“Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Polonius, via Shakespeare
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Feb 08, 10
The Monday Morning WHIP // 62
If you wanna be a success in this game, sometimes you need to do things you might not want to. But, as Stan will tell you, it’ll make you better than anyone else hawking their folio about. And it’ll be impossible not to get a job.
Ever shown your folio to someone and they’ve made comment about having seen one of your ideas before?
No? Lucky you!
For most of us though (including me) having an idea that has been done before is an occupational hazard.
So if someone tells you they’ve seen one of your ideas before, ditch it.
Yes ditch it.
Don’t sit there fretting about how long it took you or the fact that it’s one of your favourite pieces of work.
Just ditch it.
And as you crumple it up and toss it into the bin take a moment to sit back and smile.
Why?
Because you’ve come up with an idea that was considered good enough to run. Possibly even good enough to have won an award.
The only problem being that somebody else had the idea before you.
Now all you need to do is sit down with your pad and pen and come up with a new idea that’s just as good, that nobody has seen before.
Feb 05, 10
Juniorversity // 04
Dieter Rams, simply put, has created some of the most beautiful objects of the 20th Century. But their beauty was never the point–it was an afterthought. The modernist maxim, ‘less is more’, was Rams’ key principle, applying it to all his most famous designs made at Braun since becoming Chief of Design in 1961. Jonathon Ive, the Senior Vice President of Design at Apple, also the designer of the iMac, iPod, and iBook, is known for his obsession with Rams’ work, evident across Apple’s entire product range. Rams, like so many other greats, was a man of principle. He outlines every single one (there are ten) in the second video below, using the best German accent you’ve heard since that crazy Hitler video.
Feb 02, 10
Stuart’s Bookshelf // 02
Stuart’s Bookshelf: A monthly column dedicated to the finer publications influencing the work of Melbourne design practitioner, Stuart Geddes.
So I thought it best to get this off my chest early in the piece. This edition of Stuart’s Bookshelf is about the shame of having books sitting on your shelf that you haven’t read. Well, really it’s about me having books on my shelf that I haven’t read. I just hope I’m not alone. But here’s my promise – in the next edition I’ll include one of these again, and I’ll have read it.
- – - -
Letter to Robin Kinross
Andy de Fiets
This one is the most pathetic. Look at it, it’s a pamphlet–it’s 24 pages long! And it’s still just sitting there in its plastic sleeve. But the worst bit is, the whole idea is so close to my heart. Robin Kinross is one of my publishing heroes too, and Andy de Fiets has done the opposite of my silent professional crush, he’s written Robin a letter, asking for and (boldly) giving advice. Maybe I don’t yet want to know how it went.
- – - -
The Badder Meinhoff Affair
Erin Cosgrove
I have a couple of artifacts like this. It’s a novel, but it’s also an artwork. As in, it comes from the world of contemporary art, not contemporary literature, and I think that’s why I keep stalling. I love the idea in an art context, but I have too much respect for writers to completely buy into it. I think about what appalling writers designers generally are, and I just hope it’s not going to be the same. Also there’s a spelling mistake on the first page.
- – - -
Eating Animals
Jonathan Safran Foer
This one I just chickened out on. I love Jonathan Safran Foer. The handsome, talented, younger-than-me and thrice published Jonathan Safran Foer. I’m even in the rare camp that believes that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a finer book than Everything is Illuminated. I saw this in the bookstore and just immediately bought it. Didn’t even read the back. Then someone told me that it’s an Incredibly Convincing and Persuasive Argument for Vegetarianism. Which I respect. I’m just not sure I’m up for that right now. And I know the power Jonathan has over me.
- – - -
Anthony Froshaug: Typography & texts / Documents of a life
Robin Kinross (Editor)
It’s a bad day for my love of Robin Kinross. But to be honest, I’ve dipped into this one, and I’m very glad I own it. Unlike Andy de Fiets’s letter, this one isn’t about my shyness in the face of one of my heroes. Froshaug was clearly a big influence on Kinross, and this time it’s about allowing space to fully appreciate his work. This set of books was an epic undertaking, an exhaustive account of Froshaug’s life and work. Since I bought it, I haven’t had a long enough holiday to dedicate to reading it.
- – - -
Book design of graphic designers in Japan
Mikado Koyanagi
This one I have more of a straightforward excuse for. I can’t read Japanese. Normally I hate design books that give you no context, that are 99 and a half percent pictures. But the content of this little book is just so painfully beautiful that I couldn’t bring myself to not buy it. It collects Japanese book design work from the 50s to the 70s, from the most famous designers of the day. And, well, if I haven’t sold it for you, have a look over here for some internal shots.
Feb 01, 10
The Monday Morning WHIP // 61
Seriously. Stan couldn’t make it much simpler than this.
When you see an ad on the television does it have subtitles running across the bottom of the screen explaining what the brief for the ad was?
No, of course not.
Ever seen a poster on the highway with a copy of the brief attached to it?
No, didn’t think so.
So why oh why do so many juniors have creative briefs in their folios?
If your ad needs a copy of the brief alongside it in order to help someone understand it, then the ad is a failure.
In the real world ads have to do all the talking.
So please apply some rigour to your folio and ditch any briefs, labels explaining the ideas, and all those sticky notes with the proposition scribbled them. And do it now!
Jan 29, 10
Juniorversity // 03
Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the greatest thinkers to ever live. He was a man of ideals and passion, he held a vision of how the world ought to be, and he continuously strove to make it a reality through his work. The greatest and most enduring of all his ideals was to make the architecture of buildings as organic as the ground they sat on. He called it Organic Architecture, which had many modernist similarities to the other major architectural movement of the early 20th Century, The International Style, yet differentiated itself by retaining it’s connection to the natural world. This philosophy is best described through his greatest works: Taliesin, Fallingwater, and The Guggenheim Museum, New York–all enduring works of incredible power. But if you take only one idea from Wright, make it his idea of what an education should be. As you’ll hear in the second video below, the most important lessons in our short and insignificant lives are often the ones we are enlightened to, not conditioned to think.
