Talking Pictures

These are photos that advocates for positive change and express a collective view on a specific subjects and how it affects the future development. I’m a football coach in the community and I did interviews in June 2013 with both the junior and senior teams in the community of Mathare North, trying to understand why Kenyan football doesn’t become better with time from selection of players, officials, management of sports, implementation of policies, support of grassroots football, lack of support of women's football etc.

I used to play active football in the past and I didn’t want to be limited with the past ideas on what wasn’t right and that is why I did the interviews and later the emergence of what I call The Talking Pictures which narrowed down to corruption as the major hindrance to the development of the sport and the country in general.

 I’m a T-shaped individual, and you might wonder who is a T-shaped individual? T-shaped individuals tend to be professional in one area, but skilled in many other areas. They are highly intuitive and they work as bridges between disciplines.

How to make a talking picture;

1.    Do a research on a topic.
2.    Get the common denominator in all the interviews.
3.    Make or take the picture and don’t forget to share it.

This is one of my creative paths in innovative and creative subjects; use your talent and skills for positive change. I’m a T-shaped individual, and you might wonder who is a T-shaped individual? T-shaped individuals tend to be professional in one area, but skilled in many other areas. They are highly intuitive and they work as bridges between disciplines.

October 2012 – Love Wave Concept Launched

Creativity is everywhere, from my passion in photography blended with graphic design, I launched the Love Wave T-shirt in October 2012. The main subject was to express LOVE in the most simplest and creative way. Being a patriotic Kenyan, I chose to design a T-shirt around Peace, Love and Unity which are our country’s values that connects us together despite our different political affiliations, ideologies, tribes etc.

Here are the foot prints back in October 2010;

Offer close 2012 :)

BRAND YOU 101

 Blackboard notes from creative entrepreneurship class a day before graduation day.

Career Mapping – Our World is interconnected and there is still a big need for skilled labor especially from techno-savvy young professionals. Stand to be counted, so what do you want to become in the multi-skilled World. There is nothing like ‘Photoshoper’ you are better off as a graphic designer or something else with deeper roots.

This is my world, the keys and the passwords are on my palm, what’s yours? Start today to build your career which shall offer many positions. Don’t target position first, build your career as you continue to discover your potentials.

List of  EIGHTEEN pointers from my diary that might guide you in the process of mapping your career;

1. Network – Network with people while as your net worth is equivalent to your network. Tim Sanders: “Your network is your net worth.”2. Read, don't scan – Take your time and read this is an investment.
2.  Finish something – You want to motivate yourself then finish at least one task today. Don’t do it because you want to receive praises from other people. "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." - Bill Cosby quotes
3.  Register your IP (Interest & passion) – Match your interest and passion.
4. Be flexible and adapt to new changes no matter how hard they seem to be.
5. Keep it REAL! – Connect with your inner voice. Bill Cosby — 'In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. ' 
6. Have the ME time – Have time alone to plan and evaluate your goals etc.
7. Research the field of interest before and after joining. Time wasted doing something that you don’t connect with shall never be recovered.
8. Visit places you have been to, this will refresh new good memories.
9. Visit new places and find synergies to your aspirations. One great lesson is Bio-empathy.
10. Get a coach and mentors on your side to guide and support you.
11. Listen and consult widely then make the decision (Don’t Compete, Compare and Complain).
12. Choose friends wisely, it is too costly to be in a bad company.
13. Don’t limit yourself to learning new things.
14. Invest in your tools of trade, for example, if you’re a web designer you need a computer and software etc.
15. Collaborate with like-minded people who you at least share a big pie of your values.
16. Great things sometimes are wrapped with challenges, hurdles, misunderstanding etc. Stay focus and have confidence in yourself.
17. Embrace diversity by working with diverse cultures and groups this will open your new paradigms.
18. Start a cause for positive change and inspire others to start positive chains of events and actions.

Remember to document your footprints in all media and share with others. I hope you have learnt a thing or two and I wish you all the best in yourself discovery.
Please share with your network #BuildToLastLeaders

The World of InfoGraphic

Let us first define what is info-graphic?

Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present complex information quickly and clearly.[1][2] They can improve cognition by utilizing graphics to enhance the human visual system’s ability to see patterns and trends.[3][4] The process of creating infographics can be referred to as data visualization, information design, or information architecture.[2]

source; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infographic

As a creative person, I have always been keen to learn and listen to what’s happening in my surroundings as one of my greatest sources of inspiration and creativity. There is a lot that is happening within a flash of a second and sometimes you don’t need to reinvent anything, but to follow the bench-marked trends, the only thing you need to do is to connect. This can only happen when you think and see with your mind at the same time (visualization).

