This post begins by discussing chalkboards (as a chalkboard has central significance to my story), but as with all my posts, you can expect a few tangents. In this case, a little bit of information on a geographically relevant topic (to Calgary) and IT....
Chalk boards have become a decor trend for offices and homes. True to their purpose, chalkboards (and whiteboards) make for convenient, dynamic, and timely signage for ease of communication and engagement, and in "Google spirit", provide another medium to encourage/inspire creativity. In my story, a chalkboard was a catalyst to opportunity... [queue dramatic fade in to memory sequence]...
While attending an after-hours event at a local company's Google-esque office, I discovered their huge chalkboard wall covered with doodles and drawings by staff and their children. I decided to add my own small piece of art by sketching a cute little Chameleon (pictured on right). I figured it would make someone smile on Monday morning (unless they had a phobia of cute Chameleons... a risk I was willing to take).
A couple weeks later I received a call from the office's head of marketing. In less than a week the company planned to launch their re-brand and to add to the excitement, she wanted to surprise everyone with a large chalkboard mural encompassing the new company logo and name, and she wanted "someone who knows what they're doing" to make it. I have to admit, I felt a stir of pride, and a flutter in my soul (enhanced later when I found out she had an educational background in art and design). I have always liked doing art, and especially negatives (where the canvas is dark, so to make a figure, you must add the light. Normally, when sketching, you create 3D shapes by shading the dark onto a light background). It blew my mind that someone had seen only a single drawing I did and decided I knew what I was doing, and enough to pay me to do it! I gladly accepted despite my inexperience in creating murals. It seemed like one of those LinkedIn posts about grabbing opportunities, with advice like "say yes now, and learn later". Her directions simply included a link to the company website, their logo, and the instruction to avoid changing the colors of the logo... [commercial break. Fade out of memory sequence. Now you're entering a dimly lit room of rich wood with a fire place, where I will tell you a small bit of info from a comfy arm red velvet chair]...
Before I continue with my chalkboard art story, I want to deviate and provide some in depth background on the company, Ambyint. During my studies in Information Technology, I did a presentation and essay on an emerging trend in technology. I decided to explore technology in the oil industry because of its geographical relevance, and I started by researching an oil and gas service company that employed a few people close to me.
Ambyint (formerly Pumpwell), specializes in oil and gas monitoring technology, which from an information technology perspective, incorporates MANY technologies. Data from specialized sensors on pump jacks (for example, pressure sensors) is sent from well sites to a central office where it is rendered into human readable graphs by specialized software. People trained to understand how the data reflects the physical pumps can then communicate with well operators and help inform decisions that will reduce wear and tear on pump equipment, and extend the life of the well by improving pump efficiency.
I like to imagine the process in terms of IT focus, beginning with the hardware, like the sensors, PLCs, and power located at the well site. Then, the data travels through the "Telecommunications and Networking" focus. Some sites are so remote connection to the internet requires long range radio signals. However, most use the nearest cell tower, at which point, the data finds its way through the internet and into a database. Then the software turns it into valuable information using complex algorithms. Read my essay,
here (
pdf), for more in depth information, and/or view
this presentation (
pdf) to see pictures.
Recently, Ambyint introduced a more advanced well monitoring technology that utilizes vast amounts of data collected from many wells and
machine learning technology to automate pump control. Such an innovation is timely in light of the declining oil economy, as company's look to maximize their production, improve efficiency, and lower costs (including travel to and maintenance of well sites). It also rides the
Big Data wave sweeping tech media, and the "Internet of Things" craze now entering the mainstream conscious. I highly recommend visiting
Ambyint's "Latest News" section to learn more about their product and direction.
I have decided to save the plethora of thoughts I have about Big Data and IoT for a different blog post (or two), and machine learning seems like a rabbit hole I'm willing to go down as well. Now where was I? Back to the chalkboard story... [queue fade]...
On Friday and Saturday night I planned a 9ft tall by 26 ft wide chalkboard design. I scaled the logo and made a list of supplies like a meter stick, level, chalk (of all colours), tape, and a smudging sponge. I even researched how to paint murals to avoid common errors. Sunday and Monday evening, Ravi (my most wonderful helper!) and I worked continuously to ensure the wall looked professional. The process and result are pictured below.
Day 1:
Andrea helped Ravi and I put up the tape lines. As a trained artist (ACAD) and a creative marketing manager with an eye for design and a flare for artistic freedom, Andrea was baffled by my use of levels, measuring sticks, and calculations for this project. I told her it was important to me that the design was precise as I know Ambyint is a predominantly engineering minded company, to which she understood (maybe all too well!). This discussion inspired the title of this blog, "The Logical Creative".
During the process, neither Andrea or Ravi knew "the vision", but they helped without complaint, and for that I am grateful. Perhaps the element of surprise intrigued them, but they could have easily been very frustrated following my steps while not knowing the ultimate goal. I would like to think I chose to withhold that information to create suspense, but it probably has more to do with the fact I did not do a sketch before hand, the design was closely inspired by the Ambyint website, and the vision really was all stored in my head (haha, sorry!).
Day 2:
Ravi and I
The final product turned out very well! I also heard good things about the positive staff reaction the following business day. Congratulations Ambyint!
