By Oliver Finel

Pressurized Carbon 

The difference between week 1 and week 2 is crystal clear: 

Concurrent briefs are the norm. Time management – a necessity. 

This week’s GIFS and reflection slides were an evident sign that our bunch wasn’t chosen at random. I think I said this in last week’s group SCAB, but there most definitely is a method to this madness. These people are talented AF! When I say ‘talented’, I’m speaking of ideas and generally being a cut above the rest (whatever that is). 

– I also got my first Crit this week. I asked Marc to judge my placards for the climate March… and boy did that give me a sense for things to come. Every single idea I thought was kind of brilliant got shot down (nicely, but surely). 

Marc asked me “Would you put any of these on a t-shirt?”. The honest answer was No. None of these ideas were fit to be put on a t-shirt and sold to the public. Even if given for free, they weren’t worthy of being worn by anyone. 

This ersatz of a Crit ended with Marc telling that if I was working in his agency, he would’ve asked for 20 more posters. 

20?!!!!??!!!! 

I felt like a massive piece of excrement. 

One solution: go back the drawing board. Which I did, by scamping without even having a good grasp on what ‘scamping’ actually is. From context, I understood it basically means putting your ideas down on an actual piece of A4 paper. Or as we would say in American… Drafting. 

Anyways, I digress… I went back to the drawing board and nothing came of it. Generic ideas of which I wasn’t proud of at all. 

Eventually, the long-awaited flash of brilliance came on the subway (tube, underground… Whatever you guys call it). I designed the poster on my phone with the Canva app and prayed to the Old Gods (and the New) it would be fit for print. 

After paying a visit to D&AD for another brief, my partners and I set off to a late-night print shop in Shoreditch. Thankfully, they were able to supply us with the necessary pieces of foam boards and prints to realize our placards. Unfortunately, I had to stay quite a bit longer because my poster demanded quite a bit of ink. 

No problem, 30 minutes won’t change my life but my idea might (will??) change some people’s minds about climate change. Probably not, but getting my idea on a large piece of A1 paper is motivating enough. 

– All this rambling to say, I hope truly believe we are all pieces of carbon waiting to be pressurized by Marc, the faculty, and the load of briefs about to get dumped on us over the next couple of months. 

– I’ll just end this SCAB by saying I don’t regret joining SCA for a single second. I might later… but I feel like this is going to be one hell of a year. 

Post-Scriptum: 

(Amy, Marc, feel free to edit the following out) 

I wrote this in the middle of a wedding so please excuse the structure, but every word on this SCAB COMES from the very center of my heart. 

(A couple of glasses of Minuty Rosé helped me get it all out, I’m not gonna lie). 

NOTE TO SELF, SENT OUT THE PUBLIC: 

STOP USING PARENTHESES SO MUCH. 

NOTE TO TO READERS: 

MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS BLOCKED BY A PIECE OF CHIPS. (SORRY CRISPS…)