Using my mobile phone, I have been documenting pictures of instructional graphics from washrooms, staircases, open fields, path ways etc. The question that drove me to capture my learning moment was to find out if there are any standard ways of illustrating this instructional graphics and what exactly determines the final design. I have come to notice there are gender biases in some of the cases which I think has been overlooked by the designers and might bring confusion if we don’t keep a keen attention to what we illustrate and where exactly we place them.

 Real photos captured by using a mobile phone from the streets of Nairobi, Kenya and Hamburg, Germany in 2012.

1. Are you able to compare and contrast what’s happening? Are you able to identify which graphics are from the city of Nairobi or Hamburg?

2. Interesting one, how would you illustrate fire exit point?

“I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.” - Lindon Leader

For more great design quotes check;http://99designs.com/designer-blog/2013/09/16/10-famous-design-quotes/

Moving Tanzania – HuB Manager / Entrepreneurship Trainer

I’m happy to be associated with Moving Tanzania Project which aims to improve the media landscape in Tanzania and challenges participants to engage in improving their imaginative skills and express themselves more personally that leading to creative concepts and storytelling.

The Hub  offers three professional courses of three weeks each, full board on the premises of Kilimanjaro Film Institute.

Topics covered;

1.  Creative Media (Including both storytelling techniques and creative thinking)
2.  Music and Sound in Media
3.  Entrepreneurship in the creative industry

One of my assignment is to align the online visibility by creating a community using related platforms. Here is some of the work done;

 Before - Facebook Cover

 Now - Facebook Cover

Designed participant poster, Moving Tanzania

Please like our page for the latest happenings.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moving-Tanzania
I love working with the KFI team http://www.kilimanjarofilm.org

Business Cards and Logo Design - Black Girls In Kenya Killing it!

It's a great pleasure having my designs approved by the client for the logo and business cards. This assignment I did before departing for my next assignment in Arusha, Tanzania as the Entrepreneurship Trainer / Hub manager at Kilimanjaro Film Institute ( KFI).

Assignment: Caption from the clients website

"Black girls in Kenya killing it is a fashion platform with black woman in Kenya as the core target. By saying black, it doesn't necessarily mean that the woman has to be black, black girls stands for African woman."

"Black girls in Kenya killing it Management is aware and understands that not every woman was born to be a model or have the hour glass shaped bodies and its with regard that the Management appreciates women regardless of their shape, form or age."

Approved designs

Unrecognized Power within Our Families

Families living in informal settlements are faced with many challenges ranging from earning one’s daily bread within a high level of exposure to drugs, uncertainty and crime. Living in these areas known as ghettos, ‘mtaa’, or slums, exposes a young person to a high level of vulnerability from peer pressure that consumes one to a point of not knowing what one wants to be, let alone stay focused in building on their skills while utilizing their talent for prosperity.

One thing I have personally identified in our communities is that most parents from neighborhoods like Korogocho, Huruma, Kibera, Mathare, are too busy  meeting the daily needs for their humble families to the extent during the dinner time, they only time when they get time to meet, they  do not even talk about the family issues but only to focus attention on television and prepare for the next day; and the cycle continues.
What many families don’t know is that they have great potential that can be used to solve their family issues. Each family has unrecognized and untapped power within it which when tapped into can reach greatness.
We need to interconnect and ask this question; what do our families define as power. When you marry or get married to the ‘right’ family this power might double up, and here it’s not about money and wealth.

Power is defined or understood in many ways, one of them being an ability to do something or availability to access something, and many others.
In the context of the unrecognized and untapped power within our families lies the question, what is our family POWER?

Front row the two kids, on the left is me, My brotherLawrence Jato and my dad holding the ball on the right. This was Red Berets F.C some years back

My brother fifth from left representing Kenya in South Africa during the annual youth tournament.

My sister Kate Syprine playing for Mathare United Women's Team during the Sakata Ball tournament where they were crowned champions.

1998, 1999 I was the team captain in the under 16 team that represented Kenya and MYSA in Norway and Netherlands.

