Trust Your Brain

Welcome weary internet traveler! It seems you've been cast ashore on the island of BrainTrust. Not so much one in a physical sense, but one in the Paul Simon sort of way. No personified volleyballs here, just a pile of ideas. But we sort of like being an island. You see, islands are usually the tops of volcanoes. And volcanoes, aside from making excellent science projects, like to spew a ton of stuff out. Like liquid hot mag-ma. And some of it escapes as ash, and some flows downhill, and some hardens up and makes rock. Something you can depend on. And well, we like that idea. So much so that we took our brains, got them to spew a bunch of stuff out, like liquid hot ideas, and we saw what stuck.

See, here at braintrust creative, we like ideas. We think the more the merrier. Sure, some escape into the atmosphere and some flow downhill fast... but some end up turning into rock. And you can build on rock.

So welcome to the figurative tip of the volcano. Have a look around, set up camp. Hopefully you'll find something you can build on.

 

Services

Braintrust offers a full range of creative services, from creative consulting to full post-production services. Here's a bit of what we do:

Creative Consulting
Creative Catalyst
Event/Conference Production
Video
Animation
Motion Graphics
Color Correction
Web Design
Print Design
Apparel

 

About

The longtime brain-child of creative thinker Drew Kimball, Braintrust creative rose out of the ashes of misfortune. See, he got canned. Now, we recognize that that's not usually the best way to start out a website that hopes you'll hire the company represented on it, but we're not really all that usual. (You'll find that honesty is way up on our values list, and yes, there is an actual values list. Not all that usual, unfortunately) Drew graduated from school with a tv and radio degree, got a good job, and got "let go.". We could give you a spiel about how he wasn't the right fit for it, and blah blah blah. But really, he didn't want to go. In the back of his mind he had this crazy idea for a company, but he was scared to step out of the salary/benefits nest. So, like a mother throws a baby out of the nest, Drew was pushed.

In the summer of 2007, Drew started Braintrust Creative. His goal was simple. Don't hit the ground. Drew took his skills in video, animation, design, web, consulting, production, etc and tried simply not to crash. And something unexpected happened on the way down. Drew flapped his wings a bit. Looking around like Wyle E. Coyote, Drew noticed he wasn't falling anymore.

See, somewhere along the way, Drew figured out that people didn't just want great design and stunning video. Because, honestly, you can find that just about anywhere. People wanted a partner, a friend, a confidant. They wanted someone they could call and chat with. They wanted old fashioned relationship. Sounds crazy, we know. But falling through the air to your financial death will make you crazy. Drew thought that if he offered not just the creative product, but the creative process and the creative partner, that people might like that better.

So today, Drew glides a bit and flaps really hard sometimes. But overall, he really loves the view and the wind in his hair. And Braintrust spends another day not hitting the ground.

 

Values

Braintrust is about 2 things - great ideas and great relationships. And those take commitment. We like to think of it as a covenant. And here's what's in it:

1. Honesty. We never cheat, never steal, never over charge, never fudge our work hours, never cut corners. Do that in the old west and you'll get shot. However, we also refuse to be "yes" men. If we see something wrong, we're going to bring it up. We'll challenge your ideas if we think we can make them better. Honesty goes both ways, and we expect it from our vendors, partners, and clients. If you don't like something or want it changed, speak up. We love your honesty like we love ours.

2. Accessibility. Creative stuff shouldn't be cost prohibitive. TV costs too much. Bottom line. We'll be fair. You'll be surprised.

3. Responsibility. It's always our fault, and we're not afraid of that.

4. Sustainability. We think it's the right thing for a company to do. That's why we don't send out paper invoices or correspondence. We don't have business cards. We turn out lights when we leave the room and shut down our computers at the end of the day. We recycle stuff and drive small engined vehicles. Not because it's trendy or we're hippies, but because it's the right thing to do.

5. Balance. We work hard during work hours. We love our families and hobbies and causes the rest of the time. Overworking kills productivity and the creative spirit. So does underworking.

6. (not least, just last) Responsibility. We do work we can feel good about. You'll notice we work with a lot of churches, non-profits, small businesses, etc. That's because we like to do work that makes a difference. Anyone can hok product. Not all products make the world better.

 

Process

The human brain has 2 sides. A left one and a right one. The left one is the one telling you that you have to mail your credit card payment out on time. The right one is looking at the pretty colors on the stamp.

Most creative companies are really excited about their right brains. And rightfully so. See, creative thought lives there. And good right brains come up with great website designs.

There's an issue with right brains though. You might have even noticed. They tend to not be the most reliable sides of the brain. You'll give them a deposit, they'll come up with some ideas that might not have anything to do with your project, and then they'll disappear for a while. You'll chase them down, ask about seeing some progress. They'll use creative words like "conceptual" and "self-referential." You'll get frustrated.

On the other hand, left brains are very reliable. These are your accountants. You can count on them. They won't really blow your mind with their tasks, but boy, do they actually accomplish them. They have concrete ideas and think logistically. Really handy to have around, if not dry and analytical.

So, wouldn't it be great, if there were a creative company that wasn't right all the time?

Braintrust likes the whole brain. We think that giving equal weight to the crazy creative and the literal plan results in something magical. Actual creative results. Take a great idea, then execute it. Revolutionary, we know. It's a patent pending process.