Big day today. Big big day. We started by walking through the famous Nottinghill towards Pentagram where we met with Debbie Taffler. This woman could have sold me my left leg she was just that good. Some quick facts:
-Pentagram was founded in 1972
-An organization based on ‘design’
-People know they are being advertised at but they don’t really understand or realize when they are being designed at. Why do they make the choices they do?
-Partner led, with each partner having one team working under them in a very collaborative atmosphere.
-Idea based
-75% of their business has to do with Brand Identity; Citibank, Saks Fifth Avenue, One & Only Resorts
-They have done packaging for Espa, Tiffany & Co., Callaway Golf.
-Product Design for Dell Computer, Nike, Krug (not making better branding, making a better ice bucket) Bloomberg signage, Pierson airport in Toronto (moving large groups of people) very successful.
-Architecture- Alexander McQueen fashion stores, Muzak, EAT.
Everything they showed us at Pentagram blew me away. I was in awe of the branding they did for EAT. and very inspired to do a project similar to that on my own. I also like how the work we see at places like Pentagram has such a presence in everyday life, I feel more connected to the brand that way. I asked Debbie how they approach a brand when there is a ton of literature that already exists for the brand. She told me that changing the literature for a brand has it’s place if it has to be done, otherwise they aren’t going to make more work than they need to.
We asked them advice on what to put in our portfolios, and they told us:
-3 Flushed out projects, problem solved along the way
-Outside of your portfolio shouldn’t be too much of a design statement if that’s not how you are.
-They want to see three wonderful things from you that show your passion and YOU.
THEY WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU THINK.
I think Pentagram is one of the coolest places on earth.
(All the photos are of Pentagram and the one of the doorknob that looks like a face is just one of a series they had on their wall of different things that look like faces)
At Saatchi & Saatchi we met with Creative Director Kate Stanners who told us advertising was the “best job in the world” and that you have to be curious; you can’t get stuck. Saatchi works on ads for Toyota, Lexus and Doc Martins to name a few. There was actually a Doc Martins ad featuring dead rock stars wearing the shoes in heaven that caused a lot of controversy not long before we visited Saatchi, but Kate told us that although handling the backlash can be tough it actually can give the brand more attention. It was also really great to see Kate as a successful creative director as well as a wife and mother. It’s just not that often that women can be all three and I hate saying that but it’s true, so seeing women like her is always inspiring.
Her tips for portfolios:
-Make every page exciting
-Listen to people’s comments
-Have thoughtful ideas
-Show progression of ideas; HOW DO YOU THINK? (Wow, 2x in one day…maybe they are trying to tell us something?)
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