The School of Life: 
The hard work of being lazy

The School of Life:
The hard work of being lazy
 

The School of Life (TSOL) is a social media company, co-founded by author and philosopher Alain de Botton, that offers advice on many topics including finding fulfilling work, navigating relationships, managing anxiety, and changing the world. It was founded in 2008 and has its headquarters in London with branches in Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, São Paulo and Taipei. 

I was approached by the TSOL team to bring to life Alain de Botton's wonderful essay on the paradox of the hard work of being lazy.

"We live in a culture that hugely values activity and 'hard work'. But - paradoxically - the hardest work we can sometimes do is to stop rushing around and, for once, sit with our thoughts, analyse our feelings, take stock of where we are and understand ourselves better."

Having complete creative control over the final visual output, the challenge with this project was finding the right balance between a clear, bold, engaging visual language and creating enough space for the viewer to focus on what's always the most important aspect of a good piece of visual communication — the message.

Role: art direction, design, animation.
Written and narrated by Alain De Botton.

The School of Life (TSOL) is a social media company, co-founded by author and philosopher Alain de Botton, that offers advice on many topics including finding fulfilling work, navigating relationships, managing anxiety, and changing the world. It was founded in 2008 and has its headquarters in London with branches in Amsterdam, Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, São Paulo and Taipei. 

I was approached by the TSOL team to bring to life Alain de Botton's wonderful essay on the paradox of the hard work of being lazy.

"We live in a culture that hugely values activity and 'hard work'. But - paradoxically - the hardest work we can sometimes do is to stop rushing around and, for once, sit with our thoughts, analyse our feelings, take stock of where we are and understand ourselves better."

Having complete creative control over the final visual output, the challenge with this project was finding the right balance between a clear, bold, engaging visual language and creating enough space for the viewer to focus on what's always the most important aspect of a good piece of visual communication — the message.



Role: art direction, design, animation.
Written and narrated by Alain De Botton.

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