacting with one another. We at Creator’s Jam believe that every challenge is an opportunity to create a better future that could result in innovative and breakthrough solutions!
A bunch of us creators (Vidhunnan, Shreya, Anushree, Janavi and Akash) with shared values and interests met online through common friends and we believed that together as a community we can solve challenges using creative methods.
The lockdown caused by COVID-19 has put everyone’s life in halt. We are learning to adapt with restrictions of physical distancing, maintenance of hygiene and adhering to guidelines while steering into a “New Normal.”
We shared an online survey with few people on how they were coping with the lockdown. The results showed that many were feeling anxious, frustrated and uncertain about the future and some had difficulties in finding purpose during these tough times. A few of them showed interest to share their ideas for the future based on their lockdown experiences.
“A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” — Paul Romer, a Stanford Economist.
Our intention is to create a collaborative environment where people can explore and share ideas to solve challenges that could be thrown upon us post the lockdown. Who knows, maybe come up with a revolutionary idea that could create huge impact in the world? The community intends to nurture people with a mindset of innovation and creativity that can become the foundation in one’s own stream of work and life.
Our first ever event happened on May 2nd and 3rd 2020, which was virtual. It was a 2-day Creative Jam where people from diverse backgrounds: Design, IT, Marketing, Business, etc., came together to brainstorm, ideate and develop creative solutions.
Here is an overview of the different elements that made up the event.
The Platform
Typically, a jam takes place in person and is highly dependent on collaboration and physical interaction. It was important to find effective tools to create a valuable experience while being online. Thanks to the internet and a few amazing apps, we used the following and were happy with the outcome.
Zoom — For lightning talks and main session discussions
Discord — For group collaboration and communication
Miro — Online whiteboard to creatively collaborate in real-time
Icebreakers and Games
Being virtual, there was a concern on how to break the ice between participants. To keep everyone engaged, about 40 of us played games such as online Pictionary, sketch a self-portrait, rock paper scissors.
This in-turn created an environment where everyone could freely network and socialize. At the end of 2 days, we got to know each other better and created many bonds.
Lightning Talks
Bringing a diverse set of people also meant that many were not familiar with how a sprint works. Industry experts (including local and international professionals) from different fields addressed participants on how to navigate 2 days of the Sprint. Topics presented were Introduction to Design Sprints, Design Research, Prototyping & MVP, Brand Identity, Product Market Fit and Business Strategy.
Insights from the talks were beneficial for participants while jamming. They were enthusiastic to take back learnings to their workplace. Many who couldn’t join the jam were a part of the lightning talks. It turned out as impromptu interactive webinars!
The Sprint
Participants were divided into 5 groups that focused on one of the following themes: Environment | Arts and Culture | Education | Well-being | Society & Welfare. Each group had a facilitator who guided the participants throughout the Jam. For the 2 days and over 10+ hours of virtual jamming, groups followed Design Thinking Methods and Processes.
a. Identifying Problem Space, b. Brainstorm and Ideation, c. Defining Why, What, How; d. Prototyping; e. Presentation
Together groups discussed challenges, voted for common problems and solutions, brainstormed ideas and developed a concept direction on Miro. Every single participant bounced off ideas with each other through their different perspectives. This was possible by bringing a diverse set of people together.
Feedback Panel
A panel of 3 industry experts (Angel Investor, a Social Entrepreneur and the CEO of a Design Studio) provided feedback on outcomes produced over the 2 days. Outcomes ranged from Campaigns, Mobile apps, Augmented Reality platforms, policy changes and much more. Panellists suggested a few groups to take ideas forward and build it! Most importantly the feedback panel helped participants relook and rethink their ideas through a different lens.
Coming together with a shared intention and investing time on a journey to make a difference was the highlight of the event. Creator’s Jam hopes to organize more such experiences and we look forward to bring more people together to create bigger and better ideas! We believe that together as a society we can tackle any challenge that is thrown upon us!
Feel free to reach out to us on creatorsjam@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram @creatorsjam.
