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* According to the 1755 Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, the term projector refers to creative entrepreneurs who designed and launched new projects. For a time it was the legal term at the U.S. Patent Office to identify inventors of new designs. In Italy, designers are still called progettistas.
i am now projector_
Now Projector is the pseudonym for Brooklyn-based designer Bret Hansen. The Now Projector moniker revives an eighteenth century term for creative entrepreneurs who designed and launched game-changing projects.* Projectors were audacious iconoclasts known for their winning combination of moxie and vision.
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nice to meet you_ Calling myself a projector inspires a unique approach to design. By applying notions of projection from philosophy, psychology, literature, cartography and physics onto design, my process undergoes a strange distortion and becomes a fascinating new endeavor. The result: innovative and intriguing ways to reach and connect with audiences. As a projector, I imagine, distort, invent, pretend, perform, launch and connect.
play
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pretend
fly away
imagine_ Imaginative projection is the basis for empathy and the engine that drives fiction. It allows us to see the future, travel to fictional worlds and feel what others feel. I begin each project by first imagining a world of possibilities. Seeing a bright future unleashes the flow of ideas and steers my creative energies toward visionary solutions. Then by imagining the story behind a brand or message, I discover the nuances that make it human. And to ensure my solutions resonate, I ‘become’ my audience, imagining how things look from its perspective. Projection is the secret to accessing the imagination, gleaning insights and discovering new ways to connect.
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distort_ Distortion is a natural consequence of projection. When the globe is projected onto a flat surface, for example, the resulting map brings the entire Earth into view—but in the process continents are stretched or condensed. What’s more, different map projections emphasize different characteristics, offering countless ways to interpret the planet’s surface. While projection provides a way to see hidden features, distortion reveals new ways of understanding what we see. It’s the key to seeing beyond the obvious. During the brainstorming process, I map client messages onto a range of concepts, distorting them until new insights emerge. The process leads inevitably to innovation.
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pretend_ In psychology, projection explains how we make sense of our surroundings. In an epic game of let’s pretend, we translate the world into something we can understand by projecting mental concepts onto external objects. I harness the power of playful pretending in order to generate ideas and develop meaningful form. In designing an identity system, for example, I might begin by imagining we’re 100 years in the future. This shift in perspective influences design decisions and leads to novel solutions.
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invent_ Inspired by my projector predecessors, I am propelled by the conviction that good design facilitates a more humane existence and leads to a brighter future. To that end, I continually seek out new ways to engage meaningfully with audiences. But audiences are smart and they’ve seen it all before. They feel inspired only when a new design truly reflects their values. Invention is therefore paramount. For that reason, I reject the ordinary and focus instead on finding inventive solutions that speak to our highest common denominator.
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perform_ The fascinating part of being a projector is participating in the ‘performance’ of culture. Each new product that enters the public sphere modifies the cultural landscape, continually shaping and reshaping the world around us. With every project I help launch—from corporate identities and websites to magazines and museum displays—I feel a responsibility to engage our highest ideals. To ‘perform’ culture means to give shape to shared values and to help build a world that reflects humanity at its best.
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launch_
My goal: to launch amazingly crafted brand experiences that break the noise-barrier and make contact. I transcend media divisions, working cross-platform to launch projects that leave impressions in the hearts and minds of audiences.
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connect _
Cupid, the mythical god of attraction, is a projector who launches a magic arrow and causes hearts to pound with desire. His arrow symbolizes our age-old wish to connect with others and influence their hearts. Inspired by Cupid’s ambition, I deliver impactful, provocative and effective ways to get audiences hot for more. Let’s connect.
bret hansen www.nowprojector.com
hello@nowprojector.com call 415/515/7051 write 266 Washington Avenue C10, Brooklyn, NY 11205 email