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The Sticky Evolution of Graffiti
When I was younger, I had a very specific birthday tradition. It did not consist of parties but of events, specifically trips to the Museum of Natural History followed by a trip to the observation deck of the World Trade Center. It was really the only time of year my parents would take me to the city, since back then the Disney-approved tourist of Midtown did not exist. Back then, the city was gritty, but much like a piece of beach glass, its edges have softened over the years. There are times when I will see an old movie or photograph and remember how far we have come from the city I remember as a kid.
All of this nostalgia talk comes from my past birthday. Now living in the city that has been one of the longest-lasting loves in my life, my traditional stops have become easier than ever before, thus leaving room for additional events. This year I was lucky to come across a graffiti exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. Although the exhibit did a good job of showcasing the talent of the genre, I believed it fell short of depicting the magnitude of the graffiti epidemic that was taking place in the 1970s and ’80s. It was an art form I was attracted to and would explore even through my adult life. Graffiti is the twisted relationship between art and typography with a social message.
As the city started to turn into more of a corporate playground in the mid 1980s, graffiti had started to fade. New York became a clean, safe haven for tourists which, although was a huge boost for the economy, a piece of the city was lost. Strong arguments could be made for the composition of the two cities spanning light and dark, but street artists have developed new ways of expressing themselves while eliminating one of their biggest obstacles when it comes to getting caught: Time.
It is not the talent or dedication a true street artist lacks, it is the time it takes for them to complete their art before the penalties set forth by society are implemented. No, I do not think that all street art is visually pleasing nor do I agree with the destruction of personal property, but there are occasions where street art has improved an object whether it be a train car or an abandoned building. In an effort to gain maximum exposure without the degradation of quality due to time constraints, savvy street artists have taken to sticker art.
Sticker art allows artists to create in a safe, element-controlled environment and place it in desired locations with little risk of being caught in the act. What sticker art has done is up the ante on the street art scene while developing in a material that can easily be cleaned compared to traditional paint tactics that had defined the medium in the early years. If you are not sure the transformation is taking place, just take a look around cities that once had a graffiti problem. From advertising to personal expression, the next wave of outlaw art is building steam — but unlike the warning of a shaking spray can, this crack-and-peel replacement is silent and quick in its application.
Creative Presentations: Quantity vs. Quality
You can learn a lot as a creative freelancer. The work can be as diverse as the daily operations of the client’s you are contracting for. It is those little differences between companies that opens up the discussion about which methods of creative flow are effective and which are not.
Recently I have had the opportunity to work with a client whom I cannot get enough of. My direct report is a creative who believes that design is as important as the money that it generates. There are no cut corners, and what is expected is top-quality work over quantity of concepts. This is very different from what I have experienced in recent months where the goal was to blitz the client with a large amount of designs and hope some would stick, but which is a better approach?
Well, my earlier clients as mentioned would argue quantity offers the client the ability to choose from a large pool of comps, covering all of their possible needs. How big is the “creative pool” which I mention? Approximately 30 designs per designer, multiplied by four designers. Does this mean that we would submit 120 designs per client? No, that would be crazy! We would submit between 40 and 60 of those ideas. Which seems like a crazy amount when considering how difficult it is to get face time with decision makers, who usually make a lot more decisions than just creative ones on a daily basis.
On the other hand, my recent employer believes in quality, a system I, too, am far more comfortable with. One designer per project, six designs per round. Is six designs enough to present, considering some agencies are submitting ten times that amount?
The short answer answer is yes. What this method does is force the creative to do something all creatives should do: Listen, take notes on the small details of a job and ask the questions that are gong to make those six designs exactly what the client wants. Preparing better in meetings helps set up a quicker execution in the development phase, pretty much every time.
By supplying a client with upward of 30 creative options for their needs, you tend to cause more confusion. Maybe the client who had a direction in mind which was executed to their specifications perfectly, but now there are five additional options making them second-guess their decision. Not that this is a bad thing from a creative perspective, but this will now become a time hindrance as you are now asked to create additional ideas for people who, as mentioned above, usually don’t have time, and will almost always tend to go back to their first decision.
