What Inspires You?

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London

I believe that seeking out inspiration, not just for a specific project, but as an ongoing process is necessary for all successful creative people. The things that inspire us tend to be so different, and for many, it doesn't always come from the same creative field as our own.

I collected together all of the inspiring things that I have posted on my facebook over the last year. They tend to be from industrial design, graphic design, advertising and things that just made me smile.

Check it out and get inspired: pictoral///video

Being A Creative

"The most frightening thing. . . about being what someone calls a 'creative person' is that you have absolutely no idea where any of your thoughts come from really. . ." This is a quote pulled from the trailer for the ad documentary Art & Copy which I was fortunate to have a chance to see recently.

That quote made me think about the fact that not only do you not know where your ideas come from, you can't truly be taught how to get to them because every creative has a different way of doing it. The one similar thread through most creatives though, is the need to immerse themselves in inspiration wether that be other design work, the client's research or something entirely different.

One thing that has served as a source of inspiration for me is my surrounding, my ethics and the people I'm with. And Arkansas has not fallen short in providing inspiration thus far.

Check out some of the pics I've kept while looking for inspiration in Arkansas.

The First Creative

When I told them I'm moving to Arkansas, they asked why? That was the consistent question I was asked when I told colleagues, friends and family that I had accepted the job at Rockfish Interactive as an Interactive Designer. The reason why requires some quick background.

After high school, I took a year off and worked at Target for a year before starting my college education. During that period I was constantly told by people at Target that I would become a "lifer"(one that starts a retail job after high school and never goes back for a higher education). Shortly after I started my college education, I quit my job at Target and took up a job as an Assistant Manager at Noodles & Co. When I was asked by my mother, why I did that. I told her that I didn't want to be like most americans: stuck in a job they can't stand but afraid to quit because they don't know if they could rise to the challenge again.

I took the job at Rockfish because with all the potential doubts of living in the south, living in a small town, working for a relatively unknown agency and with many people that didn't have prior experience in an ad agency setting, the thing that trumped it was the potential. With most not having prior agency experience coupled with a desire to rethink the approach to online advertising, creates a great environment to even rethink the structure of an agency in general. Working for an unknown gives me the chance to help put them on the map. And after meeting the people, seeing the space and feeling the passion and excitement that they had for their work, I knew that I had come to the right place for my first full time creative position.

Why Advertising?

Is what drives a person into a creative advertising position a failed art career, utter happenstance or something else completely?

Today during a phone interview I was asked, quite innocently, what drove me to want to be in advertising. Of the 40 or more interviews I have been on across the last two years for practice, for internships, for freelance or full-time positions, I don't think that question hit me quite the same way. I think for each person it is drastically different; but, for most it's a desire to create awesome work that is RELEVANT.

That's what drove me into Advertising. I had a business acumen that I picked up from my parents; but, was always more driven by the subjectivity and social impact of an artistic career. As a result I naturally fell in love with one of the rare career thats satisfies my love of business and creativity while pandering to my need for intense competition.

Yet all I said to them was: "When I saw this specific ad on tv it hit me oddly. I stopped what I was doing from the music, was pulled in by the visuals and was surprised at how well it delivered a message and how beautifully."

This is the ad:

Target's "Design for All"

Agency: Peterson Milla Hooks

Sticking To It

After having my site live for just under a week (coupled with an 8-hour campaign), I received an offer for freelancing, over 300 hits on my site, a threat to sue from a major agency and the same agency calling back a few hours later with interest in my work and approach. All-in-all it's been a good week.

I spent the majority of my day generating ideas for the Heimie's Haberdashery campaign, which I mentioned in an earlier post. After spending some time thinking about the specific target consumer I feel we should go after, I tried a number of different approaches in terms of the way the campaign should feel. In the process I dug up some great old pieces of reference that I researched when working on an alcohol pitch earlier in the summer. These two are excellent examples of targeting the same demographic with slightly different personalities.

42 Below Vodka's "Map of the World"
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Reason: It pulls off an extremely dry sense of humor very well. A perfect approach for an affluent single male around 21-30.

Ketel One's "Table"
Agency: Grey Group
Reason: It pulls of classy cool in a unique way. Great for the affluent single man that thinks of himself as an alpha male.

Look out for some of my process work for this campaign which I will have posted tomorrow.