WHIP – Junior - Celebrating life at the bottom

Apr 12, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 69

You may say you’re not afraid to fail, but are you really? It’s a question that deserves some deep thinking. Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/)‘s got the perfect thought starter in a man who embraced it more than most…

One of my heroes died last week. Malcolm McLaren (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Malcolm_McLaren).

As a young person looking to live a life of creativity you can learn a lot from Malcolm.

He was an innovator. An instigator. A trouble maker. And a man of intense passion and belief.

These are traits shared by many (if not all) truly great creative people.

In a revealing interview with Andrew Denton, McLaren spoke about how it was better to strive and fail than to not have tried at all.

He learnt at art school that failure was something to be embraced not avoided. Interestingly “embrace failure” is the motto of Weiden & Kennedy (http://www NULL.wk NULL.com/).

And Weiden & Kennedy’s greatest contribution to our culture is, of course, ‘just do it’. Surely just another way of saying dare to fail.

Click here (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=CYktxyQeZlI) to watch Andrew Denton’s interview with Malcolm McLaren.

Tags: FAILURE, PUNK ROCK, WHIP

Mar 29, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 68

Sometimes it’s hard being a junior… But then you realise it’s waaaay easier than paying for a mortgage and trying desperately to keep your job, so you chill out and find a way to make it awesome. Sound like a good philosophy? Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) has an anecdote or two to help spread the good word.

In last week’s Whip I wrote about people failing to turn up for appointments. Why did I do this? Because people who make an appointment to see me and don’t turn up shit me. End of story.

However I should tell you that there is another side to this story. And it dates back several years.

As a young shitkicker I booked an appointment to see a Creative Director with my folio. I had to take time off from my day job to make this appointment, so you can imagine how disappointed I was when I turned up to find that the CD wasn’t even in the building.

His assistant apologised and made me a new time to see him.

Yet again I had to take an afternoon off work to make the appointment. Yet again the CD wasn’t there when I turned up. The third time this happened I decided the CD was obviously a dickhead and gave up trying to see him.

The lesson I learnt from this string of disappointments is one I still follow to this day. It’s a lesson you can learn from too;

Be nice to people as you scale the career ladder because chances are you’ll meet them again when you’re on the way down.

Tags: WHIP

Mar 22, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 67

When was the last meeting you organised with someone in your industry? Did you go ahead with it or chicken out? You’d be surprised how often the latter happens to Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/)…

When you make an appointment with someone to show them your work be sure to ask them for a number to contact them just in case something comes up.

The day before your appointment, I’d recommend you give the person a call to confirm your appointment.

After you have done both of the above, my advice is to actually turn up for the appointment. Yes, turn up.

I know it sounds like an obvious thing to say, but in the last month I’ve had a couple of people make appointments to show me their folio and fail to turn up.

Suffice to say if they ring me again I will not be making time in my seriously busy schedule for them.

I’m not telling you how to suck eggs kids, but you need to realise looking at junior folios is pretty low on the priority list for most senior people. So if they offer to make room in their schedule for you, don’t waste the opportunity.

Tags: FOLIO, JOB HUNTING, WHIP

Mar 15, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 66

A lot can happen in an instant. You could change someone’s mind, or make them happy, or impressed, charm their pants off, make them smile, or just feel good. But don’t confuse them, because Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) knows what he’s on about, and that won’t get you a job now will it?

For this week’s Whip I must tip my hat to Simon Veksner (http://scampblog NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) of BBH in London, whose headline I stole and whose wisdom inspired this piece.

When you sit down in front of someone to show them your folio you are at the mercy of their finger.

Believe it or not, a finger can flick through folio pages faster than the brain can think.

So you need to ensure your ideas are so simple and so clearly laid out that the person looking at them gets them before their finger goes to turn the page.

If your folio is messy. If your layouts are cluttered. If your headlines are not legible. Then your work is not instantly gettable.

And unless your work can be gotten in an instant, you will never beat the finger.

