"Better Than His Book"

I've been looking at a lot of portfolios lately,* and I've heard the same phrase about five times this week. Someone has sent me a book on behalf of someone else and commented, "They're better than their book."

I don't know what to do with that. I totally trust the people passing these books on to me, but I can't help but ask why the person's book isn't as good as they supposedly are. "They're better than their book" is like saying "Our product is better than our ads make it seem."

Your book represents you. It represents the way you think. So if your book isn't as good as you are, you'd better get to work on making it better. If you're not getting the opportunities, do something on the side. Give yourself some fake assignments. You're competing with people whose books are probably better than they are. That's the reality of the situation.

If your book isn't as good as you are, then your book could be better. So why isn't it?



*We're hiring all creative levels. Drop me a line or send me your stuff if you're interested.

Words from Sally Hogshead

I came across a post today with lots of great advice from Sally Hogshead. The list originally appeared in Nancy Vonk's and Janet Kestin's Pick Me, but I'll link to the blog I found it on.

Advice from Sally:

1. There are no right answers, including these.
2. The hipster creative with tattoos and piercings rarely does the coolest ads.
3. Dominos delivers to Starbucks.
4. Smart beats clever.
5. You’ll create a better book by breaking the rules than by following them.
6. Spend more time thinking, less time executing.
7...read more

Bad Presentation Can Ruin a Great Idea

A bad presentation can ruin a great idea. This is true if you're presenting work to a client or just in the way you present your work on your website.

Don't spend weeks crafting every detail of a campaign and then slap it on your website with a poorly-written description you crapped out in 30 seconds. Your job is to present ideas. To communicate clearly. To tell compelling stories. How you present your ideas will be judged as much as the ideas themselves.

So make sure you think about how you present your idea. Is there a story behind it? Does there need to be? Should you create a video about it or do a couple simple sentences suffice?

In the words of the great ad man, Albert Einstein: "Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler."

Awesome or Awful

Check out Awesome or Awful: A Self-Critique Tool for Young Creatives. Wish I'd had this around when I was first in portfolio school.

One of the authors is Erin Eby, a super-talented art director who helps run an agency in Geneva, Switzerland. I had the pleasure of working with her when I lived there, and we collaborated on a number of projects. I kind of wish this would have been one of them.

Applefied Ads

Does the work in your book have to be great work? Yesterday, I would have said without question. Today, I'm not so sure. Because I discovered that these great Applefied ads were done by Bryan Evans, an art director intern at RPA in Santa Monica.

These are not great ads. But they are great book pieces. Why? Maybe because they're cultural commentary. Maybe because we've all had a client say, "Why can't we do work like Apple?" who really didn't mean it. Maybe because they're already being featured in some of the major industry pubs. But whatever I can almost guarantee these ads will be the difference between Bryan's book and the guy who almost got hired. (Assuming the rest of Bryan's book is as thoughtful and well-art directed as these pieces.)

I'm not saying run out and create a parody campaign. Too late. Bryan's already done that. But this is a great reminder that you need to find a smart, amazing way to set your book apart from everyone else's.

A CASE STUDY VIDEO SHOULD BE A LAST RESORT

If your campaign is clear without a case study video, please, for the love of all that is good, do not make a case study video. If you absolutely, positively, without a doubt cannot sum up your campaign in a short paragraph or a few bullet points, then and only then should you make me/us sit through a 2-minute case study video. 

P.S. It goes without saying that you will spread your campaign message through twitter and allow people to share it via social media channels. That is not a concept in itself and does not warrant a case study video. 

P.P.S. We have made this post into a handy jpg. Please feel free to blow it up, print it out and post it at your school/agency/barn. Godspeed. 

Your Dream Portfolio

I recently heard of a fantastic assignment given by Bryan Birch, an instructor over at the Academy of Art University here in San Francisco. I have a scriptwriting class that I'm teaching at Miami Ad School starting in a couple of weeks, and I plan to steal this idea and use it as the first assignment for my class.

The assignment is simple: put together a portfolio of ads you wish you had done. Not ads you have done--ads that other people have done that you absolutely love.

Bryan has his class bring in three and then asks the students to discuss them. With each student's three ads, the class talks about the similarities. "The string that turns the 'beads' into a 'necklace," Bryan says. For example, absurdity might be a common element in each of the ads. This is basically the style of ads you like to do. And there can be several strings in each group. Bryan then has the students bring in ads that they have done that fit on this string.

This gives the students a "North Star," as Bryan calls it. It helps them to recognize and articulate the kind of ads they like to do, see opportunities to work those traits more into their book and push for that in their future assignments. If you quirky, dry humor, it should be in your book. If you hate sappy stories, you shouldn't have those in your book. The point of your job search is to find you a job that you will love (and hence where you will thrive). An agency that wants you because they want you to do the kind of work you like to do--the kind of work that should be reflected in your portfolio.

For my students, I think I'm going to ask them to build a full reel--7-10 spots (or something that has a script)--and put together a Pinterest board. Pinterest is perfect for this kind of thing.

Having a dream portfolio sets a bar. Probably a pretty high one. And with every ad you do, you can look and say, "Is this good enough? Would I put this in my dream portfolio? How can I make it more like the stuff in my dream portfolio?" Wouldn't it be nice if one day, many years for now, your dream portfolio was made up entirely of your own work?

How's Your Bookkeeping?

Someone calls today. They have an opening for your dream job at your dream agency. They want you to send your book tonight. Is your book ready to send? I'm not talking about "ready" as in having all the fantastic, award-winning campaigns you plan to do in the next couple years. I mean "ready" like do you actually have something tangible to send. A link? A pdf?

Unfortunately, this scenario, where a person has to quickly put their book together, happens more frequently when there are layoffs. After the shock, denial, and anger, there's the panicked, mad scramble to call editors, art directors and whoever else might have the files you need to put your book together.

This is very easily avoided with some simple organization. After you finish a project, get the files. Get them in the format you need for your book or reel. It's not hard, but it's surprising how many people don't do this. And it should go without saying, keep a backup of your portfolio somewhere.

Aside from your portfolio pieces, I'd recommend keeping records of a few other things. Not all the work you do will go into your book, but that doesn't mean it's worthless. Here are a few things I'd keep on file or in a document:

1) Awards. Which awards, what year, for what project.

2) Productions. What have you shot and who did you shoot with? Or which developers did you work with on a website? You might want to work with them again, or recommend them to someone else in a couple years. Some people can remember all this stuff. I'm not one of them. I have a list.

3) Projects. Just keep a running list of every project you work on. It might seem excessive, but when you're 10 years into your career and your agency is working on bios for a pitch, you might need to remember that you do in fact have some soft drink experience--you did a promotional print campaign for Shasta six years ago.

4) Job titles. When you get a promotion or switch jobs, just note the month and year. Again, seems like something you would obviously be able to remember. Then all of a sudden you've been working in the industry for 12 years, have held seven different job titles at five different agencies and it's all a little mushy. It helps to know specifics when you put your resume together.