Celebrating Seattle as one of the world's most creative cities
The Drum, in partnership with Visit Seattle, is celebrating the city and its creativity as part of our Creative Cities series.
Nestled in the Northwest corner of the United States lies a curiosity to some. Seattle, though still seemingly a far away place, is anything but. Drinking your Starbucks coffee, flying in a Boeing plane, ordering something on Amazon or firing up any Microsoft product allows the world to touch the city and its innovation on a daily basis.
Some of the one-word answers for why Seattle is such a special place paint a compelling picture: Quirky, possibilities, beautiful, inspired, innovative, real, magnificent and restless. All make sense for those who live there but, to the uninitiated, it’s an opportunity to learn about what makes the city tick.
Though most might not know it, Seattle still retains a fierce pioneer spirit — challenging convention at every turn while making a significant impact. This is why talent is consistently drawn to one of the most beautiful places on the planet and why innovation isn’t simply a word, but a way of life.
And it’s not just in the brand world where Seattle leaves its prodigious mark. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for example, is a consistent beacon of global hope. The startup community is continually evolving and is a viable, important addition to the world’s technology hubs. And, of course, Seattle’s impact on the music world in the past and today, through artists like Nirvana and labels like SubPop, is undeniable
At the core of it all is a unique, progressive creative spirit that is imbued in every aspect of work and life in Seattle. Natives and those who took the leap to call the city home have continually added to an intoxicating mix of creativity everywhere, including the agencies — both legacy and new — that roam the creative landscape.
Creative Cities Seattle takes a look at the people, companies and mindset that makes it such a special place. To that end, The Drum created a special supplement that focused on the city’s innovation in business, how it attracts talent from all of the world, its important culture exports, entrepreneurial DNA and more.
Further celebrating the city and its creativity, The Drum produced a documentary, to be released next week, featuring some of the people who are on the front line of the present and future of a city that is primed to continue its impressive upward arc of success and importance. And the timing couldn’t be better to learn more. As Tracy Wong, founder of long-time Seattle agency WongDoody puts it, “Seattle is becoming an international city right before our eyes.”