My Simplicity Guide

Believe In The Product

2009-03-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

John Lennon & Yoko Ono believed the future is made in your mind. They had a product they believed in and came up with my favourite poster of all time to advertise it.

Create A Good Working Enviroment

2008-09-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

Your surroundings will effect the way you work and vise-versa. Most stuff that goes in draws gets forgotten about so if you find something inspiring stick it on the wall.

Be sure to update it every month or two. Follow this link to This Ain't No Disco for some inspiration.

Becoming a Novelist

2008-06-26T12:51:00.000-07:00

Your first novel is going to be crap. Once you accept this you can set about becoming a novelist. You may want to spend some time thinking about your plot, a lot of potentially brilliant writers will spend an entire lifetime doing this and will die with their egos intact.

Set yourself a time limit, a good novel could take a long time to write. But this isn’t going to be a good novel, it’s going to be your first novel. Aim to write about 2000 words a day and you’ll be done in a month.

Tell all your friends you are doing it, brag like crazy, make a bet as an extra incentive. Your going to look pretty stupid if you don’t do it now.

Drink lots of coffee.

Finish your novel.

Here is mine.

It’s about an evangelical christian who preaches in a prison. He uses his influence to monopolise violence in an attempt to create his own micro Utopia. It's complete crap, I haven’t even read it yet. But now I know what to expect, I feel I could write a much better one.

On Getting Shafted

2008-06-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

Learn from it. Move on.

John Maeda

2008-04-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Not many people could write a book on the rules of simplicity
and get away with it. This man is a genuinely a mega brain.

Michael Shafron 11 (non rules) of art direction

2008-03-10T12:22:00.000-07:00

No.1 - There is no such thing as art direction. There is only communication.

No.2 - It’s more difficult being wrong than write. Anyone could improve your ad so listen.

No.3 - Different isn’t better. Better is better.

No.4 - Tell me something and I’ll forget. Show me something and I’ll remember. Involve me and I will understand.

No.5 - Simplicity is everything.

No.6 - You have five seconds to get noticed. Nobody cares about your ad.

No.7 - Find the truth and tell it. Dig deep enough and you will find the truth.

No.8 - It’s the thought that counts.

No.9 - The ideal word count is 0, for press, posters and yes radio.

No.10 - Trust your intuition.

No.11 - Make the rest of them up yourself.

Get behind the brand.

2008-03-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Becoming a beliver is 90% of the battle.

Amil Gargano

Some useful advise

2008-03-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

If your advertising goes unnoticed , everything else is academic.

Bill Bernbach.

Good art direction should be a window rather than a beautifully painted or papered wall.

David Christense.

Obstacles can be a blessing in disguise.

Dave Dye.

Soak up everything; Take long walks. Always do anything once. Surround yourself with interesting people. Frighten yourself. Never be afraid of failure. If you know what you are doing you can’t be doing anything original. Never, never, never give up.

Graham Fink

Learn to draw
Learn typography & layout
Look
Listen
Love photography
Love words
Go the way you go
Be stubborn
Be sensitive
Be right

Fergus Fleming

Ask Yourself; Why Should Someone Love These Ads?

2007-10-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

Look for other ways in.
Could you use copy?
Look for other points of view.

Other Things To Avoid

2007-10-07T06:56:00.001-07:00

Worthy Advertising.
Mixed Metaphores.
Generic.

Brand Image

2007-10-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

Think about the status of the brand i.e. could another brand do the same thing?

What To Avoid

2007-10-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

Negative
Grotuitouse
Literal
Boring Visuals
Borrowed Interest

Experiment

2007-10-07T06:40:00.001-07:00

Do silly and serious ads, see which is best.

See your ads as an opportunity to show off your skills.

When You Need To Refocus

2007-10-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Write six one off ads for T.V. programes.

When Things Are Going Crap

2007-10-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

* Do something in whatever you do to make yourself stand out.
* Bring your own personality to the table.
* Answer the brief and don't be scared to do more even if people don't like it.
* Don't take yourself too seriously.
* Remember people don't stop to look at ads. You have to be the punter, put yourself in his shoes.
* Look objectively at your work. Show your work to everyone inside and outside the industry.
* You will never have a finished portfolio, it will always be evolving.
* Don't look for the holy grail.
* Always keep one eye on your portfolio - you may need to change agencies to fill it with the kind of work you want.

( This was the first piece of advise we were given at Watford )