ADVERTISING
The Short & The Long Of It: Focus On Brand Building In A Post-Digital World
In this opinion piece, innovation expert Dan Machen explains why marketers and agencies should start to work on their short game to drive longer-term brand value.
Libby Brockhoff: Never give up on the power of good
The Theory and Practice of Selling the Aga Cooker
THE PERFECT AGA SALESMAN COMBINES THE TENACITY OF THE BULLDOG WITH THE MANNERS OF THE SPANIEL.
The Centre For Common Fucking Sense In Marketing
Advertising and marketing is filled with lots and lots of very smart, talented people, people who have good instincts and common sense. So why is it then that the bullshit-talkers and the purveyors of nonsense are in the ascendancy?
The answer is simple. The bullshitters have the charts.
DESIGN
Irony Doesn’t Scale
Last week my co-founder Rich Ziade wrote about what he’s learned and experienced over the last two years of running our product studio, Postlight. Which made me wonder: What have I learned working alongside him?
Design for a Vision
We’ve all been there—reacting to micro feedback, responding to a VP request, making small tweaks for small gains. They all add up progressing your product / site / experience but it always detracts from holistically crafting a strategy, a north star, a vision.
A Practical Guide to Dreaming Up a Big, Audacious Vision for Your Company
Six steps to creatively disrupt your team and company.
The Making of the McSweeney’s Generation
The beloved publisher, responsible for churning out literary favorites like The Believer, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and, of course, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, began as a humble project of designer and writer Dave Eggers in 1998. It was supposed to be a place where good writing (at least, according to Eggers’ taste) was published, and a place where Eggers could retain creative control over how it was published.
The Truth About Design Titles
Research suggests we made up 90% of today’s design job titles within the past five years. Most likely a new design title was announced just this minute somewhere in Silicon Valley and we don’t even know it yet.
CREATIVITY
MAKING ROOM FOR SILENCE, SOLITUDE AND TRANQUILITY
In this article, Emily Gosling looks why creatives need time to switch off, and how making the time to escape into a space of tranquility greatly aids productivity and the creative process
How Creativity is Measured—And Why It’s So Difficult
It’s an open-ended question that doesn’t have a right answer. That’s why Marjorie Taylor, a psychologist and professor emerita at the University of Oregon, uses it to measure the creativity of children. The creativity of kids’ responses—which range from “pants would have holes in them” to “people would hold tails instead of hands”—are evaluated by adults, and those results in turn fuel research.
ETC
Bonnie’s rules for being a better client
- White space is your friend
- No, you can’t watch us work
- Be open to things you didn’t imagine
- Be confident, not arrogant
- Nothing takes a second
- Don’t be rude
- Tell me the problem, not the solution
- Decide who will decide
- Have clarity of purpose
BECOME A THOUGHT LEADER: INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS AND MINDSHARE
Chances are, if you’re reading this entry, you’re interested in learning how to become a thought leader, or what the term even means. Countless articles have been written dissecting the term and assigning it new meanings. In the end, it can get a little confusing. Why does being a thought leader matter in today’s fast-paced marketplace and why should one pursue it?
13 Ancient Insults That Should be Brought Back Immediately
No one likes a scobberlotcher at the office.