Also what a large presentation does is it takes most of the pressure off the account directors and puts it on the creative staff. If you have a day to put a presentation together, it makes a lot more sense to generate six fantastic designs based on what the client requested as opposed to 30 in the same amount of time because you are held to a quantity quota. At the end of the day both agencies are successful at what they do regardless of the methods on how they got there. The difference is in the employees of those agencies and which one produces the work they are more proud of.
When and How to Use WordPress for Your Business Needs
There was a time when HTML reigned supreme. If you wanted a corporate presence on the web, there was no other alternative. As time went on and building sites became easier for the masses through the use of WYSIWYG editors, businesses started to become more aware of what went into making a site. Sure non-programmers/designers could figure out the now easy interface available to them, but in many cases, it was just enough to get them in trouble. It does not matter what size business you are creating for, people will always want to know what goes on behind the curtain and know that they can do it themselves. Today, WordPress gives those people the ability to make a lot of the changes they want, without too much of a risk.
Anyone in marketing with an emphasis in digital could not help but be fascinated with web technology trends and how they have progressed over the years. From straight HTML and data-driven sites to Flash animation and responsive web design, many companies want the latest and greatest because they believe they need it. Although there could be a good case made for any previous or future technologies, unlike WordPress, there was a usually a stronger learning curve.
In the past six months, 11 out of 11 of my website designs have been built using a WordPress back end. Of those 11, one was a redesign of an existing WordPress site, the rest were either new web presences or an upgrade to an existing site. I have found that the majority of my clients are drawn to the fact that they quickly have the knowledge to understand their sites abilities and feel more comfortable communicating their future needs, something not easily found with people who had HTML sites built in the past.
As for the one site that was a redesign of an existing WordPress site, that was quite a unique experience. It was a site that was built very early on, and there was some very unnecessary extra coding added to it, which over time, made the site very complicated to update. Which is the complete opposite reason for using this simplistic interface in the first place. So who should use a WordPress site for their corporate presence?
Absolutely anyone who wants to make their own, or plans on sometimes making their own updates in-house. If built correctly, there is no easier interface to work with. However, there does tend to be a higher cost involved for the development of the technology since designers and programmers realize that there is a potential of losing any extra work they may have gotten in the past with older technologies.
Surprisingly, I have found that many of the clients I have dealt with usually just want the ability to make updates and have the education to carry on a conversation about how and why their site was built the way it was. In time, they almost always come back, whether it be for updates they no longer have the time to make themselves or for complete upgrades, and all too often they will look for they last thing you have done for them to decide what your next role will be, if any.
Creatives vs. Time
Today it is almost impossible to keep up with all of the creative agencies opening and closing in pretty much every market. Just when you think you figured out which shops are starting to pull away from the pack and make a name for themselves, they mysteriously disappear. That leads to the question: What makes a company’s longevity possible? Unfortunately, there is no one answer or solution that can guarantee success for any business, but there are clear qualities for those who have stood the test of time.
Success starts with people. Is it the most talented people that secure a company’s longevity? Not really. Creative medias are constantly changing. Once you get a grasp on HTML, CSS takes off. Familiar with CSS, HTML5 hits the scene. If you started your digital design agency back in the ‘90s with the most elite group of web designers, if they did not keep up with the technology, chances are that shop no longer exists. The key is to find a group of ambitious employees who will be willing to learn as oppose to settle. In my experience, team chemistry is more important than skill alone.
Even with the best people in place, you still need the right leadership to get the most out of them. I have worked in places with a fantastic design team but there was such weak leadership that the best those companies could have hoped for was to sustain, not make it to the next level. It is not how demanding management can be, it is how effective they can be. People work for different reasons, and if you’re a manager, you have to keep all those needs in mind. Although money may be considered one of the most desirable attributes of a job, recognition and respect are both highly rated as well. The best thing? Those two are free and make a huge impact.
Diversity of clients and their needs also go a long way. Early on in my career, I worked for a company that only ever dealt in print advertising and vowed to never stray form that media since that was the catalyst to its success. Today that company no longer exists. It can be a powerful marketing tool to say you are the company that specializes in a specific type of clientele, but in time, all businesses have to be open to growth opportunities, which may have been out of its original business plan. The inability to adapt with a changing creative landscape is a guaranteed way to eventually fade away.
