In the beginning, there was pulp. We took this excess fiber from the communications industry and made it into something. This is what our logo looked like in 2004 when the site launched and for many years thereafter. Thank you, Shawn Hartley. In 2017, I hired a designer in Portland who had recently graduated from the University of Michigan to make a new logo for the site. I wanted a different look and …
I’ll Take ‘Creative Wizardry’ for $800, Alex
Diminish a once-powerful industry and lose all respect inside and outside the agency. What is influencer marketing? What is programmatic? What is artificial intelligence? There is a virulent strain of stupid on the loose in the business world today. The disease leads those infected to strip the soul of creativity from the marketing communications industry. Whether it's a content marketing disciple …
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What Is Great Writing, And Where Do Great Design Ideas Come From?
Writing and design—these are the core skills that propel the communications industry forward. Without excellence in writing and design, we would have no great books, films, or architecture, and our advertising would be a complete waste of time and money. Thankfully, there's a universe of talented writers and designers and many are willing to work in corporate communications. In May, One Club put together a video …
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The Hard Reset Begets The Big Shrinkage
In 2020 and 2021, agencies will shed 52,000 jobs, according to Jay Pattisall, an analyst with Forrester. Half the jobs will not return, he predicts. Forrester also predicts that advertising spending in the United States would decline by 25 percent this year and would not recover until 2023. Is this a solid read? No one has a crystal ball, just loads of data, and anecdotal evidence. As teams shrink in size, the …
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McDonald’s/UK Stacks Nouns In Sandwich Formation (And It Works)
These outdoor ads are great. For one, they're legible from a car, train, bus or on foot. Also, the ads do not mention the product name or company name. There's no logo to make bigger. By taking an intelligent minimalist approach, there's room in the campaign for the customer to "do the math." Created by Leo Burnett London, in collaboration with renowned typographer David Schwen, the creative features …
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These New Holiday Ornaments from Colle McVoy Are Not Like Other Ornaments
Colle McVoy is a masterful designer of holiday cards. Every year the Minneapolis agency sends me something new and every year I marvel at the idea and the elegant execution of the idea. This year a small package arrived. Inside the package, I found four beautiful holiday-themed coasters that also act as ornaments for the Christmas tree. On the back of each ornament is a story about the featured animal and a …
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Did You Know That Bon Appétit Has 4.61M Subscribers on YouTube?
People love food-focused programming. Yet, many food brands rely on TV to carry their messages, which is an expensive way to build an audience of buyers. San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B, one of the nation's largest family-owned businesses with 350 stores throughout Texas and northeast Mexico run lots of TV commercials but only has 32K subscribers on YouTube. SUBWAY Restaurants is on TV every day, but the …
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Learning To Use the Software You Need on the Job Is High-Value Education
Students need a break today, and not at McDonald's. The financial burdens that come with tuition, textbooks, room and board, laptops and mobile phones, clothes, etc. can be overwhelming. Plus, there's all the coursework, reading, writing, and attending class to do, on top of family and work obligations. Making sure you have all the software you need is yet another pressure. For those studying design or entering a …
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