Well, my official title is Senior Art Director. Semi-official title is Señor Art Director. Honorary Title is General Bon Vivant.

Bon Vivant? It means a person who enjoys the finer points in life, like Gerard Depardieu. But you probably mean “What does ‘Senior Art Director’ mean?” It means that when we promise it’s gonna be awesome, I’m responsible for the “looking awesome” bits.

That’s oversimplifying. Let me try to complicate: I try to think up the most radical way we can execute a project, working with Tech and Strategy to come up with a diabolical plan for an awesome experience.

I went to one of the most elite universities in the country, Arizona State, to learn and hone my craft. I got my degree in Industrial Design, which is the design of physical objects smaller than a house. After a while, I decided that I’d rather make digital things, as they’re faster to produce and hardly ever end in accidental deaths.

I was a client of TBG’s for the radical Release1.net site (sadly offline), and then a freelance illustrator/designer for a while, and then I moved to New York and our office here was growing (from 12 to 15, ha!), so they picked up my contract.

That’s only half the story. The other half involves burlesque shows, eyeliner and a now-destroyed goth club in Cambridge, Mass., but I’d better not get into it.

I have a lot of sidekicks – more sidekicks than Enter the Dragon! Each project is like a slightly different Voltron. Sometimes I’m the black lion, sometimes I’m the blue. Getting to work with lots of different Barbarians is part of the fun.

That said, Nora Snyderman is like my little buddy here. She’s Lemon to my Jack, if you will – always coming to me to discuss whatever wacky problem she’s found herself in.

Projects are like children – each one is precious and unique, and I love them equally. Also, like children, I’m eager for them to grow up and move out so I can have my life back.

Oh, the money.

I mean the people. The people. Forget the part about the money.

Listen, at the end of the day, we’re not curing cancer here. We’re not paving roads, and we’re not mining coal. We’re thinking up awesome things, and getting to make them, and it’s win-win. We’re putting pants on candy. Any minor crisis, like that time we ran out of peanut-butter filled pretzels, is easily put into perspective when you think like that.

Wait, wait, I want to change my answer: Legal. The Legal Dept. of any Client. Because they say “no,” because they are paid to say “no.” They’re like reverse prostitutes.

Oh, I can’t answer that. But the second blog I check first is This Isn’t Happiness.

You mean, besides love? I’m a sucker for JJJJound.

1973 for Rock. 1994 for Rap. End of discussion.

My cat, Saux. He is a furry man, who wears furry furry pants. I also just watched a documentary about a dude who has 2 wolverines as pets. Add that to my list of things to get when I live somewhere a little less crowded. Wolverines on the subway are a bad mix – they go nuts for McDonalds.

10cc.

I’m a Senior Producer!

This means I try to make the project process as smooth as possible for my team members to ensure a successful end product. I help gather assets, coordinate resources, and generally try to keep things tidy and efficient. This also means cracking the whip once in a while to make sure we stay on time and on budget.

I help put together project scopes, contracts, budgets, and schedules. You know, all the really fun stuff. I also work with the Account Service team to manage client expectations and help foster a happy relationship.

How’d you become a producer?

Years ago when I interned at TBG, I took a trip from Boston to NY to visit my family. Rick decided to drive down with me and we had a conversation about what I wanted to do after I graduated college. Knowing that I wanted to stay in advertising, I told him I knew I didn’t want to be a creative, since clearly that was not my strong suit, but rather someone who can help the creatives and developers bring their ideas to life. All the while, conversing with the client to make sure they were getting what they wanted. Unknowingly, I was basically reciting a producer’s job description. Rick told me to look for job openings that had “Producer” in the title. Ha.

Well, after graduation, I reminded Rick of the conversation we had during that fateful road trip down to NY. Heh. They had recently hired TBG’s first Director of Production, Jennifer Iwanicki. At the pace we were growing, they decided that they needed an assistant producer. I happened to be available! The rest is history.

Like Doug said, our teams change every project, so you get to work with everyone. Barbarians know I love them all equally, but I will say this: Kim Miller is amazing and you should see her crazy paintings and eat her cakes.

Also, since she’s started, I don’t think I’ve gone a day without harassing Jen Jonsson, our Executive Director of Production. Yeah, she’s my boss. And I may look like a huge teacher’s pet, but ask any Barbarian who they would call if they were stuck in a blizzard with nothing but a fork and a snowshoe and needed a plan to get to their aunt’s house 20 miles away. Jen. They would call Jen because even with a broken back, Jen will make a plan for you and you will get there on time.

Also, Arrested Development is based on her family. Come ON.

