“For all of the thrills that must come with growing a large business, I have to say that small ones are closest to my heart. Typically I find the people within them closer to the action, and that’s almost always more fun than being around middle managers who seem more interested in office hockey pools. […]
A battle of the advertising industry since the beginning of time, overpraising and under-delivering still goes on today.
After all, most agencies are competing for business- they feel a need to promise great things to seem more valuable than their competition and sometimes those promises get a little over the top.
A recent discussion in this AdAge article got us thinking, though. Someone commented that it’s unfair to show work in your portfolio done by employees who no longer work there.
We respectfully disagree, at least from a small studio standpoint.
This article by the ever-audience-dividing 37Signals needs addressing.
Every year or so we think about publishing prices for our projects. Every year we don’t. Many times our new clients fit exactly in the same launchpad as the previous occupant. We’re not formulaic, but there are similarities.
There’s a tendency, the longer we’re in business to just propose costs based on our previous averages. Every time we start to feel these blinders start to crowd our eyes we do our best to take them off and see the wide world again.
If you’ve flipped on the T.V. in the past couple days, you can’t help but know the Winter Olympics are happening in Vancouver.
Luge competitors use their muscles to command each turn of the course- no matter how subtle the movement- and rigidity is key. Skiers must maintain perfect parallel lines, not to mention move their bodies with impeccable precision when jumping- becoming one with their skis. Snowboarders seem to defy gravity as they fly, round impossible turns and stop flawlessly- all while keeping their bodies in line with their boards.
Maybe the most fascinating of all is the figure skating competition- pairs, to be exact. The point of the event is for two people to move as one- in perfect unison. They are judged on the lines their bodies form, the strength of a hold, the stickiness of a landing, the synchronization of a quadruple axel. Whether he’s lifting her high above his head, or swinging her low against the ice, her body exudes grace and… yes, perfectly straight limbs.
You drew very detailed sketches of your family in the backyard when you were three, discovered photoshop, learned about ascender and descender characters, and cross strokes when you were in high school. You were hooked up with a spot on the yearbook committee, and worked some magic with layout. Soon, you were flipping through a course catalog trying to decide your college major. That’s when you saw it. Graphic Design. Could it be? The thing you’d always considered your hobby was actually a legit career option?
Four years later, you’ve graduated college, developed a portfolio of impressive (albeit beginner) projects, finished up your first internship, and are getting ready to spread your wings at an agency downtown…
Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how it happened to you… but for a lot of people, initial career choices don’t live up to expectations.