We’re profiling each of the students from the June program of the Orbital 1K and their amazing projects. If their stories resonate with you, sign up for our mailing list so that you can be notified of future 1K programs.
Ajay Revels is a design researcher, illustrator and biology geek who creates tools, games and characters to generate insight into difficult to understand questions. In the 1K program, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to explore the next steps for Arborella, a tree character she created.
Follow her on Twitter or Tumblr for tree puns and news, and to see where Arborella might pop up next!
Hi Ajay! What are you most excited about with this project?
It’s extremely gratifying to have launched the Arborella blog which readers tell me is inspiring and beautiful. I love the sense of growing momentum around Arborella and the rapid pace of learning. Arborella gives me a portal through which I can meet other people who are passionate about trees, animals, water, bugs and who want to hear their stories. Ultimately, the most exciting thing is that I’m pursuing interesting design + biology questions that will help me create an ecosystem-centric design practice down the road. I’m jumping off cliffs I didn’t even know were there! I’m happy. I’m outpacing resistance! haha! Catch me now sucka!! (^_^)
What was the hardest part of launching for you?
I came into the program with a costume and a hunch but I didn’t have a traditional “product” with a clear value proposition or user need. During the course I created 5 iterations of possible ideas. None of them worked! At the very end of the 3rd week, right before launch week, I wrote up lessons learned and decided that the project was a failure. But as with all good failures, I learned, with Gary’s help, that the answer was to reframe the project as a question. I’m very happy with where the project landed and I’m very excited to see what happens next! The absolute most challenging thing was learning to let go of what I wanted or thought or imagined and instead, follow what the project wants.
What’s your biggest takeaway from the 1K program?
First, study with great teachers! Christina and Gary are amazing teachers. And by amazing, I mean people who are able to apply their deep knowledge and experience to adult learners in a very insightful, graceful & impactful manner. They were able to simultaneously tutor 14 people in near real time and make it look easy. They are the coaches you always wanted. Great teachers will surround themselves with great mentors and in this regard, the Orbital mentors were laser focused, kind and insightful.
Second, launching is a practice that requires a support system. Creators need flexible guard rails that channel movement forward and an accountability system that will keep us honest. I learned to create the support system, then create the “product”. Never launch alone. Be embedded in a community of both expertise + support from which to launch often and quickly.
Third, give, give, give, give. I learned to stop hoarding that all those clumps of links, reports, ideas and insights that I have been holding onto, waiting for the perfect venue to unveil them. Like giving away that new coat you never wear, I learned to find someone who could use a particular chunk of information and I gave it away. That kind of gesture frees the receiver to move forward with their work. It also frees up my brain space to take in something new!
Fourth, I’m just a vessel. My ideas have a life of their own; they have their own friends, their own habits, their own dietary restrictions. Plan accordingly!
I’m also thrilled that the Orbital 1K program has given me a template that I can apply to the numerous (63 and counting!!) other side projects waiting in my notebooks.
Help Ajay figure out what Arborella should get up to next!
