Hi, I am Ted an Art Director from Calgary, Alberta, but now based in Toronto, Canada. Before pursuing advertising I have co-founded a streetwear brand called FreeMotive, working on mostly the design of the apparel and the events/promotions/ads we would show our audience. In advertising I have had experience working at prestigious agencies like Droga5 in New York and Momentum, Toronto.

Being a creative is fun. Making things and coming up with ideas to create new things is the best job ever created.

Creativity is extremely important in the world. It is the thing that progresses the world. Without creativity and thinking of things outside the box, the world wouldn't be as it is right now. We would still be stuck in the stone age.

I have been told this by many of my mentors, great, award winning, Creative Ideas need 3 requirements. It has to be Simple, Original and Provocative. At least have 2 of those but if you have all 3 you have something good in your hands.

Imagine you're playing one-on-one with LeBron James. Most of the time he'll block you, but there's always a chance to score. It's the same way with creativity; most of the time you're blocked and the competition is stiff, but there's always a chance a great idea will come along and you'll win big.

The collaboration and the fun that comes out of it. By surrounding yourself with talented people who want to produce an amazing idea, it creates a fun environment with jokes, stories and aha moments.

Huge impact, your background, your culture, your experience have huge influence in your creativity. All of the things you experience have some sort of influence to your way of thinking and your perspective in the world.

It does help you stand out above the rest. I’ve won a few awards at big shows like Vega Digital awards and Muse Creative awards. They for sure helped out to get me noticed while applying for jobs. I also just like the competition aspect of it, it always leads to great work.

Submit to MUSE and all other IAA award shows! It's fun, competitive and gets your work shown to the creative industry. Who cares if you don't win, it's just another portfolio piece that you are proud of.

Experience things, expose yourself to new skills like painting or explore another place you haven't been to before or even talk to strangers. The way you see the world and your experiences drastically improves your creativity. That just gives you one more different perspective that your peers don't have.

Thank you again to IAA and Muse for recognizing the work the team and I created. I look forward to the next shows coming to see what kind of work come out of it.