A few months ago I got the opportunity to attend an event at CUNY Brooklyn College called AdVersity featuring guest speaker Creative Director/Writer Kash Sree, with work to the likes of Nike(A lot of Nike), Nintendo, Vaseline, De Beers, Purell, Visene, Kleenex, Neosporin. A couple TV Spots that he was Creative Director for you may be familiar with is Nike – Tiger Woods Hackey Sack, Nike “Tag”, and Nintendo “School’s Out”… the list goes on. I knew a little about him and didn't know how much impact his talk would have. He came in with a Brooklyn sweatshirt and jeans and had a serious look on his face. Once I heard his british accent and funny demeanor, I was instantly engaged in what he was saying. His speech was clever, insightful, and really altered my perspective on advertising and the whole industry in general.
One of the first things he said was 98% of advertising out there these days are pollution, and there is no creative drive behind it. The advertisements are simply saying "Do This" instead of enriching culture and encouraging thinking outside of the box. He explained that you must learn these in the box rules of advertising. Why you ask? So you can easily break them.
Another great piece of advice that he mentioned was he recommends when working with clients you have to be unreasonable with their requests, but make it seem reasonable. My interpretation of what he's saying is that if you are not putting your own spin on designs, then you are not doing your job. If you fall into that category, then you are not developing the project through ideas and creativity, you are simply complying with the clients idea(s) and doing nothing to expand outside of that comfort zone. Designing for a client is a collaboration so of course you should still comply with customers requests, but do it in your own way that you beleive in it and feel passionate about the work. A little extra brainstorming goes a long way to make projects stand out. You also must focus on building your own portfolio, or companies portfolio while helping the client. As far as interna and external collaboration go on your companies portfolio; In the design industry, from the designer's perspective, you should look for someone who criticizes your portfolio, and gives you constructive ideas on improving it, not someone who praises it. In Kash's words, "If you want someone to give you compliments, call you're mom"
Finally, one of the most valuable things I would like to share, is that you truly have to find yourself in this industry as a creative. As Kash said, you have to experience culture to be able to shape culture and defend it. Once you have found yourself, you will see it in your work, and other people will see it and appreciate it as well.
Kash is also a highly involved member of The One Club, the organizers at the event. The One Club exists to push and promote excellence in advertising and design in all its forms. It is the world's foremost non-profit organization devoted to elevating creative work in the industry. It seeks to celebrate the legacy of creative advertising and to use that legacy to inspire future generations. The One Club is the 'keeper of the flame' for advertising creatives. The One Show remains the pinnacle of achievement by providing a showcase of the world’s best work, and by inviting collaboration among individuals that are actively developing outstanding work.
The One Club exists to educate and inspire students of the business, and benefit the next generation through scholarships, portfolio reviews and annual student exhibitions and competitions.
Please check out Kash Sree's website at http://www.kash-sree.com and The One Club website at http://www.oneclub.org
"it's not about digital. it's not about traditional. it's about ideas, storytelling and connecting with people." - Kash Sree
