The Vomit Approach

 As Deb so wonderfully put it, currently, we are in the vomit stage.  

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

In the UO ad. program, a huge emphasis is the creative process – the whole “the journey is just as (if not more) important than the destination mentality.”  LOVE IT.

Enter “The Vomit Approach”

Before there is a good idea, there must be 2.7 million bad, tasteless, ugly, disgusting, unimpressive, how-did-you-even-think-of-something-so-ridiculously-stupid ideas.  So, we take The Vomit Approach.  Get everything out of our systems, push it aside, throw it out, lock it up and get to the good stuff.

Here’s my portfolio class reviewing each other’s mind vomit:

WK London came to play

Sam Brookes and Lucy Collier from Wieden + Kennedy London paid us a visit in Portland today!  A few UO ad. kids and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the afternoon learning from and collaborating with these two amazing thought leaders.  As always, great strategic thinking and great working coming from WK London.  Keep your eyes open for great things from UO ad kids this year as well…

5 single most important things I learned during my New York trip

Every person, agency, experience, award show, museum, conversation, etc. I experienced this past week in New York CIty offered such a vast amount of insight as I found myself consistantly and furiously jotting down ideas, quotataions, thoughts, websites, etc. After I have had the chance to re-evaluate and contemplate what I wrote down, I have compiled a list of the five most important things I have learned during my New York experince:

  • What an awesome advertising program U of O has:

Throughout the week, I saw quite a bit of pieces that had minimal creative thought process behind the work. At U of O we spend so much time discussing how in this day and age, advertising is more than just selling a product/service and more about the development of brand identity, personality and culture.

  • Networking is huge – fitting in but sticking out is key:

Don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t get involved when it’s unnecessary, understand that advertising is a small world (a.k.a. don’t burn your bridges) and observe frequently – sometimes it’s better to watch and observe that to say anything.

  • Work for an agency not because it has a famous name, but because it produces work you believe in:

Keep your goals in mind, but don’t rule out opportunities because they aren’t exactly what you are looking for.

  • Finding a happy medium between work and play: Dedicating time into producing beautiful work is vital; however, dedicating time to experiencing life, being an interesting person and developing relationships is just as, if not more important than your work itself
  • Rules are meant to be broken, there’s always a way to get where you want to be and as my high school choir teacher always said: “If you’re going to compete, compete to win:

I’ve learned that if you want something badly enough, there is a way to get it. After hearing the various stories of individuals in the industry, I have learned that there are at least five ways around every obstacle. With determination, motivation, creativity, and persistence, I now know that anything is possible.