#5 Carrot and Sticker

It all started a few years ago when one of our customers was visiting our office. A friend who was hosting the client asked me if we had some company stickers or other gadgets he could give to the visitors. We found some, client left, but that encounter sparked an idea. While different streams in that project had their own names - and most of them had some logo, these were pretty generic. There was no "our", project-specific emblem. 

So, I quickly put together a vector graphic design, printed it out, and stuck it on my laptop. It reminded me of the old suitcases - covered in stickers from different places all around the world. Wasn't my laptop like a suitcase, visiting multiple different places and clients? Over the next few weeks, I've designed a logo for each of the projects I've worked on in the past. Some people in the office liked the idea, so I created a few more for their projects as well. 

Not everyone bought intothe idea, and that's okay. For me the process of designing and printing those little stickers is incredibly fulfilling. Working with software is great, because you can create "something" from the pure thoughts and ideas. But at the same time, it all stays in the virtual space. Making a sticker and holding it in my hand gives me the additional satisfaction of creating something "tangible".

As often happens - ideas evolve. What started as "project achievements", has now expanded to include stickers made specially for the colleagues leaving the company, or a quarterly team awards gadget. I even made two versions of stickers for "office residents" and "office vagabonds" when our hybrid-work policies were announced. I've designed a few event-specific ones and one especially for the entire Poland Consulting team - and I'm proud to see it sometimes on different department calls. 

I think it's important to have such a little thing that brings joy to you, even if it's not directly related to your daily tasks, but still helps you connect with your work. Some people organize charity events, others bake pies and bring them to the office, or share a new joke each Monday, or start a book club, or share news on a group chat. It can be something really small, or something significant - the only thing that matters is that it's yours and it brings you joy.