Apollo 13

Tom Hanks is in trouble, and as any moral, vaguely-educated person does, I want him to survive and indeed, thrive. But he’s in space, it’s the mid-90s and he has a problem. What can I do? Apollo 13 was a real-life mission brought to movie screens by Hanks and his crew of astronauts where complicated problems were solved with simple ideas, a small pool of tools and pure creative ingenuity. The focus initially is on the pieces of the ship that can be used, a very specific puzzle that needs to be worked out with skill and creativity. But it’s the team on the ground at NASA that used not only their own skills but the combined skills from all over their company to find a solution. There was no pre-determined outcome they could pick out and apply to the problem, only adaptable, open thinking could get Tom Hanks home (to make sure he can play Walt Disney later on in his career).
The situation is far more severe than that of a creative agency (except, perhaps, when it’s deadline day), but the thinking comes from the same place. More often than not, we are given a specific problem to solve using strict criteria: a branding problem, a website, marketing, or design problem. They’re all solvable with a combination of Elastic thinking and collaboration. Admittedly, we can’t bring oxygen to an orbiting Tom Hanks, but we can combine a ton of creative skills that will breathe life into any brand.

By Design

Graphic design has a tough time out there on the streets. It excels when gaining attention, but is best served subtly. Good design is a constant battle between communication and trying to avoid forcing your message into someone’s face like a leaflet to a Fringe show that consists of myself eating Jaffa cakes (sold out). When it comes to motion graphics & video, the best pieces are those that pack a concise punch while delivering something unique. This is what we strive for and it’s how we’ve created countless videos throughout the years to ever-growing success.
In our experience, projects that have the pleasure of using multiple talents from start to finish are usually the strongest. Our ‘Motion Lab’ gives us the space to explore new avenues or try out ideas that could otherwise be lost to the “too much hassle” pile. It’s an enviable place for many studios and offers our projects an extra dimension that sets them apart from the competition. This aligns with our Elastic Thinking: this set of skills, talents, minds and experiences means there’s always an element of the extraordinary in everything we do.

One Designer to Rule Them All

It wasn’t too long ago that an agency would have strictly specific jobs for each person under its umbrella. With the movement of technology, though, we have places that merge the roles of each person. Designers, marketers, developers and directors can find themselves working on projects outside of their LinkedIn endorsements. It’s a cocktail with a kick that brings clients back to the Elastic bar for more (please design responsibly).
When coming across creatives out in the wild, it’s always interesting to learn about how they got to where they are. Mostly they’ve trodden a very indirect path to where they are now, having had experience in a variety of other things. Here at Elastic, we are a mixture of people from all walks of life, which allows us to spark ideas out of nothing, or solutions out of the most unlikely places. From our workshops to our final delivery, we are Elastic.

“Elastic, we have a problem:” Need a brand refresh or some cool new video? Get in touch! Unless you’re jettisoned towards the moon… our Wifi only reaches so far.