FINE Retreat 5x5s: Walk 5 Minutes In Our Brains

You can’t come to our annual retreat. But we can invite you to glimpse the kind of content we share to inspire creative problem-solving all year long.

This year, small teams of collaborators — cross sections of designers, strategists, project directors, business-y types, developers — shared a practical or personal perspective on their work using 5 slides in 5 minutes. And as many GIFs as can be squeezed in without breaking the format.

Though you’ll only get a tease, perhaps sharing these admittedly random topics, takeaways, and images from our 5x5 sessions will inspire you, as it did us.

Welcome to our brains. Do not be afraid; you’re among friends.

Building a Strong Bridge Between Strategy + Design

Move through creation without losing in translation.

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5 Digital Trends that Will Blow Your Mind

Mobile-First, Organic Social is Dead, Bravebold Content, Users Love Lists, Generation Z.

Life Lessons from Outlander

Never rule out the impossible, opportunity in strange places, profanity helps.

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Past, Present, Future

Remember feeling awesome, be awesome now, and – voila! – someday you will be awesome.

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Fitness Tips & Beyond

The question is how to optimize yourself. The answer is always movement.

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How to Get Out of Doing Stuff. Or, Stages of Avoidance

Insidiously funny, yet patently useful information for the information age.

All Together Now

Dance like no one’s watching, but then if you find out they’re watching make them dance, too. Or at least clap. Make them clap.

Top 4 Things You Do Not Want to Hear the Morning After the Company Retreat

Possibly not other mornings, either.

Structuring Content for Diverse Digestion

Above the fold/schamabove the schmold: skimming, diving, mastering.

Password Managers Will Save Your Life

What are they, why use one, downsides, shop, and compare.

Tips for Working Remotely

From isolation and inertia, to productivity and connection.

What We Learned From Video Games

There’s a big book on how you should learn from games, not big books.

Lessons Learned while Road Tripping

Know where you’re going but not too exactly.

What’s in a Brand Name?

They’re super important, and require obsessive compulsiveness.

Beyond Traditional Wireframes

Low fidelity, high fidelity, all kinds of fidelities, really.

What Clients Say vs. What Clients Mean

Sometimes it’s you; sometimes it’s them. Always, it’s us.

Movies We Cannot Un-Recommend Highly Enough

Two of our worst favorites, and what makes them so awful great.

5 Lessons from Dungeon Crawling

Team balance, kicking down doors, challenges, treasures.

Fae 2.0 is Coming

It’s easily 1.0 better than the last one.

Launch Day 101

It’s scary. Yet exciting. It’s scareciting! Let’s break down what has to happen on that fateful day.

Steve

Everybody has a story.

Kenn

Everybody has a journey.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief journey through our minds. You’re welcome. And sorry.