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Cultivating Creative Confidence and Community
Creative Commons is a group of diverese, open, and forward thinking people. Origionally known as 3% we have grown into a community that fosters all who identify as creative. Whether this is your hub, your creative outlet, or your personal movement, we are here to push you to your best. All who are accepting of others are welcomed here. We are your friends, your family, the outspoken, the outragous. We are her, him, them, and more. This is our movement, our passion, our hype team, our girlgang. To those who are here for the highs and lows, we welcome you to:
Creative Commons
Table of Contents
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Empowered by Isabel Kratville
Creative Commons Spotlight: Sabrina Sommer
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Creative Commons Dedicates Mission to Creative Confidence, Female Empowerment
Creative Commons Spotlight: Sabrina Sommer Today’s CC Spotlight is on Creative Common’s own graphic artist, Sabrina Sommer. Sabrina is an Advetising and Graphic Design major at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She was born in Houston, Texas and became a student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln in the Fall of 2017. To sum up Sabrina in three words would be creative, passionate, and dynamic. She can always be seen doodling in her journal and bumping to some underground band in her free time. She has been involved
“Tee Hee” an authentic Sabrina Sommer quote
with projects like Global Eyewitness, Rabble Mill Magazine, and Cube Art Project. She became the graphic designer for Creative Commons at the end of second semester in 2017, so we have her to thank for all the stellar designs we get to post. We interviewed her over her passion for art and graphic desing, what keeps her inspired and motivated, and how she became involved with Creative Commons. We hope you all enjoy this insight to our fav, Sabrina.
How did you become involved with Creative Commons? A couple upperclassmen i looked up to were involved in it. I knew I wanted to join at least one rso on campus and in the journalism school at the time I didn’t find the courses in the college to be very creatively stimulating. I also kept going because of the workshops, which have actually helped me network with some other design alumni in Lincoln and Omaha. Where do you get your inspiration from? most of my inspiration comes from artists who don’t even practice graphic design. I love visiting the quilt museum, going to the library to look at graphic novels and comics, and collage artists. Also music always. Who are your icons? Graphic design and otherwise. I’d say a lot of my icons are just people i find or follow on Instagram. Currently right now I’m really inspired by Mike Perry, Jon Costino, The Young Jerks, Olivia Locher, Davidgooddesign, Bryan E West. When did you become interested in art? What about graphic design? my mom was a textile artist when I was younger, and I just cherish the mornings we spent together when she taught me how to draw. I always liked art, but in elementary-middle school thought that I wasn’t good. It wasn’t until high school when I took a digital art media class all about photoshop that my teacher came up to me and asked me to enter a contest. I ended up going to state with the work and just felt the realization that this is something I could actually do. I ended up going into graphic design because it felt like a combination of multiple different medias. What keeps you motivated? Mostly the feeling of finishing a project. Anytime I get frustrated or tired out I just think of how good I’ll feel at the end of the project. Also caffeine in any capacity (espresso/ cranberry Red Bull/cherry Pepsi is my unholy trinity of choice). What would you possibly like to do with graphic design? Im not sure yet. There’s a ton of different facets of the industry. I love film and I love music so anything to do with those mediums would be amazing.
Creative Commons Dedicates Mission to Creative Confidence, Female Empowerment To be creative is one thing, but to be confident enough in a creative idea to announce it to the world is another. Creative Commons is a club at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln dedicated to two goals –– fostering female empowerment and creative confidence. According to Rachel Long, a senior advertising and public relations, broadcasting and German triple major, the concept of empowering stems from the club’s history. The club was based off an annual national conference now called “The 3% Movement,” from when only three percent of ad agencies’ creative directors were women. Two female students at UNL won a competition and were able to attend the national conference. After returning, they were inspired to create a 3% chapter at UNL, which has since become known as Creative Commons.
Lofland was a member of the Creative Commons executive board during the transition from being a 3% chapter. The decision to rebrand was not only because the percentage of women in the advertising field had risen, but also because they felt they constricted themselves too much into an advertising box.
“Everyone can be creative, any college can be creative,” she said. “If you’re in engineering, you’re creating too, and so we wanted to open it to everybody.”
Amanda Lofland, an advertising and public relations major and Creative Commons vice president, said the club leaders realized after a few years they wanted to include more ideas.
The leaders of the club want to provide the members with the tools they need to be successful. Long said Creative Commons tries to do this by presenting information in a variety of ways.
“We wanted to be something that was more inclusive to those beyond just advertising majors,” Long said. “We want to welcome all types of women who want to grow creatively.”
“One of the things we love to do is give members opportunities by bringing in speakers and hosting workshops from all sorts of different creative fields to be able to make our
members feel more confident in being creative, thinking creatively and creative problem solving,” Long said. Long promotes the club to anyone she runs into and expresses her love for the club as she explains what Creative Commons does and what makes it stand out from others.
“I think the club itself is a really special opportunity for, I think, anyone that’s involved with it,” she said. “We do great things and bring in cool people that need to be known and that are able to inspire students at UNL.” Creative Commons is also an opportunity for creative students to start forming connections, according to Lofland. It allows students with similarities to meet and make new friends as well as find people who can help them reach their career goals. “I also knew these people would help me later in my college career with, ‘You know that guy
from that record company?’ or ‘You know that person from that ad agency?’” Lofland said. “We could all help each other or just be friends.” As leaders of Creative Commons, Long and Lofland also face difficulties. Some challenges they come across often include time management, attendance and detailed planning, which can be stressful at times, according to Long. But both agree that even though there may be some obstacles in their path, it doesn’t take away from what it means to be a part of the club.
“I think what our club does is something really special because it’s connecting aspiring and collegiate level creatives to professionals,” Long said. “And we come together just as a community that’s a really special thing to be a part of, so it really means a lot to me to be one of the leaders of the group.”
Creative Commons Where: Anderson Hall Basement When: Every Thursday 6pm - 7pm Follow Us! Instagram: unlcreativecommons Twitter:@UNLCCommons Facebook: The Creative Commons