Greg Quinton promised a string of pearls for his D&AD North Lecture, which took place in Manchester. Being a Creative Partner at The Partners, and a D&AD Black Pencil winner, Greg was more than qualified to share his secrets of success and also those of The Partners, who are ranked No. 1 in just about every design ranking there is. There were 10 key points of creative success which Greg discussed:
No 1. Have a totally unattainable goal
The Partners wanted to be the best agency in the world, which is an impossible task. Despite this unattainable goal, it has given the agency a focus- something to work towards.
No 2. IDEAS
No 3. Less (strategy) is more
No 4. Don’t be cool
“Are you a styles person or an ideas person?” Design problems can truly be solved through ideas and good design, not through hollow stylistic application.
No 5. Fail
“Failure is good. celebrate and enjoy the failures”
No 6. Make a difference
No 7. Love good clients
No 8. Work damn hard
No 9. Change
Seek to constantly reinvent yourself. A designer is not an artist. A designer is a conduit to solving a problem
No 10. Create the future
Do work that makes you scared and pushes you out of your comfort zone. Work with weird people who want to make weird stuff!
http://www.vimeo.com/19532320
http://www.vimeo.com/20913247
Creatives, Research, Studios•
on March 7th, 2010•
Mike Dempsey, has worked as a graphic designer for over 40 years. He founded the design consultancy CDT in 1979 and has created everything from stamps to film title sequences and editorial design to visual identities. He is a writer, photographer, broadcaster, painter, blogger and studied acting at the Method Studio London. Mike has won ten D&AD Silvers and a Gold and was elected a member of Alliance Graphic International, was President of D&AD and past Master of The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry. He left CDT at the end of 2007 to form Studio Dempsey which he describes as “an intimate space to dream and create.”
This is what he had to say:
Recommended reading:
The Graphic Artist and His Design Problems by Josef Müller Brockmann
“I want to personally promote something which I love”. One of his passions are music and it was because of this, he did work for the London Chamber Orchestra for very little money.
Mike only works with two typefaces: Akzidenz-Grotesk and Baskerville
12 words to help you grow on your journey
1. Look. If you really look, turning off your brain, then new solutions pop-up from non-obvious solutions.
2. Read. Read the copy you’re given.
3. Ideas. Ideas endure. Styles fade.
4. History. Absorb everything. The richer your experience, the richer your work will be.
5. Passion. It’s infectious. Transmit it to your clients.
6. Curiosity.
7. No. Always push if at first your idea or proposal gets rejected.
8. Rules. Learn rules before you break them.
9. Words. Don’t just think visually. Words are just as fruitful.
10. Voice. Your voice is an instrument to not underestimate. Try to talk directly to your client and not through various business filters.
11. Ego. The industry is filled with it.
12. Rejection. Learn from it.
Recommended listening:
RDInsights
Research, Studios•
on March 7th, 2010•
After a heavily Northern influence with Monday’s talks, it was SomeOne’s turn to return things back to the capital’s heavy influence with this London-based studio who command respect, with clients such as O2, London 2012 and the Royal Opera House. Theirs was most probably the most controversial of all the talks at the conference, declaring that “Logos are dead”. I happen to agree with this statement and SomeOne’s reasons for this proclamation are listed below. What I have been unable to do, up until now, was define what logos have been replaced with. SomeOne coins it as ‘brand worlds’. No longer are logos replicated and regurgitated on every piece of corporate merchandise and stationary. A ‘brand world’ such as O2’s recognisable bubbles and colour, offer a much more immersive experience, portraying the ethos of a company in a superior manner than a singular, static image.
This is what Simon Manchipp, Gary Holt and David Law of SomeOne had to say:
Google say don’t be evil. We say don’t be boring.
The Engineers Project Triangle:
Clients will say ‘we want a D&AD winner. We need it tomorrow and we don’t have any money.’ A client can pick any two of the items in the triangle they want in their design work. They can’t have all three.
Tips
1. Upside down processes. Try to have more time with the client at the initial stages. Usually, the client filters the brief through various administrative levels, thereby diluting the ability to ascertain what is actually required.
