#sparkchamber 070521 — Ranjana Naik

Today, the United States celebrates Independence Day, a federal holiday established to commemorate and celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. This document that states unequivocally: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” — a revolutionary idea at the time, and all the more so today.

#Sparkchamber is a megaphone for a chorus of revolution because creativity [and the right to express it in whatever form] is freedom, is pursuit of happiness, is fundamental to life and liberty and equality and empowerment. On this Independence Day, we celebrate the voice and vision of Ranjana Naik, a female creative-of-color based in NYC. She works as a Creative Strategist at Day One Agency — “I like to consider myself a professional and personal hype woman” — conceptualizing and bringing all forms of communication to life, from full integrated campaigns to social media posts and branding. Ranjana doesn’t see it as a work of advertising, but rather as a work of art, taking what others may feel is ordinary and revealing just how extraordinary it truly is through stories. “I’m inspired by the greatest driver in the world — human emotion.”

On that subject, Ranjana takes on a wide range of human emotion in classic 17-syllable bites on Instagram. Here’s a taste — a perfect accompaniment to your holiday plans.

oh, bartender

cleanse my palate and

clear my mind, gin and tonic

with a splash of lime.

1.] Where do ideas come from?

Ideas come from either a jumble of everything, or a jumble of nothing. How do you take so much information and condense it down into a clear thought? Or, how do you take the scraps you have and work it up into a clear thought? That clear thought could be inspired by anything — a statistic, a walk through K-Mart, or even a line from a book.

2.] What is the itch you are scratching?

The itch I will be scratching forever is to always be challenging myself to create something better, smarter, more creative, and more beautiful. And to share what I’ve learned with students decades from now.

3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?

I work best when there are no distractions, and my mind can draw on a blank canvas. I can work under a tight deadline or over the course of a couple of days. Regardless of which it is, I reach a flow either when there’s complete silence, or when I listen to the same song on repeat to the point where it becomes background noise.

4.] How do you know when you are done?

After I’ve asked myself a million times: “Is there a better way of saying that?”