Our latest exploit, as of this writing, is getting to go to VML, which is a global ad agency that has a large branch nearby.
Wall of logos, these are all of the companies that VML works with, either in the present or the past. Not shown due to bad photo quality, a lot of these are colored, I think, if they work with them a LOT. I want to say Gatorade and Wendy's are, but I can't remember the rest.
We got to meet up with a lot of higher ups in the company, like the Executive Creative Art Director, Aaron Evanson, and talk about his job at VML and how he got there, but also some of the process of how to keep clients in the loop and how to make sure they know everything is doing okay.
Here is a brief summary of the notes I took:
They have a lot of different, unique talents that pool together to accomplish the same goal of making the client happy.
The process is slightly broken, because they need to explain their creative process to the most boring people, CEOs, Clients, etc, and they need to baby step them through things, and validate why they decided to go the way they did.
I sometimes need to do this with my own teachers (of course, not the teacher who let me go to VML and is grading this...)
The different colleges/majors they have done is
Iowa State and Graphic Design. He actually first was just in it for something else, but then changed when he found out more about graphic design.
KState and Chemistry, she said she had a long story over how she got where she did.
Notre Dame and Communications
There are a lot of good schools, like Mizzou has a good GD department.
Portfolio advice is to have it be unique and unexpected, 5 to 7 pieces, and if you're doing GD, have a 360 example, like logos, brochures, website ideas, colors, bags, coffee mugs, everything a company might logo themselves onto.
Google might have USBs and T-Shirts, and their doodle logos for special holidays.
Have a STRONG PORTFOLIO with personality.
Get more knowledgeable on Flash, and take public speaking classes to help pitch ideas with clients.