What does your family consider as power?

a) Influence (Political, Business etc), Position
b) Money & Wealth, Prestige
c) Talents and Skills ( Music, football, arts etc)
d) Value system (discipline, hard work, hospitality etc.)
e) High and Mighty (Name).
f) Networks (social Capital).
g) Family lineage (History,  Heritage
h) Religion (Faith, Prayers, conviction, belief etc.)
i) Business Acumen

And many more…
The question is, what is it that matters to your family, and that is at your disposal, that when used effectively will bring everlasting happiness and prosperity. Some families have hope and team work; others have money but lack the coordination.

As testimony, I was brought up in a humble family of great footballers and despite all the challenges that surrounded us, we have been able to shape our family’s economic status while we build our careers through volunteer ship, football scholarship and being actively involved in  community work; and that’s our power.

We are a pro-sport family. My grandfather used to play football, my dad and currently four of my siblings play active football. I used to play active football but currently I’m a part time football coach at Mathare North Rangers F.C. This is a team I founded with my friends under the Wilsen Initiative model (WI) banner.
Access to adequate amounts of money is not possible at the moment, but through using our well defined family powers, we can tackle poverty and other societal issues head-on. There is power in unity and poverty is a state of the mind.

Each family is unique. Our  families are like institutions and we are the team behind the vision and mission and any other operations. There is need to do a family SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Treats) analysis and it doesn’t matter who’s going to be in the driver’s seat of the family.  Let us not only wait for our parents to make change but also help in the process of redefining the great future that we want for our families. That is exactly what I did and I’m still doing.  A great paradigm shift is required in all the young people to secure our Nation's future starting with our families.

Kenya Football at the Docks!

I’m very proud of being a Kenyan, and watching our athletics team bag many gold medals at the just concluded Glasgow commonwealth games bring much joy and unity to the nation.  In a game of sports there must be a winner and a loser and that is the beauty of the game. Even Brazil and other great nations didn't win all the matches though contrarily to same argument they did prepare well to at least reach the utmost performance and position. I wonder what goes wrong with our football here in Kenya!

Yesterday, we witnessed our football national team not making it to the next stage after being bundled out by Lesotho who I’m surprised has got not more than three million in population compared to ours which is at forty million.

Where do we go wrong? Is disbanding our football team at this moment adding any value? And if that is the case what are the next cause of action? 

It's high time we have a platform that involves all the stakeholders even from the grassroots who are not directly affiliated with the federation to be part of the strategic reviews and share ideas on how we can salvage our young talents being lost in the process of not having progressive development in the game for many decades. There is a group of many ex-players who would be ideal people to incorporate in this strategic meetings and management of the institution. I have witnessed of the qualified ex-players being employed as commentators and media in general (TV and Radio) because of their vast experience, skills and passion for the game. Can’t the federation do the same?

I congratulate Lesotho for their determination and well executed game plan. I also extend the same congratulations to the young lads from MYSA under thirteen years  for winning the prestigious Norway cup 2014 in Oslo, Norway. Even though your win wasn't broadcasted that much in our local media, I thank the advent of the internet which allowed us to follow you from the group stages to the finals. If we want to be featured in the list of great nations in football as in athletics we should start by creating systems and structures and have the right people for the job.

It is my sincere hope that the Norway cup finalist will live their dreams, I was once there at Norway cup and I can remember seeing myself playing for top clubs in Europe after the tournament. Even though it didn't happen, I’m happy for my peers whom we used to play with like Oliech, Origi, Adam Shaban etc. who made it to live our shared dreams back then. I’m not regretting at all, and I’m thankful for what football has done for me and my family.  I’m happy with my current profession while I still serve as a community football coach for Mathare North Rangers F.C in Mathare North. We shouldn't give up until we get the right turning point in the maze!

On November 2013, I wrote an article which I think highlights some pointers which if put into practice might help the situation. I still don’t think going to Brazil was an investment for Kenyan football and footballers; anyway everyone has the right to their wish and opinions.

Caption from 2013 article

The question to ask is Kenyan football growing or it’s on the brink of stagnation? Are we moving forward or back-tracking with our airwaves still dominated by the Barclays premier league? Leave alone our social lives, on the street you’ll hear the deep loyalty given to the foreign clubs which is also goes to branding our businesses, vehicles, houses etc. Does anyone think of developing the grassroots football?

Where is the competition witnessed back in the years 1997 -2002 during the Millennium tournament, Coca-cola tournament, ‘Koth Biro’ tournament just to mention but a few? Those were days when football was felt in the grassroots’ with teams like Swapo (Huruma), Otto-benecker (Mathare North), Sakayonsa ( Pumwani) among others were the home of talents for the great game we love. 

Kenyan Football as a Glass of Water Mixed With Oil Read More...