When I was laid off less than two years after beginning what I thought would be a glamorous career in advertising on Michigan Ave., I was shocked. I cycled through every emotion — confusion, fear, regret, anger, insecurity. It was a roller coaster I hadn’t prepared for.
I’d read books by Ogilvy, knew the cool shops like Wieden + Kennedy, GSD&M and Crispin Porter + Bogusky. I admired Arnold’s Volkswagen campaigns and kept up with new pitches in AdAge. I had spent my college years like most Gen X’ers — with the belief that my hard work and dedication would pay off with an entry-level gig at a big agency, working on big-name accounts and cluttering my desk with creative awards.
It might still work out that way for some people, but it didn’t for me. And I’m glad. The economy tanked, and it sucked for many of us, and then slowly people realized they had to adapt or die. The world of advertising and design has changed drastically and will continue to change for years to come.
I recently read George Prest’s Advertising Is Dying. Long Live Design blog post, nodding my head in agreement. The executive creative director of R/GA London challenges the traditional role of advertising, stating design is at the core of the new marketing. Information design, graphic design, experience design and product design, all shape and shift the brands advertisers once shrouded in clever wordsmithing and special effects. The true essence of a product, or a service, or a person, now lays out in the open, to be poked and prodded by anyone. And the world needs those design thinkers more than ever.
Obviously technology and the social aspect of marketing are huge catalysts in the nouveau design and advertising ecosystem. I believe the most profound change (even reflecting on 2012 alone) is in the growing emphasis now placed on social enterprise, and the wonderful things that are being developed out of cross-disciplinary collaborations. Small partnerships to mega corporations are embracing the value of design for social change. Advertising was once a cool kids club that seemed secretive and esoteric to outsiders. Design has been present all along, in multiple disciplines, waiting patiently for its moment to shine. And slowly, the big thinkers and creatives are shifting their awareness to inclusion. Everyone deserves great design.
Thank God some humanity is seeping back into our industry. It’s long overdue. Ironic, though, that it took technology, machines that we invented, to make it happen. —George Prest
I’m looking forward to seeing the application of design continue to evolve. And I resolve to be ready to adapt and be part of this exciting movement. How can design change something for the better this year? To use TBWA/Chiat Day’s groundbreaking Apple ad campaign tagline, “Think Different.”
Image from Wikipedia.
PHOTO CREDIT. Feature image by mortmer via flickr.
