Lovely Anna Ker, who recently left W+K London to swap London life for a new adventure in Berlin, was one of the winners of our monthly Spore Fund grant, which invites the whole agency to submit an idea or creative project that has nothing to do with work, in the form of a one-page proposal and budget plan. Her beautiful Common Ground project is up and running (and the perfect virtual escape on a rainy Friday afternoon); she wrote us a little bit about it:

I was fortunate enough to receive W+K Spore Fund in 2014, to put towards a long-held dream of mine: the creation of a journal on the subject of travel. It’s called Common Ground, and takes the form of both a 100-copy printed journal (available at W+K reception) and an ongoing online platform (at common-ground-journal.com).

The initial concept – to create a series of short-form city guides – quickly evolved into a more comprehensive take on the exploration of new places, in three parts:

(1) Home, as a neighbourhood, a habitat and a state of mind (Here),

(2) The act and the art of getting from A to B (On The Way), and

(3) The exploration of farther-flung destinations (Elsewhere).

Throughout each section, reflections on landscapes both geographical and emotional accompany snapshot photos taken on an Olympus Trip 35 camera.

The print edition features reflections on the power of water, a look back at the origins of la flanerie, photo essays on Liguria, Italy, Chefchaouen, Morocco, suggestions for pit stops in Bath, Bristol and Manchester, and a few other bits and pieces. The project still in its initial stages, and a little rough around the edges, but will continue to evolve online.

If your interest is piqued, pick up a copy next time you’re passing by 16 Hanbury Street, or take a look at common-ground-journal.com.

A huge thank you to W+K Spore Fund for allowing me to bring Common Ground to life. I hope the ideas and images it contains resonate and inspire.