Couldn't every brand benefit from great design and a solid identity?

I've been back and forth on the answer to this question. We all know of at least one small business, be it a local gas station or family diner, that still employs the use of hand-written starburst signs to let you know about a "SALE!!!" Anyone who knows me knows that I'm very... shall we say, particular. I can't stand handwritten or makeshift signage, it makes me shudder just to think about. I like structure, I deeply value great design and solid identities - especially from small businesses. I also understand that I'm not the norm.

I know that people who can't necessarily identify key aspects of good design still respond positively to it, whether they realize why or not. But, on that same note, does that mean they respond negatively to bad design? Does the average soccer mom walk away from a business that uses Curlz? Not necessarily.

Here's what I think. It's not about the business, per se, it's about the goals. Does the business want to grow? Attract a larger audience? Span a larger market? If yes, then it would be a wise move for them to adopt stronger design practices. They will notice larger growth with a well designed brand presence. If all of their marketing pieces, signage, stationery, etc., have the same feel [and are therefore identifiable] across the board — consumers will associate that brand with stability and security and in turn the brand will be more trusted.

However, the mom 'n pop diner down the road is loved and endeared for their handwritten signage, daily chalkboard menu, and overall kitschy feel. That IS their identity, and it is done with intention. In such a case, altering that perception would change their audience and could hurt the business. There's nothing worse that taking what your customer knows and loves and ripping it out from under them.

As much as it pains me to admit, there are some companies who are just fine without the help of a graphic designer, marketing guru, or even professionally printed and matching stationery. So long as they don't have the desire to grow.

Paving Your Path

When I was still in school, everyone said that it was really tough to get a job in advertising. Some people warned me that I may not get a job for months, maybe even a year! I smiled, nodded, and pushed it out of my mind. I just always assumed that because I was working so hard and had a passion for what I was doing, naturally I would find something when I finished school.

Well, I've been done since June, and I haven't found my fancy ad job, yet. Instead, I shopped my book around, got great feedback, but every where I went wasn't hiring. This wasn't the plan! I thought I knew where my road was going, but instead I just kept finding detours. 

So, I kept working. I kept concepting with people [which is an adjustment after being in school, where are all the CW's?!], I redesigned my identity/logo, I took on a freelancing opportunity (whoa - huge learning experience!); I kept busy. But through all of this, I was still so hung up on where I thought I was going to be. It wasn't until recently (and a big thanks to Kristen for contributing to my a-ha!) I realized you cannot let where you thought you would be prevent you from getting to where you want to be. 

Sometimes, we make up our minds about how our lives will play out based on how it works for others:

"I'll goto ad school, I'll make awesome stuff, I'll get a job at such and such agency."

What I'm realizing now is that you have to pave your own path to get to where you want to be:

"I went to ad school, I learned a ton. Now, I need to learn more."

It may not be the same path you thought you would take, and the people around you may tell you it's wrong, or they won't understand. You have to trust your gut and do what works FOR YOU. The only person you should worry about letting down along the way is yourself.

Once you know your destination [goal], how you get there is up to you. Just keep moving.

P.S. Super excited for The Show tomorrow! See you there?

Interviews!@#

If you were to approach me at a coffee shop and ask me what I do, I would be completely capable of telling you in a very articulate fashion that I am an Art Director/Designer looking for a job in the advertising field. 

I would tell you that I have real life experience designing identity systems, brochures, email newsletters, etc. I would tell you that also I have strong conceptual skills, and I feel that while I consider myself to be both an art director and a designer, I don't feel that being both has caused me to be weaker in either field. 

In fact, I could tell you a lot of things about me that would probably even make me a desirable person to hire! However, for some reason the second I am in an official sit down serious interview, my words get jumbled. I turn into a rambling idiot, I get nervous. In fact, the more I want the position, the more nervous I get. Not because I am unsure of myself or my capabilities, but I want so badly to share everything I need to in that short amount of time that I end up overwhelming myself. Is it possible to want something TOO much? 

I've been to a fair amount of interviews in the past 6 months, both informational and otherwise. Some have gone really well, some I've walked out of wanting to smack myself in the head and the only thing even my internal voice can muster up is "WTF?" 