There’s so many! Virgin America’s Name Our Plane, Dove’s Waking Up Hannah, the crazy butterflies Robert and Chandler built, HBO’s Imagine, Esquire’s Augmented Reality Issue, The GE Show. I even love that we worked on a site where you can print out a mask of Robert Goulet’s Face (Emerald Nuts, Goulet’ed).

Launching something never gets old. We’ve done it so many times at this point, but watching your team’s hard work become a reality is still super gratifying.

Last minute surprises are par for the course. We get it. It happens. Totally fine- you address it and move on. But when you’re told there’s actually a huge media buy running a week before the agreed launch date, well then, that’s pretty annoying. I mean, you probably have known that for a while, right? We want to help you! We want you to be successful! But in order for us to walk with you down that path, you gotta give us some time to plan for it. Pretty please!

Oh, and the carpet in our office is depressing.

Jezebel/Gawker/Facebook

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiARsQSlzDc

GETS ME EVERY TIME.

I love Jock Jams Volume 1.

This is such a weird question.

Bowie. Peter and the Wolf!

I’m a senior developer.

It means I help build all the magical things that Barbarian conceptualizes, whether it’s a web site for a client, web site for a joke, an iPhone app or some other technical shiny thing.

I like making things people use. If I wasn’t doing this I’d be carving wood or sewing buttons on sock puppets or something. Plus I’m not a very good designer.

I was a freelance developer for a few years and TBG was a client. I enjoyed working with TBG and was keenly aware of not having health insurance when I was riding my bike. So when Rick suggested (or I asked, can’t recall) that I come on board full time I was all for it. I’ve been marinating in the TBG stew ever since.

Every project features a different team so it’s somewhat rare to have a continuing partner during any single adventure. Plus it’s not nice to choose favorites.

I can’t think of just one. I’ll probably peek at Twitter and maybe open up my feed reader for a bit. I’m currently enjoying Reeder. It looks nice and works well and beats the pants off Google Reader.

Can’t say. There’s so much STUFF out there. Every day seems like I’m looking at the best thing in the world or a true sign of the end times.

Frank Marquardt, our director of Content Strategy, shares tips for successful Social Media Content Strategy on Mashable this week!

Dimensional typography breaks out of the convention in which type is traditionally viewed, as a flat piece of communication. It has managed to extend the boundaries of print media and its capabilities through evocative, tactile configurations within the realms of dimensional typography. The following case studies push letterforms into the physical realm with unique and thought provoking experiments with the use of unconventional materials.

Above: Yulia Brodskaya, Created for The Guardian’s G2 Supplement.

Above: Yulia Brodskaya, Created for Cadbury’s advertisement.

Russian born Yulia Brodskaya, studied Visual Communication at the University of Hertfordshire in England, earning her MA in 2006. Brodskaya’s inspiring intersection of illustration and typography, culminate in intricate paper graphic creations that are hand-crafted masterpieces. With Brodskaya’s expert knowledge of typefaces and extensive understanding of material, she is able to create handmade graphics that are executed with utter perfection. These illustrative, typographic arrangements are a feast for the eyes, with its selection of bold colored paper and whimsical essence. It is arguable that as a typographic piece of communication, it captivates its audience and delivers it’s message successfully and perhaps more memorably.


Above: Collaborative effort by Jekyll and Hyde, Elena Bonanomi, Elio e le Storie Tese Tour, cd, posters and merchandising.

Unconventionality captivates an audience’s attention and that is definitely what is happening here with the collaborative effort by Jekyll and Hyde with Elena Bonanomi. Using food as the medium for this delicious typographic effort, letters were carefully carved out of potatoes and later fried. The imagery was used for the marketing campaign for the Elio e le Storie Teste CD release. The notion of creating edible typography is unique in itself, traditionally typography is digital and has the capability of longevity. Whereas when using food as the medium; the original structure will inevitably cease to exist. Therefore it is arguable that two-dimensionality helps preserve work.


Above: Oak Thitayarak, UPS advertising campaign.


Designer Oak Thitayarak created a digital rendition of the letters UPS, translating them into boxes. Even though this was not physically built by hand its 3D form solidifies the concept behind this campaign, which is to connect UPS with the type of service, it offers its customers.

Dimensional typography opens up a forum for interesting discussion. So naturally I must ask, through the rendering of typographic structures does it bring the audience closer to the message that it is meant to communicate? Does the designer constructing the piece gain a greater understanding of letterforms and their nuances? How has the perspective of viewing changed, when the audience still consumes the piece through a two-dimensional lens? Is there a difference in understanding the communicated message in seeing typography personified?

