Dr Jason Fox & The Cleverness
Dr Jason Fox and I co-head an ongoing and evolving series of projects under the banner of The Cleverness. I am our in-house wearer of many hats: illustrator, creative director, writer, business manager and inbox janitor.
Together we have hosted events, released limited edition print publications, produced videos and even made tea towels.
The Cleverness Biannual
—thoughtful provocations for the quietly dissatisfied
Issue Ø — Clarity/Ambiguity
A limited edition independent magazine venturing beyond conventional wisdom. Issue Ø explores the paradox of Clarity/Ambiguity from the perspectives of business, philosophy and artistry. Featuring articles from scientists and philosophers, this print publication also hosts illustrative and photographic artworks, interviews with business leaders, gin tasting notes, and more. My favourite project to date—contributing as creative director, publisher and illustrator.
A triplet of gin watercolours accompanied by the tasting notes of Sebastian Costello, Founder of Bad Frankie.
Selected Illustrations for The Museletter of Dr Jason Fox
Inspired by the subtitle: a recipe for underwhelming success, whereby I exercise the rights to have pun. Article: How to Ruin Your Next Conference Panel
A sign I would like to see in real life one day, although it would need to be a secret place.
Article: Your Comfort Zone Regenerates Motivation & Mana
I provided over half-dozen good concepts for this one, but in the end DJF selected a sketch from the margins, drawn off-topic and only for fun. It is based on the myth of Narcissus (not what the article was angling at). It ended up informing the subtitle in the end: personal ponderings on how to navigate this new frontier. Creative collaboration #amirite.
Article: The Post-Social Media Era
Spruiking our tea towels.
An interpretation of pioneering leaders as black sheep of altitude and attitude.
Article: The 7 Dark Elements of Pioneering Leadership
What I imagine a wizard-rogue philosopher in a funk looks like: alone on a tiny boat with only soggy books for companionship.
Article: What the funk?
Having 'a purpose' in life/business/career has been conversationally trending for a while now. With words easily getting in the way of meaning, I wanted to play with a mispronunciation of 'purpose'...with porpoise.
Article: The Perils of a Neatly-Defined Purpose
Based on DJF's definition of 'nemesis': an ‘individual’ (or set of individuals that collectively form an archetype) that represents the antithesis of what you stand for. Whereby they are ultimately a shadow and reflection of yourself.
Article: How to Have a Nemesis
Harnessing the powers of google translate x Latin, I scribed the incantation motus motus to invoke motivation in our amphibian friend.
Article: Why Motivation is Always Awkward
Depicting the author DJF as both dungeon master and pawn.
Article: How to Rekindle a Sense of Progress
A multi-purpose millinery scene.
A group of brooders: either sitting on eggs to hatch them, or thinking deeply on a topic of concern.
Article: The Strategic & Motivational Benefit of Brooding
How to Lead a Quest
— a handbook for pioneering leaders
A bestseller book by Dr Jason Fox, and the ideal companion for any leader seeking to venture beyond the default. This business tome sits on the shelf differently to the rest, being bestrewn inside and out with illustrations atypical to its genre. Created in collaboration with the author, with keywords and phrases such as The Kraken of Doom, skyships and flying contraptions (please) met with glee.
Cover concept, design and illustration...and my best and only bestseller sticker.
A favourite spread.
The default enterprise growth arc. 'A rainbow of growth and despair...wonderful to begin with—but follow on this one path too long, and you'll find yourself sliding into not a pot of gold but the gaping maw of the Inevitable Kraken of Doom.'
Opening Illustration to Part IV: Crafting Experiments. This concept is an ode to da Vinci's sketchbooking practice, as well as his experiments in building flying contraptions. Illustration also available as a tea towel.
Opening illustration to Part I: Default Thinking and the Kraken of Doom.
The business model canvas projected and contrasted against possible future contexts.
Failure and the 9 Layers of Fell—inspired by Dante's Inferno, depicts varying degrees of failure. 'Fell' being failure x hell.
The Gartner Hype Cycle model, which tracks the maturity, adoption and social application of specific technologies through the various stages of hype.
&—etc
'Coffee versus Coffee'. 100% referenced because I really only drink tea. Here I wanted to highlight the difference between the everyday practice of convenience-based caffeine dosing, versus a more artful, slower coffee making alternative.
Article: Get Away to Get Ahead—the many benefits of a strategic offsite
© Kim Lam 2015-onwards ⦚ ✎