How do you effectively tell someone in 45 minutes everything about who you are and why you'd kick ass at that position? How do you say "I work hard, I mean REALLY HARD. I have a serious case of passion for what I do" and have them believe it? How do you create a window that they can see into and understand that you are worth the chance, despite that accidental 90 second long rambling session you just finished only to realize half way through it, you forgot the point of your story? 

You can read a thousand articles on how to interview. Some will say to "be yourself" and some will come up with a formula of how to become the perfectly trained interview robot. I'm not for sure what the best technique is to mastering an interview. I will say, the most important part in all of this, for me, is to never give up. I am determined to keep working hard, and proving every day that I am talented, creative, driven, and smart... and quite articulate about 90% of the time. The other 10%? Let's just call that "endearing."

Onward and upward!

Emotions in Advertising

I've written before about the need to create relationships between brands and consumers, and how important it is to consider your target before concepting. I stand by that, however, what is the overall basic goal of an ad? What does every relationship in human nature rely on?

I believe the ultimate goal of advertising is to stir emotion. Any successful ad requires a basic human response: laughter, sadness, awe, fear, joy. It's pretty simple. It's not even all that amazing or insightful for me to write about it. So, why am I writing? 

Some of the most obvious things about advertising are things you will never be told in ad school. Sure, a lot of us can recognize these things to be true, but how often in a concepting session do you stop and think, "How is this going to make someone feel," or "how do we want this to make someone feel?"

When I was in school, there was so much pressure to get to the end product, and have a happy shiny ad campaign, that sometimes we'd forget about the big picture. That is when I had to remind myself: We're in a human to human business, and the second we neglect to connect with human beings at their core is the same second we lose touch with the consumer.

So, what do you say we talk about our emotions? You first.

P.S. It feels good to be back to Mondays! 

I made it!

So, I've been home from San Francisco for exactly one week. Overall, it was a great trip. I'm glad that I lived there in the past, so I never truly got "lost." I did, however, have a few spastic moments [walking through the Broadway tunnel, and trying to find a cab in the Financial District during lunch hour]. 

I met with awesome people and got really honest and straight feedback on my portfolio. I realize that just because I'm done with school, I'm not done working on my book. I'm glad that I have now brought my book to 3 different advertising markets, and I'm in a position now to take all considerations into my future work. 

A few take-aways from San Francisco:

• Focus less on class-type assignments and more on smart solutions/strategies
• Go beyond the art director role [meaning, do more than just art direct. Film, program, research, photograph, write, make.]
• Anticipate questions about how your concept would work in real life, and have answers. 
• Be open to different ways of finding a job. Not everyone is going to get out of ad school and get a fancy job at the fancy agency they've had their eye set on. Consider freelancing, find mentors, participate in networking events, and find a unique way to sell yourself.

All in all, I left San Francisco feeling motivated, excited, and realistic about my path to finding a job. I also realized I could really use a copywriter to work with. *hint, hint* 

Photos: courtesy of my totally rad, but not iPhone, phone. 

Ah, Russian Hill! You wouldn't be the same without Swenson's.

Here's me with my BFF in SF, Holmes the heater. It was a tiny bit rough adjusting from 90º in MPLS to 55º in SF, not that I'm complaining.

I love the wharf for a lot of reasons, but hoards of tourists is not one of them. Thank goodness for the "secret" spot.

New Cities

I'm in San Francisco this week, and I have to say-it's a whole different world job searching in a foreign city. Back in Minneapolis, I have a whole network of people. I have people who have seen my progress in the past 2 years. They know I work hard, and they know I am passionate about what I do. In Minneapolis, I have friends and cohorts who help me with all kinds of things. They give me advice, share contacts, and gives me heads up on upcoming opportunities. 

In San Francisco, I know 3 people and none of them are in advertising. It's much harder to contact an agency where you have no ties and your name means nothing to them. Sometimes people respond, and sometimes they don't. 