2. Branding is a business. Know that business and do your homework which is never wasted. Know the competitors. Know what keeps the CEO up at night.
3. Be creative everywhere. Sometimes a client won’t have money until after they start up. You can still make some sort of agreement with them with a fee, equity or exchange.
SomeOne was also involved in the set up of ‘Planetary Skin‘, which can be thought of as a nervous system, covering the entire planet and providing a research and development platform for open collaboration between the public, private, academic and NGO sectors. It will collect data from space, airborne, maritime, terrestrial and people-based sensor networks and other sources of structured and unstructured data. It will model, predict, analyse and report in a standardised usable format over an open and adaptable cloud platform that is governed as a global public-good. This has practical applications such as Cisco and NASA providing live updates, showing feeds of deforestation and melting ice caps.
Logos are dead
The public hate them
The press hate them
The staff hate them
Businesses hate them
The internet hates them
‘Brand worlds‘ are more interesting.
If you face adversity in convincing your clients about this, speak to them in business terms (the language they understand), talking about the benefits of ‘brand worlds’ eg. cheaper printing costs.
Creatives, Studios•
on March 7th, 2010•
Lise Brian, Associate Director of The Chase, joined in 1988 after graduating in Graphic Design. Since then, she has worked extensively with The Co-operative Bank on a variety of projects, as well as other large clients such as Oxfam, Privilege and the launch of Smile. Her work is beautiful and we were pleased to see work from an array of clients, from her bigger projects, to smaller work done for family and friends, all of which being beautiful in idea and execution. She was also a pleasure to talk to and warm in her approach to people as well as her work.
She started her presentation by quoting from The Chase’s philosophy:
“There was once an old Indian craftsman who carved elephants from blocks of timber. When asked how he did it, he would simply reply, “I just cut away the wood that doesn’t look like an elephant”. This story was adopted by The Chase to describe how they do their work:
“First, to be absolutely clear as to what sort of animal the brand or organisation is and, equally important, what it isn’t. Second, to work to a precise brief based on the unique circumstances that create the communication problem. Third, to add the creative spark that brings the solution to life in order to meet the client’s commercial objectives. Finally, to express the concepts in a way in which every mark has a reason for being.”
We don’t put anything extraneous on the page.
Become an advocate for design by talking about it with clients and those you collaborate with- photographers, copywriters etc.
Work with people who are passionate about what they do.
1. Get a name and spell it correctly
2. Don’t attach too many folders
3. Follow up with a call
4. Be nice to the receptionist
5. Got an interview? Try not to nervous
6. Know something about where you’re going
7. Be enthusiastic
8. No jobs? Ask about placements
9. Turn up unannounced. Ask if anyone has 5 minutes free
10. Can I help?
Top 10 tips for your portfolio:
1. Don’t like it? Take it out or redo it
2. Have a good mix of work
3. Keep your folder spotless
4. Treat it like any other job
5. Mock-ups are lovely
6. Don’t put foam boards in
7. Ask ‘how much time do you have?’
8. Given advice? You don’t have to take it all to heart
9. Practice talking through your folder
10. Start and finish with your strongest work
Research, Studios•
on March 6th, 2010•
Thoughtful are a small studio, made up of founders Chris Jeffreys, James Graham and Stuart Price, who were previously Senior Creatives at The Chase. They were the first to kick off the lectures on Monday and were undoubtedly the best prepared of any 4 Designers talk which I’ve attended. Their presentation involved interviews with design greats such as Paula Scher, Michael Wolff and Adrian Shaughnessy amongst others. They are a huge inspiration to me personally. All of their immaculately considered works contain the ‘wow’ factor and their passion for their work is infectious. It was this same passion and thinking which was transferred to their impressively fresh presentation. They stayed well away from self-appraising slide shows from their own portfolio and stuck to a highly informative talk, collecting materials and wisdom from a multiplicity of sources.
Two of the trio, Stuart and Chris, were able to come give the presentation. James made a comedy appearance via a live Skype call, which brought the house down. They kicked off their time by sharing their inspirations:
Stuart’s Inspirations
The Mill logo
Daniel Eatock’s Alarm Dance
‘Free Kick’ by David Beckham
Orange Peel- it is one of the greatest pieces of packaging!
