Preferred Position: The "Creative"

Of the six areas covered in the textbook, I feel that the 'creative' department calls my name the loudest. Not only was my original incentive in becoming an ad major to find my calling as an AD or a CW, but the more I learn about the job, the more I want it. To be able to spend my time coming up with ideas, browsing bookstores, sketching, and bouncing thoughts off another person sounds like a dream come true.

Creativity is my passion. I am always thinking of ridiculous concepts, for example, look for a future blog post of mine about inanimate devices being affected by the same external factors as human beings. My imagination is my stronghold, and the opportunity to share that seems peerless.

As we have gone through a series of creative advertisements this semester, I have found myself continuously inspired. I’ll catch myself looking at an ad and going “oh, that’s clever”, then trying to think of how I would have changed it, or what ideas I would have about the product. Occasionally I’ll even find myself getting slightly jealous, in an “I wish I thought of that” way. Other times, I'll see an ad and think I could communicate the benefits of the product better than the advertisement did.

If these positions are all I think they are, then I may never have to "work" a day in my life.

Resume Revised

Clay Zamperini
5555 Greenville
Dallas, TX 75206
(800) 555-4244

Objective
To be hired as an Art Director at TBWA \ Chiat \ Day

Education
Southern Methodist University – Dallas, Current Student
Advertising Major, Photography / Cinema Minor
Major GPA: 4.0, Overall GPA: 4.0
Honor Roll with Highest Distinction, Spring 2008

Experience
Assistant, Drake Morton & Associates, 2003 – Present

• Assisted in the launching of Emerald, the companies flagship email marketing program

• Assisted with photography and production for Mother’s Car Polish campaign starting in 2005, which helped increase sales by 33%
  

• Wrote and designed emails for an email marketing campaign for Riviera Finance which went out to over 5000 SEMA members

Public Relations Chair, SMU Program Council, 2008 - Present

• Placed ads for Program Council sponsored events in the Daily Campus school newspaper, as well as in various public areas of view

• Worked with Advertising Chair to create a revamped Program Council website

Activities / Interests
Beta Upsilon Chi, Member, 2008 – Present
KPNI SMU Radio, DJ, 2008 – Present


Prior to reading the section on resume building, it would have never occurred to me that the order of information was so important. For example, I likely would have sorted information by date, and put the dates before the titles, organizations, etc. In addition to that, the idea of keeping only pertinent information on your resume, and dropping high school clubs, first jobs, etc.

Everything In Moderation

Sometimes I find myself getting carried away artistically. It's always tempting to keep adding more and more to a piece. On one hand, I may look at something and think "something is missing...". On the other, by adding more to something, I may be taking away.

This particular piece was thrown together the other day, and while I like it, I feel that it may be a bit too "busy" (even for a style that has a LOT going on visually). Perhaps its the placement of color, or maybe a vertical imbalance of the image. Personally, I still like it. I think it would be good for a band flyer, or maybe album artwork. Any takers?

Diana Round One

Here's a few of the photos that turned out from my first couple of rolls using Diana.

These particular shots were taken in East Dallas. Interestingly enough, some people I've talked to from SMU are afraid to go to that area, they say it's really sketchy. In my limited time in Dallas, even the sketchiest areas I've been to feel safer than typical Los Angeles suburbia.

What does that say about East Dallas? South Dallas?

More importantly, what does that say about SMU students?



I really liked the cactus garden in front of this vintage clothing shop on Henderson.




In my never ending quest for a decent turntable, I stumbled upon this gem just off of Greenville. If the memorabilia in the front yard already has your interest, just wait until you see the interior. This tiny little building houses one of the most ridiculous collections of guitars, amps, and 60s memorabilia I've ever seen. Looking for a copy of Between the Buttons? Mono? Stereo? Sealed? Misprinted? Oh, he's got it.

More on Symmetry

So I'm finding myself somewhat obsessed with the idea of overlapping layers, symmetry, and natural patterns. Of course I have a long time obsession with tree branches, tentacles, and antlers, and all of these seem to work beautifully with the concept. Here's another piece I threw together before class. Also 1440x900 wallpaper size for all those MacBook Pros.

Grunge

While cleaning my apartment the other day, something came to me. For the previous week, I had subconsciously been leaving dishes all over the place, stains in the kitchen, clothing everywhere for a purpose. While I had thought I was just being lazy, I believe that I was conducting a creative project.

The placement of tea stains, beer bottles and t-shirts was a developing pattern. One that was built over a period of days, relatively unconsciously.

Genesis

I really should write something about this, but nothing comes to mind. Technique? Inspiration? Anything?

Well, I'll just say I've got a newfound obsession with symmetry, and of course, tree branches always make for a good time. I suppose the best part of doing stuff like this is that it's FUN. If I had it my way I'd spend all my time Photoshopping, sketching, tweaking digital instruments, slapping paint on canvases and drinking hot Lapsang Souschong the whole while.

By the way, you can click the image above to download it in convenient 1440x900 wallpaper size (perfect for all those 15" MacBook Pros)

Inhibited Psychedelia

Sometimes it's nice to create something simply because I can. I wouldn't by any means call this a finished piece of work, but it is certainly an experiment, for me.

Now if there were only someway to 'uninhibit' myself...

A Jump Start

I'm really having trouble thinking of something to write about tonight. I'm dying to get back to blogging, but I've had my head wrapped around the countless other responsibilities in my life in the past few days.

So I'm going to give myself a jumpstart. Just a simple photograph. I don't have much to say about it, except that this was shot with Diana in East Dallas. I've had two rolls developed so far, 3 out of 24 exposures didn't turn out, and chances are you will probably see more like this in the near future.

I feel that by making this one small, simple step, I can reopen the door to my creative mind once again. Look for more updates this weekend.