For the most part, while we may be competitive in advertising, we are all still willing to take the time to help each other out. I am so thankful that my network in Minneapolis has helped me make contacts in SF. I'm also thankful that there are people in the industry who take the time to respond to a fresh out of school art director. 

I'm not, however, as thankful for the 1 hour cap on free internet at the coffee shop here which gives me no choice but to log off.

P.S. I feel guilty for breaking my Monday posting pattern. This week has been way too crazy. Please forgive me?

Trust Your Taste: How Design Is A Lot Like Cooking

I was making dinner last week, not the kind that goes in the microwave, and I got to thinking: design and cooking are strangely similar. In the beginning, you follow the rules set before you. You take the advice of those more experienced as gospel, and you fear straying from the "recipe" will ruin the entire outcome.

Once you get more comfortable and aware of what you are doing, you learn to trust your instinct. You realize that everyone has different taste, and regardless of what you make, there will always be someone who loves it and someone who hates it. The only thing that really matters, though, is that you're proud of it and the person you're making it for loves it.

After all, anyone can follow a recipe. It takes time, experience, and a little faith in yourself to work off the page, follow intuition, and trust your taste.

Learning to relax.

I know I'm not the only person in the world, or even in Minnesota, to keep a blog about advertising. I know that the things I say may not be news to you. In my very first post, at the end, you may have noticed a simple disclaimer:

Everything I know is stolen. Everything I say has been said before. My best advice is advice that was given to me, and it was given by some truly amazing people.

This still, 27 weeks later, remains true. I have so much more to learn about advertising, art direction, and life. On the other hand, I've learned an amazing amount in the past 2 years. That is why I started this blog. 

I've written about lessons I've learned, and more often than not, lessons I'm in the middle of learning. This week I learned how important it is to give yourself a break. It's only been a week, but I feel refreshed and excited to create again.

Things I did this week:

• Went swimming in the middle of the lake.
• Mowed the lawn, which included running into several trees.
• Started to read a book that's NOT about advertising.
• Went to a yoga class, almost fell over, and remembered what "relaxed" feels like.

They all seem like normal, every day things, but they are simple things I haven't done in a very long time. It was awesome. The hardest thing to learn is to allow yourself to relax and partake in activities outside of advertising without feeling guilty. 

This week I'm focusing on finding some agencies to visit in San Francisco [suggestions welcome,] and redesigning my identity system. Here we go!

So long, ad school.

This is my last week of ad school. After this week, I'm wild and free, or at least spastic and unemployed [pretty much the same thing.] This is the most excited and nervous I've been in a very long time. 

I was explaining to someone earlier this week that I feel as though I just ran a marathon, and now I have one more mile to go. While small in regard to the grand scheme of things, it feels insurmountable right now. Even though I'm [almost] done with ad school, my portfolio is not complete. There's still more work to be done, there always will be. I have spent hours sitting in front of this computer, trying to create something and all that remains is this glowing white screen. Is this what they call "burnt out?" Crap.

Stop judging me. We've all been there. Sometimes there are little tricks I have to snap out of it, and usually I can push through. In fact, that's what I've been trying to do. That's what I planned to keep trying to do but everyone keeps telling me to just "take a break." As uneasy as I am with it, that's what I'm going to do. I'll get back at things in a few days. We'll see how it goes. 

Here's to going with the flow and taking time to breathe, and of course jumping back in better than ever. 

P.S. I didn't make an ad this week, but I did make this inspirational kitten poster. 

What I Want

Remember back when that book The Secret was a best seller and everyone thought it was legendary and rad? I'm going to test that theory of putting what I want out into the universe to see if it will increase the chances of them happening. 

I want to be happy and creative. I want to make awesome stuff. I want to inspire others. I also want a job.

I want to show people that I can think conceptually and design beautifully, without having one of those things fall short. I want my work to go beyond the common interpretation of "advertising." I want to redefine art direction. I want to reinvent advertising.

I want to work with people who share my passion, and are eager to work together and come up with amazing things. I want to work with people who remain humble despite their success and talent.  I want to work at an agency that oozes creativity, and feels like a community in addition to a workplace. 

Lastly, I want to always remember that there is life outside of advertising. 

Come on, universe.