2023 was marked by focusing and refining. Looking at the goals I set for 2023, a rebrand & studio refinement was an ambitious one. After 10 years of working independently my partner, Jessica, and I joined forces as Winslow Studio.
At the start of the year, to help feel less overwhelmed I covered the back of my office door with post-it notes, organizing past projects needing to get on my site, upcoming client projects, future projects I wanted to achieve, random side project ideas, and further lofty goals— It was honestly a daunting mess, but it helped me make slow yet consistent progress.
Now a year later, I’m taking them all down to reset and I’m able to acknowledge my progress and observe the ones remaining, to either remove or leave up, excited to tackle in 2024.
The highlight of our year was an inspiring 3-week honeymoon to Japan in the Spring, organized around landing a reservation to noma Kyoto. The rest and reset gave clarity as we considered the intention behind our process, ultimately realizing that joy and playfulness lead the ethos of our work. The energy from this trip pushed us over the finish line with our studio rebrand.
Our origin trip to visit coffee producers in Honduras for Vivid Coffee was an incredible experience. After leading Vivid's brand design and packaging since its inception, it was wonderful to gain a deeper appreciation of how great coffee is grown.
Here are a few projects from 2023!
Pathways of Pursuit
We designed and built Pathways of Pursuit for the non-profit cancer organization Fred Hutch in collaboration with advertising agency Cronin. This immersive artistic experience is exactly the kind of project I love taking on; a large physical build that brings viewers on an emotional journey enhanced by cutting-edge technology for a good cause.
Winchester Mystery House
We added our augmented restoration magic to Sarah Winchester’s historical estate! Replicating sunlight using projection, we created a beautiful effect to illuminate windows that have never seen direct light. Read the InPark Magazine feature.
Light Capsules, of course!
This year we launched two permanent installations for Light Capsules and built out a new website and capabilities deck. Improving my technical process for precise gobo-mapping led to my becoming a Rosco Ambassador. Now we’re ready to push outreach further & explore more fine artwork ideas I’ve had in mind.
I’m incredibly proud of a few acknowledgments this year! I was nominated by my peers to receive the Audeamus Award for innovation in the arts by my alma mater, Champlain College. I was featured on OPB ArtBeat, which produced a short documentary on Astoria’s permanent Light Capsule airing 2/1/24.
Twenty Twenty-Four!
Moving into 2024, maybe this is crazy to say coming from me, but I don’t have a specific mantra. If 2023 was a refining process, perhaps 2024 is simply practicing trust in that process, confidence in our craft, and continuing to make things.
More experiments, sharing, teaching, learning.
Make this year another year, —Craig
Looking for the rest of my blog? I've transitioned off of a Tumblr-powered blog. In the meantime, view old posts here: blog.craigwinslow.com