David LaChapelle
Mike Milligan
Spike Jonze
Stanley Kubrick- he has the ability of directing work being the best of every genre
United Visual Artists
Droga 5- they make you think
Chris’ Inspirations
Apple logo
Apple computers
Oasis – their sheer self-believe and sometimes arrogance
Hamster shredder
Split keyring
Bic cutlery
Money box hammer
Rice baby
Interview with Patrick Baglee
“It’s better to be interested than interesting”
“You cannot not communicate”. Everything you do describes your work. The way you describe your ideas, the way you sit, all of this will communicate something about you to your employer.
Interview with Paula Scher
“Respect and admire the work of your entry level job… it is a place where you can really learn something. If you don’t then it’s real a waste of time.”
“Money is irrelevant very early. “
“Find a place to work that will offer you the broadest learning experience so that you can grow.”
“Be around people you can learn from.”
“Don’t assume that everything you do this point will affect the rest of your life. You can make mistakes.”
Only work with the best- even if it means you don’t get paid.
Interview with Greg Quinton
“Persistence is the thing that a lot of people don’t think of as a skill that they need to have, but as a graduate you’ve got to put yourself in the place of the people you’re talking to because they’re busy. What’s going to keep you in their mind? How are you going to keep in touch with them so that they will remember you? Because no matter how good you are, they will forget you unless you are persistent. You’ve got to earn it.”
You must earn the right to do great work. With the example Thoughtful used to pitch for Howies, they informed Howies via email that they would send them an idea every day for 365 days to get a job. Eventually they did.
Interview with Jonathan Baldwin
“Design and education is about making connections from one thing to another.”
“British Universities are the best in the world. Take an interest in everything. Go to talks and lectures. Talk to students in other departments. Never ask ‘what does this have to do with design?’ Ask how could design be involved in this?”
Interview with Michael Wolff
“Meet, collaborate and learn from people. I’m looking for people who I can learn from. I’m attracted to people who have a massive inquisitiveness.”
Interview with Adrian Shaugnessy
“Just be open-minded. Be prepared to learn. The day you graduate is the day you start all over again.”
“I’m more interested in the designer sitting in front of me than their work.”
Interview with James Corazzo
“Don’t give up. Design is a broad church and there will be a niche somewhere. If you don’t give up you will get a job in the creative industry.”
“Never never never give up” – Churchill
Interview with Michael Johnson
“I’m looking for ideas, followed by more ideas, followed by great ideas hot on their heels”
“Be prepared to do placements and internships. Have a good .pdf under 5 MB and a click-through website”
Always remember to say thank you.
Resource, Studios•
on October 9th, 2009•
Smashing Magazine has provided a wonderful one-stop resource for designers searching for professional typefaces. In fact we’re spoiled for choice with 80 of the best family fonts to pick from. Here is my current favourite by Joshua Darden referred to as ‘Untitled‘ which is available for sale under the title ‘Jubilat‘ from the Darden Studio.
Luke Williamson, joint Creative Director at
WCRS will be speaking on 21 May 2009 at the Manchester Metropolitan University as part of
D&AD’s President’s Lectures series. They’ve created some of my favorite spots being ‘Effortless’ for Brylcreem, the Orange Cinema campaigns and the awareness test for transport for London.
With their huge clients and witty approach, this should be a lecture worth visiting! Consider my tickets booked!
Andrew Shoben of Greyworld was probably the most entertaining of all the speakers. He even performed a magic trick on stage! He claims he may be the only Professor of Public
Studios•
on March 10th, 2009•
Guidelines to (not) write like a designer. I find good authors such as Adrian Shaughnessy to follow these rules intrinsically without the fill of pomp found in most design writing. These rules should be applied to all forms of writing, design or otherwise:
Source: Core 77
Studios•
on March 10th, 2009•
This is another manifesto by Umair Haque. Although not a creative, his ‘four pillars of smart growth sets out how businesses can thrive through the current recession. Creativity is a key part to survival which is seen as superfluous in business, so it is useful that a businessman, such as Haque, is fighting our case.