Tags: FOLIO, JOB HUNTING, WHIP

Mar 08, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 65

Sometimes, we can’t help but think Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) is talking about us. Actually we’re pretty darn sure he is talking about us. If we were to give you an excuse, it’d be a good one. Something like our dog ate our interviewee. Seriously kids, take heed of Stan’s advice — excuses are lame. And people who do what they say they’ll do, like Stan, have blood worth bottling.

I had a flashback to my brief time teaching at RMIT this week.

Tasked with the opportunity to contribute to something amazing, a young creative came to a review session empty handed.

Their excuse?

Too busy, apparently.

Pay attention kids, for this may be the most important piece of career advice you ever get. And it’s free!

Don’t ever, and I do mean ever, say you were too busy when you have been given something to do.

Make time. I don’t know how. Nor do I care for that matter. But if you want to get a job, or keep your job if you have one, then you need to go out of your way to impress.

And nothing impresses like a decent work ethic.

Mar 01, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 64

When you don’t know any better, it’s easy to think your folio should look and feel a certain way. But, as Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) will have you know, conventional wisdom is hardly ever that interesting.

Accepted wisdom is that an advertising folio should consist of loosely drawn black and white concepts. A design folio however is generally finished to quite a high standard.

What the design and advertising folio have in common is that they are generally paper based.

What I want to know is why?

Two young guys who worked for me in London back in 2000 showed me their folio on a laptop. That was ten years ago!

Now I’m not for one minute suggesting you go and scan all your scribbles and put them on a computer. But I am asking you to question the way you are putting together and presenting your ideas.

Those two guys from ten years ago are no longer working together, but they have both gone on to become creative directors. Not because they put their folio on a laptop, but because they dared to be different.

This week I had someone show me a selection of their work on an iPhone. Yes an iPhone! Obviously not the best medium for print and posters, but terrific for TV and video work.

And as you can imagine it took me completely by surprise when the guy whipped his phone out of his pocket!

So how about this month, rather than focussing on making your folio better, you focus on the folio itself. Who knows what you might come up with.

Tags: FOLIO

Feb 22, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 63

Listen to people like Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/), work hard, don’t whinge, don’t whine, do more than expected, surprise, build trust, make friends, know your place, and show some respect.

There are many things that contribute towards a successful career as a creative person. One of them is ego.

As the Skyhooks (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Skyhooks) sang all those years ago, ego is not a dirty word (http://www NULL.youtube NULL.com/watch?v=Xpm9xwb5VnY). It is however something that needs to be managed.

So even though you might think you’re more talented than many of the people who have jobs, it doesn’t entitle you to go slagging them off on blogs or Twitter.

And just because someone doesn’t love your folio, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t send them a thank-you card for looking at your work.

Why is all this sort of stuff important?

It just is. Ok.

Because the people you meet as you climb the career ladder are often the same people you will meet as you descend that ladder.

So be nice. Show respect. And one day in the future, when you need to ask a favour, you’ll have no shortage of people willing to help you.

Tags: RESPECT, WHIP

Feb 15, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 62

So you’ve started adding digital work to your folio, but dammit, there’s only so many iPhone apps and ‘find the product’ maze games you can come up with. Don’t worry, we’re all still figuring out this thing too. Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) suggests you start thinking about the possibilities beyond the obvious.

Got any digital work in your folio? Of course you do, it’s 2010. But before you take a moment to pat yourself on the back for having a banner or two in your book, consider this:

Digital work dates fast. Really fast. So make sure you keep up to speed with the possibilities.

Think video not animation. Think engagement not clicks. Think sharing not watching.

Anything is possible with digital. And if it isn’t it soon will be.

You also need to think digital not computer. Because before we know it almost everyone with be using mobile internet.

To get a glimpse of what I’m talking about take a look at this video and then put aside some time to think about the possibilities it offers you as a creative.

Also posted in ADVERTISING | Tags: DIGITAL, FOLIO, WHIP

Feb 08, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 61

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.

Also posted in ADVERTISING, DESIGN | Tags: FOLIO, WHIP

Feb 01, 10

The Monday Morning WHIP // 60

Seriously. Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com/) 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!

Tags: BRIEF, FOLIO, WHIP

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