Hope is a Discipline
Dave Baker December 23, 2023 | 4 MIN READ
Each year, I'm tasked with writing a reflection on behalf of BitterSweet Creative – a thoughtful commentary on our accomplishments and celebrations of the past year and what we're hopeful for in the year to come. To start, I think it's important to acknowledge a present anxiety in the world – an uncertainty created by discord amidst war and division.
As I write, I have team members in both Israel and Ukraine experiencing a very different holiday season than those in Grand Rapids (where I'm based), or other BitterSweet team members in DC and across the United States. It's a sobering experience weighing both war and work and managing global projects and teams, so to begin, I take this moment to think about those affected by conflict – to simply acknowledge and hold space for their present state.
"Hope is a Discipline"
This is a value we hold at BitterSweet and one we prioritize on our team. Given my opening remarks, I feel it's all the more important to include hope in our daily creative practices. What do I mean? It's far too easy to become cynical, caught in the comparison game, or simply overwhelmed and unsure of where to start. Our jobs are to create and to create, we must overcome conflict – finding the glimmers of hope. Seeking hope is the discipline and it's not easy. It's a posture. At BitterSweet, we focus our attention on restorative work and routinely lend our voice, platform, and craft to sharing those stories with others. This is our practice.
As you may notice in our portfolio, many of our clients and projects are cause-based. This is by design. For example:
- Designing and developing a website for an organization bringing together the global community to establish universal standards for the digitization of public sector infrastructure
- Crafting brands and event experiences for nonprofit leaders addressing poverty in the United States
- Creating 2D animation videos about reimagining a modern public education system where communities become the classroom, lab, library, and playground of learning
- Branding a sandwich bar for "Your Only Friends" – during the years of Covid, this crew donated over 3,000 sandwiches to frontline healthcare workers and community members in need – and now they have a new concept opening in DC
- Celebrating an organization's milestone 10 years by redesigning its brand and website – elevating its message and how they are improving the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people in Africa and Asia
There is so much more and so I encourage you to browse our website and view the incredible work our team has done this year.
Speaking of website.
We just launched this new version of BitterSweetCreative.com, and this is the first journal entry to debut. I encourage you to explore our work, check out our values on the about page, and learn about our team. And hey, if you're interested, maybe we can work together in 2024. We'd love to hear from you.
To bring this in for a landing, I want to extend our deepest gratitude to our valued clients and team members this year. It has been a year filled with creative challenges and triumphs, and we wouldn't be where we are without your support. Thank you once again for being an integral part of the BitterSweet family.
We are excited about the possibilities that the new year holds and look forward to continuing this incredible journey together.
By Dave Baker ,Bittersweet Creative Managing Director