Great staff, the right management and the ability and desire to adapt still does not guarantee success, but it does assure you that your business will last longer than if you did not have those pieces in place. Fighting for jobs, clients and respect is what we do as creatives everyday, and all to often our ability to reach our goals are spoiled by some simple element which could have been resolved if we just knew where to look. But with each failed attempt, we learn what hasn’t worked and remove it from the equation. It’s the people and companies that learn to do this that one day realize they have stood the test of time.
~Originally Written for @TalentZoo
The Rain of Creative Responsibility
Hurricane Sandy has come and gone, and I am sure many people are tired of hearing about it. Even as a person who calls New York home, I, too, am just tired of reading about the devastation that has taken over my city. What is more impressive than the destruction of the storm is the way in which professionalism was upheld through this disaster.
The fact that we were hit with one of the largest hurricanes in recorded history would have been a viable excuse for so many people to just stray from their previous obligations, but that did not seem to happen in the creative world. Surely the ability to do the work was not as seamless as it usually is on a day-to-day basis, but we pressed on. The lack of Internet, electricity and cell service for designers and their contacts were sketchy at best. Yet, we still found a way to get done what we needed to.
My office has been shut down since Monday, in the midst of one of our biggest projects. Our week was supposed to include designing and posting presentations for one of our clients’ Third-Quarter Earnings Call. This project is not only a priority for us, but also to the client, who has to answer to the SEC and investors in regard to their financial filings. So even though what happened here in New York was catastrophic, investors not in this area or affected by the storm would not understand it if they could not get the information they needed. Although it took quite the production to complete this task with coordinating who had electric, who had Internet, who had email, who had access to the staging servers and who could access the live servers, the task was complete.
In between working on this presentation and checking up on friends and family, I used social media to get the majority of my news. It was through it that I learned that what we had accomplished was not an isolated professional accomplishment, but one of many. Most of the designers, copywriters, Art and Creative Directors I follow through social media have similar stories, all equally impressive in dedication and execution.
Today’s designers have taken responsibility for the clients they represent, and today’s clients have come to expect their designers to deliver on what they promise. It is through the use of technology and determination that most obstacles can be avoided for creatives. It is not always easy, and there are times that resources outside of your comfort zone may have to be used, but no matter what the climate, technological obstacles or pressure-driven deadlines arise, it is the job of a creative to always deliver on what we promise.
~ Original story written for @TalentZoo
The Importance of Pre-Kick-Off Meetings to A Small Agency Designer
There are not a lot of creatives that like to attend meetings; actually, there are not a lot of people that I know in any industry that enjoy going to meetings. But if there were one meeting I find most beneficial, it would be the pre-kick-off meeting. I know a lot of people are probably thinking, “What, a meeting before the meeting?” I know, it just seems like more killed time, but for a designer working at a smaller-sized agency, it is probably one of the most vital meetings you may have access to.
The pre-kick-off meeting is usually an organized internal potluck-style gathering. In the company I work for, all three designers, the traffic coordinator, and our president sit in on this ritual. The goal is to catch people up on what was done in previous years for the client, if they are an existing account, or to dissect a company’s branding if they are a new business. It is during this time that the creative team can start to compile a list of questions for the direct client contact, which in our case is usually our president.
Even with existing business, there is always a change in direction, and the clearer that can be made for a designer, the easier and faster the process will be. It is during this time to ask that strategic design questions be passed on, ones that may be overlooked by a non-designer. Things such as: Is there a theme the client wants to follow? Is there an existing color palette the client uses? Will the design be adapted for any other future media? Is there anything the client wants to avoid in their message? It is these creative-direction types of questions that may or may not be addressed by a non-designer who is in contact with a client, which could prove to be valuable key information in the creative process.
Sometimes, a series of creative questions can guide a client in a direction, which can be a huge asset for a designer. On the website of one of our recent clients, we came across possible theme ideas for a print project we were developing for them based on their digital content. Although this happened in the pre-kick-off meeting, it gave us the opportunity to brainstorm possible avenues to explore and helped to generate a variety of questions based on those ideas to be passed along to the client. From that meeting, we not only entered the kick-off meeting looking well-prepared, but we also were able to quickly reach a direction with a client, whom originally had none.