What’s your role at TBG?

I’m a senior art director.

Uh, cool, what does that mean?

It means I’m getting old. But it also means that I spend a lot of time on both generating ideas and turning them into (hopefully) awesome creative executions. I love what I do because it never gets stale—I get to wear a lot of different hats. I’ll serve as the creative lead on a pitch for a while, then switch gears to designer mode, then switch again to developer mode when some Flash work needs to be done. Rinse and repeat.

How’d you become a designer?

I always wanted to find a way to do art professionally. My university had just launched a Digital Media Design program which I found to be the perfect mix of computer science, art, and communications. Doing some great internships after that really sealed the deal and made me realize that interactive design was my jam.

How’d you arrive at TBG? (and no, we’re not talking transport)

Through the incestuousness of the Boston design scene. Some good people over at Circle.com mentioned that they were hiring when I arrived in Boston, so I decided to give it a go.

Who’s your main sidekick when it comes to getting the job done?

Tough question! So many fellow Barbarians have gone above and beyond the call of duty to help me out on more occasions than I can remember right now. But if I have to name names, I think Suyin Sleeman gets crowned as my favorite sidekick of the moment. She’s a brand new Barbarian, but she hit the ground running, helping me get the creative for SKYY Vodka to a really great place with her amazing copywriting kung fu. I couldn’t have done it without her.

Most exciting project you’ve worked on here?

SKYY Vodka has been quite the journey. Can’t talk about it too much because it’s still in the works, but it’s exciting because we’re helping a brand define itself online with some interesting new technologies. Stay tuned for launch in a couple months!

Best thing about your job?

The flexible hours.

Not-so-best thing about your job?

Carpal tunnel syndrome.

First blog you check every morning:

Hmm, I don’t really have any regulars. It’s really whatever comes my way through friends via Facebook, Email, or IM.

All time fave thing you’ve ever found on the internet?

engrish.com (because Asians attempting English are hilarious)

Which decade produced the best music?

The 90’s, but only based on my karaoke repertoire.

What’s the last furry thing you touched?

That creepy meowing animatronic cat in our office.

Bowie or Blondie?

Can I say both? Singing a duet.

I get excited about finding patterns in seemingly chaotic ecosystems. The patterns usually seem obvious once identified, but that’s only because they’re based on truth. My excitement comes from the hope that if I can find the pattern, I can tap into its power, or even move ahead of the curve.

Ray Ozzie, Soon-to-be-retired Chief Architect at Microsoft, published an internal memo identifying a pattern based on where the tech world is headed. His POV is on the world moving towards two categories of digital innovation: continuous services and connected devices.

Continuous services are “cloud-based agents” that bring together data to find insights and act on those implications based on our actions. Connected devices can take on many forms (i.e. mobile, embeddable sensors, etc.), and are used for “a broad variety of communications, creation & consumption tasks.”

Not new thoughts, but it really is a wonderfully clear viewpoint on digital. The power of APIs for instance is where today’s continuous services focus is. The next big thing for connected devices might be making your mobile phone a wallet for not just e-commerce but also brick-and-mortar purchases.

So how can brands tap into this trend?

Understand the data that’s available through online platforms your audience is using. What user data can be pulled together that’s relevant to your brand experience? What content are consumers interested in that can enrich your digital platform?

Identify what utility your brand promise offers. What about your brand can make the world more useful for your audiences?

Explore how your services and devices can interact. Microsoft Surface is one example about how continuous services and connected devices interact for a holistic experience.

The possibilities not just within each category but the intersection within each category is where brands should explore to find their next big thing.

Grant McCracken wrote a piece last week about shifts in businesses defining their categories. Whereas before, companies defined themselves by the products and services they sold, the winners in today’s commerce landscape are changing their core.

“To survive in a really dynamic marketplace, we have to be prepared to reinvent ourselves very substantially. That might be the only path to survival. So the corporation can no longer say, ‘we’re in this business.’ The best it can hope for is, ‘we’re in business.’”

Basically, he’s talking about changing the scope to redefine success for you and your brand. Instead of defining a brand by the product, today’s leaders define themselves by the purpose of which they are serving. Take Method for example. Are they the leader in the soap, bath and shower products category? Nope. That would be Softsoap (according to Mintel, 2009).

But they don’t make soap, bath and shower products. Their business is defined by their belief of conscious, crafted solutions against dirt. That’s what makes them thought leaders (which can be just as important if not more important than sales).

Brands need to evolve into more than just what their business category confines them to. They are living, breathing entities that can and should take a stand for a greater purpose.