Jan 27, 10
Dear Junior Series // 05
Dear Junior: an attempt to ask industry leaders the pressing questions that us, the quarrelous and unfriendly youth of today, are interested to find answers to. In our fifth installment, we’re talking Women in Advertising. Rather than write an intro ourselves full of the male bravado you’ve come to know and love, we hired an intern to do the job for us. Here’s Crystal with her very best intro.
Chaka Khan once sang, “I’m a woman in a man’s world”. She was chanting about the wonderful world of showbiz but it’s fair to say the wonderful world of advertising is only the far less glamorous sister. It’s a sausage-fest no matter where you go! And being part of that can be fairly difficult when you’re sausageless. As if the industry’s not tough enough. That’s why we asked our good ol’ female buddy, Mel Peters, digital creative director at Lowe Sydney, to give us her best advice on being a lady in a man’s world.
And girls, or boys for that matter, if you want to pick her brain some more, reach her at mel.peters@loweworldwide.com. No spammy spam please.
Junior: Do you personally find it tough to be a woman in this industry?
Mel: No I love it! It’s all about standing out with great ideas and that’s something I’m passionate about. A lot of people have been comfortable with male creatives because that’s what they’re used too. However, good ideas will always cut through no matter who you are.
Jr: Has there been a particular incident where you know your gender has worked against you? What about for you?
M: It’s how you look at things. For example, working on car accounts, I was the only female creative on the team. In this situation I always added a valuable and different perspective to briefs. I was able to approach the brand with really powerful insights that led to award winning creative. Taking the car ‘beyond the metal’ was a big part of creating innovative campaigns that engaged and empowered their audience. Female creatives can do amazing work on even the most ‘blokiest’ of briefs. There really is no boundary to what you can work on.
Jr: Why do you think it’s more difficult for women?
M: I think there has been a limited number of role-models and Senior Female Creatives in the industry and for young female creatives on the rise, this can be daunting. I’ve worked with strong female Creatives like Fiona Davidson and Paula Keamy who are both fantastic role-models. It is important to find these role models and seek advice along the way. Women have a great opportunity to lead in senior creative roles today and I see more and more talented young women choosing ‘creative’ as a positive career path.
Jr: Is there any other advice you have for women in or wanting to get into the industry?
M: Understanding your audience is key, and women are the primary purchase decision-maker for many brands in Australia. Female buying power hasn’t fully been tapped into in Australia, and there is a great opportunity for female creatives to lead this. Women are also powerful communicators, and as we continue to move into the digital world with influence marketing and social networking changing our traditional communication habits, women in the industry will bring great insight and creative ideas to the table. Ultimately though, it’s all about great thinking and powerful ideas.
And just cause she can, here’s Mel’s tips to success:
01- Believe in your ideas. Gain confidence in your thinking by exploring your ideas thoroughly before you talk to others around you.
02- Present, present, present your work. This is so important. Grab as many opportunities as you can to showcase your ideas yourself and get in front of clients, as often as you can.
03- Look for female mentors, if not in your agency, outside it. Some may have blogs or twitter feeds that will give you insight and spur you on. You can follow me here.
04- Hit the streets and do your own market research. Get to know your audience inside and out and become an expert in the briefs you get. If your agency celebrates big ideas based on powerful insights, you will shine.
05- Don’t be afraid to think of yourself as a brand and sell yourself. Getting your voice and point of view out there is a great place to start. I see many juniors who have put their folio online and started a blog. It’s a great way to make sure you are heard and noticed.
06- Have fun and enjoy what you do. If you love it, everyone will know.
Jan 26, 10
Juniorversity Lecture // 02
“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations.” – Paul Rand
Jan 25, 10
The Monday Morning WHIP // 60
Looking for a job can be a real drag, man. Heck, even thinking about looking for a job takes a lot of effort sometimes. And we should know–we’re slack just like the rest of you bananas. But you don’t have to make it that hard for yourselves, jeeeeeez. Listen to Stan and give yourself a chance.
Imagine you’ve heard about a job opportunity at an agency in town. You ring up, put on your best telephone voice, and snare yourself a chance to come in and show your folio.
What next?
Well from what I’ve seen of late, you probably wait until about an hour before your appointment, dig your dog-eared folio out of the cupboard and then head off to show it.
And you wonder why you don’t have a job?
Firstly, your folio needs to look as good as it possibly can. So think about which work goes where, how it’s positioned, etc.
Next, make sure you and your folio have a point of difference. Yes that’s right, a point of difference.
Something to help you stand out. Something to remember you by. Something that says this kid’s a little different to all the other young folio carrying wannabes.
I can’t tell you what that point of difference should be. Only you can determine that. But to get one, you need to think of yourself as a product, then put together a brief to create your personal brand.
And like all strong brands, you will have a clear point of difference. Because if you don’t, you’ll probably end up gathering dust on a shelf somewhere.
Jan 22, 10
Juniorversity // 02
George Lois was probably the most powerful adman in late 20th-Century New York. His idea of advertising was big, simple, to the point, and always made you do something. He created Lean Cuisine out of nothing, made MTV into a global behemoth, turned Tommy Hilfiger into a household name overnight, and made the most famous Esquire magazine covers of all time. But the very best thing about George Lois was his way of seeing the world–a trait evident in the video below, which can be credited to a childhood spent in the Bronx during the 1930s. Every communicator who wants to affect change has a lot to learn from George Lois, whether or not his motivations were slightly askew. Do not let your education stop here.