In the company that I am currently working for, we are lucky in the fact that our direct client representation is a creative. However, in many companies, that is not the case. By preparing your representation to best translate your needs to a client, it is a win-win situation for all involved in the process. Best of all, it usually only takes one good meeting to eliminate a series of repetitive ones, which keeps designers designing, which is where we are happiest!
~ Original story written for @TalentZoo
Creative Organizing for Success
If you are a designer, in time you will eventually, if you are lucky, amass a large amount of work that will represent your abilities. It is pretty wild to look through your portfolio even when you are not actively looking for a job, to see the progression of your career. But as an employer, it is not always easy to sort through the visual journey, which may make you a great candidate for a position. So how do you make sure you keep the attention of a hiring manager? Organization.
For years, I have had a habit of adding any design work I have been happy with to my portfolio, which currently resides on an iPad. I have a master section, which consists of all 87 pieces spanning print, digital, and animation. I also have each of my skill sets broken down into mini presentations for specific jobs I may apply for. However, when meeting with recruiters, maybe showing all of your abilities isn’t such a bad thing. The more diversity you have, the more marketable you are. But presenting to a recruiter is much different than meeting with a hiring manager for a specific position.
In a recent interview with a recruiter, I was asked to show all of my abilities to show the different areas I could potentially be placed in. At the end of the very long presentation, the obvious was stated: My portfolio needed to be broken down into sub-sections for quicker viewing. So I showed her the sections I had already developed, but then came the big request: “Can you create PDF files of each of these sections?” I understand that in doing so, any potential employers would be given a streamlined version of my portfolio based on their specific requirements, but after four hours of formatting and organization, I now have my 23-year career spanning 12 categories.
In an effort to save you time, my creative colleagues, my suggestion is if you’re already building a large collection of work that you are proud of, start organizing it now because hiring processes tend to move very fast once things get rolling. Even though you may feel your best work is web-based, if an employer looking for a print designer has to journey through your digital work to see what they are looking for, you may lose their interest.
If you have to send in your samples, send those that are specifically requested in the job description you are applying for. Let the work you show represent your abilities based on the available position. When having an actual sit-down interview, it doesn’t hurt to include your best pieces across a variety of media, so long as they are arranged in a way that gets the viewer the information they want to see first. In the end, the fate of your next gig may be reliant on both organization and speed of delivery, so stay organized to stay ahead.
~ Original story written for @TalentZoo
The Power of Music in Advertising
There are so many elements of an ad campaign that can stick in one’s head; that is the idea, after all. Coming from the design end of the field, I would like to think that visual stimulation is king. My copywriter colleagues would put up a good argument for their craft as well, but of all of the components, one of the most underrated could be the jingle.
One of the most progressive elements in traditional advertising development has been the evolution of the jingle. What was once a simplistic catchy melody has now grown into a mini soundtrack. One of my favorite commercial scores was created for Heineken. As the broadcast campaign unfolded, the music did as well, all while keeping the integrity of the spots.
I remember an instance when I was humming “Shoe Fly Pie” and one of my coworkers said, “I love that Lexus commercial!” Although I knew the song long before the spot aired, and I am sure they did too, it was interesting that the correlation of the tune was associated with an automotive company rather than the performer Dinah Shore.
Like any advertising element, though, there are pitfalls a campaign can face even on the score level. Case in point: Citibank’s chosen score “Into the Wild” sung by L.P., aka Laura Pergolizzi. The song is catchy and yes, it is a huge part of the spot, which is impressive considering the actors in the commercial really were climbing the rocks they were filmed on, but unlike the visual element, the soundtrack tends to linger a bit longer.
All in all, that shouldn’t be bad thing, right? Well, in moderation one would be correct in assuming so, but the commercial has gotten so much repetition lately that people who originally loved the spot are now growing tired of it, specifically the song. It is not that the score is bad, nor is the commercial, but music is different than other creative elements. Graphics burn into a viewer’s mind over time, and for them the more reps the better. Music makes a much quicker impact on the brain and too much repetition tends to generate a negative effect.
