The first chapter of Rodrigo & Louise's Constellations for Change. Naked is about how we remembered our paths and the niggles and questions that have set us on our way. Find out more about the project: www.constellationsforchange.tumblr.com

1. NAKED
Con ellations for Change

2. This is a collaboration between
Rodrigo & Louise.
Two hopeless optimists who want to change
the world for the better.
United Kingdom :: December 2013
Constellations for Change

3. While reminiscing about the struggles and
disillusionment we felt when first starting
out in the world of work we felt it was
time to give something back to people who
might be at the beginning of their journey
too.
We’ve spent some time consolidating our
inspiration, documenting the processes we’ve
used and also thanking the people who
have helped to put us on a path to creating
change - both for ourselves and for
others.
We’re calling this our
Constellations for Change.

4. Included here are the clusters we’ve been
collecting things around, which give you a
flavour of the breadth of this project.
We don’t know exactly where this
collaboration will take us, but we wanted
to share some of our ideas and our stories
with you and see what you think.

5. This issue is number zero and its name is
Naked. Why Naked? because we want to
share what we are; passions, works, minds
and people around us.

6. Now we want to start from the beginning,
so please let us tell you a couple of stories.
The booklet you’re holding (or reading) is
Naked which in a way is number zero.
Naked is about how we remembered our
paths and the niggles and questions that
have set us on our way.

7. Louise

8. No one really tells you what it feels like to finish formal
education, to suddenly have many paths and choices ahead
of you. It should be exciting and liberating but I remember
finishing university and feeling isolated it felt like I had just
climed a mountain only to free fall off the other side.
Now there was a clear path ahead of me at that point- to
become a management consultant or work for an
advertising agency, but this just didn’t feel right.
I went on a two day insight into management course.
There were 100 other people there & everyone round me
loved it, I should have been too, after all I was studying a
business studies degree at the time. I felt so out of place and
it confirmed all the niggles I had about corporate culture.
But I felt I couldn’t say anything.
Around the same time I went to some advertising agency
milk round events. They put on a good show, it was flashy,
they sold a sexy lifestyle - living in a big city, working
with big brands, after work drinks and to be honest it was
everything I had imagined myself doing as a grown up, so
what wasn’t to like? But I left those events not understanding
why anyone would want to work sell toys to children who
really didn’t need them, it felt exploitative and like
something was missing.
I wasn’t totally in denial at this time, I was a bit proactive, I
went to the careers service and asked about alternative
careers. But there was nothing that really got me excited
and after a few sessions I was still feeling frustrated and
even more isolated.

10. One thing I did go to was an event about landfill sites and
how there would be no space in Manchester in the not to
I distant future for all of the waste being produced. Why
wasn’t this common knowledge? Why weren’t more
people concerned about this or looking for other solutions?
I got worried and I think had a bit of an environmental
realisation.
I realise this now, that when I’m in doubt, I end up doing
something creative. So at the back end if my degree I
volunteered at a film festival and then following that
worked at the Association of Illustrators. It was a bit left
field but was great to experience, applying organisation
skills in creative contexts, I felt a shared sense of purpose
with those I worked with.
By this point I had decided I would take a year out – save
some money – go travelling – get a bit of a reality check
and try and work out what it was I was going to do. In
effect I ignored this niggle about finding a ‘real’ job ‘and
my dissatisfaction with the status quo and put it all on ice.
But I guess you could say it gave me new perspectives and
experiences from which to build on after that.

11. Rodrigo

12. A few years back I was in a party organised by the
creative crew from Leo Burnett (the advertising agency)
where I used to work. A big party, imagine all the excess
that you can think of and multiply it by two.
We were having candid conversations about our profession,
the industry and the ‘meaning’ behind our work, suddenly
I just said the truth, ‘I hate advertising.’ The room response
was; an uncomfortable silence.
Obviously I didn’t even think about it twice, before saying it.
In a very funny way some guys only said ‘uuuhhh!’ which
was their way to say, what a f*** are you doing here
then?! And they were right, what on earth I was thinking,
why I was working for one of the worst industries
someone can think of, designing for Phillip Morris
(a cigarette company).
I studied industrial design, and was surrounded of a
buoyant middle class influenced by american materialistic
culture, superficial media, and a linear growth
understanding of life. I experienced all that back in Mexico,
my homeland.
It is hard to explain how materialistic colonialism has
influenced values of societies in emerging economies, and
how this deforms culture collective conscious and self
perception.

14. I knew something wasn’t right, one of my questions back
then was how can I use my skills, earn a living and create
something that I am proud of?
After Leo Burnett I started to work for the richest man in
the world (back in 2007 and according to Forbes he still
there on top). Mr Carlos Slim, who everybody (more than
300,000 employees) call ‘The engineer’.
I was doing retail design and new product development
which at least was a bit more exciting for America Movil
the biggest telecom in America (including north, central and
south). Thanks to being there, while working in telecoms, a
bit randomly I was involved in a team which helped
collaterally to promote a series of events named ‘Pase Usted’
(Please come in).
It was thanks to these series of events organised by my good
friend now Clorinda Romo, which finally opened my eyes.
The first event was in sustainability. I still remember when
I arrived to the floor 27th from a semi-abandoned Torre
Latino in Mexico City back in 2008.
I heard a series of multidisciplinary talks about a wide
range of issues related to sustainability in a local, regional
and international scale. That night I discovered a completely
different world, a world of uncertainty, passion,
commitment and purpose. By the end of that event I said,
ok, I had enough I am going to quit my job, and I did (a
few months later).

15. We are going to share with you six
different constellations of things that we’ve
identified, which we believe are
fundamental to create a better future.
The constellations have helped us to change
and see the world as a place of
opportunities, despite recognising that
humanity is facing unprecedented
challenge.

16. Technolo ?
Creativity
NewStatusQuo
Art&Design
In iration
People

17. The first one is Art & Design. These are things we have both
been heavily influenced by the power of. This will be a
curation of designers and artists from all over the world
who are creating work to inspire a new generation of
creators.
Second theme on our list is Technology?. Yes, with a
question mark. We will share our view of how technology
can be part of the answer to create a better world; though
don’t forget that behind technology there are people.
After that we have Creativity. This point is a reminder that
EVERYONE is creative and creativity is a mindset and a
process. We will enlist cool processes that help you to identify
real challenges and share with you tools on how to tackle
them.

18. Forth constellation is Inspiration. A collection of the things
we believe are pretty amazing happening now or years
ago. We have a hunch that when these things collide and
mix our reality will change dramatically.
In the end is all down to People. Number five is profiling
the people we’ve met, changed and influenced us. It’s how
we would like to say thank you to them.
The sixth one is New Status Quo. Here we want to share
what we see like the new normal, what are the set of
norms, concepts, values, organisations and types of econo-
mies that will go boom! (Soon we hope).

19. What is your story?
(please share it with us and write it down here!)

20. What do these make you think of?
Which of them resonates with you and
your journey?

21. How would you map your constellation
for change?

22. Obviously this is only part of the story...
much more has come since, but want the next
chapters of constellations to tell some of that story
Next chapter - Art & Design

23. This is a collaboration between
Rodrigo Bautista & Louise Armstrong.
Two hopeless optimists who want to change the
world for the better.

24. If you want to know more please get in touch with
us @rodgox & @louise_a
February 2014
Constellations for Change