Drifting Creatives is the blog of a pair of new graduates from a university in Texas. This week they’re spending time on the beach in Panama – and getting some work done while they’re at it.

From their about page: “We are creative problem solvers, aka designers. One problem we are trying to solve is joblessness. What are we doing about it? We are taking our design skillz to the road. Too many small towns don’t have access to smart design. We know we aren’t a huge design firm, but we think we can help out.” Instead of worrying about jobs, they’re getting out there, finding work along the way, and looking for solutions. Making connections online and in their industry. Going on the road leads to new perspectives.

Awhile back, England was going through a recession in 1981. In response to criticism & rising unemployment, Tory MP Sir Norman Tebbit said, “I grew up in the 1930s with an unemployed father. He didn’t riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he went on looking until he found it.”

Here’s another bloke who got on his bike and looked for work during a difficult English economy. In the early ’90s, Roy McClean [a.k.a. The Man] rode a rickety Dutch bike from Delft to Rotterdam after his university graduation. The short-term jobs he picked up along the way offered eclectic experiences: as a soap-factory worker, he was filmed for a documentary; he was a model of Dutch efficiency while planting tulip bulbs; and working as a shop-fitter was a first-hand lesson in the socialist-capitalist divide. This trip was a cultural immersion that gave him flexibility and a wider horizon.

Uncertain times offer unparalleled opportunities for growth – kudos to Drifting Creatives who are finding success in unexpected places, and making great design along the way.