The Citibank spot has all the elements of a successful spot: a good compact story with a clear message easily identifying the benefits of the product, backed by a catchy tune. However, as agencies continue to develop tight movie-like commercials, they are going to have to become more aware of new challenges when addressing their markets, this time repetition being one of them.
~ Original story written for @TalentZoo
The Pros and Cons of Creative Startups
I was recently presented with the opportunity to work with a print and new media startup. I have worked in startup situations in the past, and although some may be leery to put trust in an unproven product, there are some definite advantages to working for a new business as opposed to an established company.
The thing main difference between these two working environments is habit. As a business evolves, it finds out what works and what doesn’t. In many instances, the things that work are regarded as process. Although this makes total sense because, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to stick with what works? Repetitiveness eventually becomes the repressor of creativity. It is probably why some of the world’s most established corporations have high turnover rates in their creative departments, with the exception of those employees who have started with the company.
Being a part of a startup gives you the opportunity to become a part of the development of a business, which is usually where long-term employees are found. By being able to start from the beginning of a venture, employees tend to have a pride that they can build on, as opposed to adapting to one that was already in place.
With startups, there are no pre-existing expectations. They’re a blank slate, really, one where employees could play a major part in shaping the future of their department and even the company. I have found in my experience that companies are usually started by people that have been part of an established business and decided they could make a change for the better. So usually there is a positive energy in a startup environment, which can be a refreshing change coming from a corporate environment.
But startup situations aren’t without risk. Yes, there is potential for new creative ideas, and the ability to be in that clean-slate situation with the ability to be on the ground floor of something big, but there is also the uncertainty of stability, since businesses take time to get started. Additionally, startups rarely have the funds to pay employees what they are worth right away, so there are professional sacrifices to be considered.
In the end, it all comes down to what you are looking for from a job. You can have stability, recognition, money, and creative freedom, but no job offers all of these things. Assess what you want, and focus on the things that are important to you. After all, your choice of employment is an investment in your future.
~ Original story written for @TalentZoo
‘The Job’ From the View of a Contestant
A few weeks ago, I read a tweet that said, “America used to have a show called ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ now it has ‘The Job.’” Not long after that, as “The Job” hit the airwaves, a very mixed reaction hit social media, a lot of it echoing that first tweet I saw on the project. Now, after only two episodes, the show is gone. I personally did not watch either of the first two episodes; for me it was a difficult reminder of what we would do to reach our dreams, as I was contestant No. 5 on one of the first two pilot episodes shot.
The episode I was taping for happened this time last year. My literal dream gig at the very first agency I ever visited while in college. The agency that made me want to become an advertising creative finally responded to one of my resumes that I periodically sent over 23 years. The only catch? The interview was going to be part of a game show. There was no pressure to be a part of it, but without agreeing to be involved, this opportunity would no longer be available. Being so close to my professional goal, I was willing to take any chance I had to. The agency in question is one where I want to work, so I agreed to the process.
Over the six days that the show was being produced, some of us became closer than others. All of us had a compelling story and a need for the position. We collectively chose to put our lives on hold and risk what we had for a chance at something better, but the fact of the matter is, in the end it was all just a show. It is hard to acknowledge that when you’re just trying to find a way to provide for your family and/or future. What “The Job” did was give us hope before taking it away in the most intruding way possible.
This is not me bashing or degrading the show in any way. I do believe that there was intent to do good and introduce people who would not have gotten an opportunity to meet otherwise. With thousands of resumes hitting top agencies every day, I was no longer buried: I was one of a few, and I liked my chances. However, contrary to what people may think, there is no TV magic, and not everyone can have a happy ending. For me, it was an expensive gamble. After taking the first five-day vacation in nearly 20 years, my previous employer realized they could do my job without me, and I was laid off — and for the first time, I had questioned my chosen profession and my role in it.
Of course, all of us who did not win feel that we should have, which is why we agreed to the process in the first place. Being on TV was not our objective, getting a job was, and maybe it is the desperation we represented that hit viewers too close to home. I personally do not regret taking part in the process for the position I applied for…what I fear is what my profession has become and my future place in it.
~ Original story written for @TalentZoo
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