Sponge

Sponge

/spənj/

Verb

1. Wipe, clean, or soak with a wet sponge or cloth in the act of absorbing material.

In New York I heard so many people advising those hungry for advice and knowledge, to act as a sponge and absorb everything they’re exposed to. I took in valuable insights from each agency in order to gauge how they share their creativity and wisdom with us. I wanted to understand where they gained their information themselves and what areas of the cities they see themselves acting as a sponge to absorb their creative materials and motivations. Doug, who spoke to us from Chiat Day shared his successes from his life experience and left us with Seven magic tips from mentors. Through his knowledge and journey he and has continued to soak up all the opportunities he came across and turn them into proactive tips.

1. Prove trust and consistency
2. Reputation is the only thing that precedes you when you walk into the room
3. Be comfortable with uncomfortable
4. Know the people you are with everyday
5. You pay for what you didn’t know
6. Focus on your strengths not weaknesses
7. Know hot to tell you story

I’ll continue being a sponge soaking up Doug’s influence and sounding influencers and motivators that support me through my professional career, taking their knowledge with me where I go.

-Katherine James 

A Realization

I think more than anything, the New York trip brought on so many personal realizations. Most importantly, I still have so much to learn. All my agency visits and especially the One Show made me begin to think about the new programs and skills that I’d like to learn. First, there is so much that I thought I knew about the post-grad world that I don’t actually know. But, more importantly, there are programs in the world that I didn’t even know existed that I know would like to begin to learn. 

Ex:

Motion Graphics

Animation 

Adobe Sketch

Overall,  I realized that even though I have so much to learn, I still have so much time to grow. 

- Hannah Diamond

Take Aways

After a world-wind week in the city that never sleeps, here are a few of my take aways:

1. You can’t be good at everything, so find what your best at and most passionate about and be amazing at that.
2. You don’t have to start at an agency to get experience.
3. In the first couple years you will mess up. But be passionate, be honest, be open minded, and learn from your mistakes and from everyone around you.
4. Show your interests and side hustles - that’s what makes you interesting.
5. Act your way into a new way of thinking, don’t think yourself into a new way of acting.

Thank you for an amazing trip.

xoxo, Lindsay

5.15.18

Creating Joy

“Our work aims to let people rediscover what they already love and simply create joy.”

Red Paper Heart, a small production company mainly focusing on interactive art installations, brings all of their projects back to the simple idea of creating joy. While many agencies had their motto, Red Paper Heart’s work truly showed that they stuck to their motto with every project they accepted. It was most apparent when they would talk about how they got started in the business of creating joy and that in a perfect world, they would create this kind of art for free. On brand with their motto, Red Paper Heart also tries to create interactive installations just for fun when they have the chance, they even have one circulating in museums in Europe currently.

xoxo, Lindsay

5.15.18

Fountain

My love for NYC flows like a fountain. My love for agencies flows like the sea… what’s the difference between a fountain and me. One is machinery, the other is man, when can you put the offer letter in my hand? Hopefully not many pages, I despise only few, in the bars we bought burger and brew. This is a tale, of love and lost, we gain a burger, we lose James Vos.

BB

Light Bulb Moments

After settling back in Eugene, my thoughts have had time to clear up. After thinking about the common themes I’ve heard from agency visits, and talking with alum and other students, I realize there are three skills that will work almost anywhere. The first is to build or become a part of the team as quickly as possible. People move around a lot, especially in advertising. Because of that, building relationships as soon as possible with the people I could possibly work with is essential. Wherever I end up in the future, they are there to help me, and I am there to help them. Also, most of the day is spent with colleagues, so might as well build that relationship right away. This brings me to my second point which is to bring my fullest self to the table. We are all hired because we bring something unique. If we try to blend in or do what isn’t ourselves, then in a way that kind of defeats the purpose why we are hired. We’ll lose our authenticity, and that can show in the work. So, that means I shouldn’t be afraid to be myself. My last point is to not become stagnant. Having unique skills and thoughts is important, but that doesn’t mean it should be the only thing to rely on. In an industry where things change fast, it’s important to try, learn, and see new things. I can learn a new skill that isn’t part of my job, pick up a new hobby, or see a new museum exhibit. As long as I do anything that takes me out of my routine I most likely have more light bulb moments. Inspiration is everywhere, but there’s more of it in places I haven’t seen and doing things I’ve never done.

Luis Sevilla | 05/15/18

Feeling the City

So I was hesitant on even considering New York since it was a completely new environment that seemed overwhelming. After spending a week there, diving into different cultures and their cuisines, the city has completely charmed me over. I never before had five different cultures of food from Thai to Italian all in one week. It was so refreshing to see all the different cultures and their takes on their environments around them. I completely believe I could live in this type of environment and I truly hope to live there at least once in my life.

Amar Mann 

Inspired by History

New York is a well of inspiration, walking around the city it can be overwhelming soaking up all the sights. All the smells, the people they are all so different yet have their own unique beauty. If you know where to look ideas will sprout in your mind from the creativity of your surroundings. For me I was most inspired when I spent my Friday walking around the American Museum of Natural History for four hours. I have always been a history buff, so wandering the halls of the five story building I found myself lost in the history and the stories of past cultures. Seeing where people have been and their journey to where they are now is fascinating. There is no way to describe the feeling when staring at the fossil of a Tyrannosaurus that is millions of years old. Looking at the history of all the past cultures is interesting to contemplate on how their perspective and mindsets of the world differ from ours. How our ancestors mindsets changed due to the time and environment and how it led to where we are now.This day inspired me to look into mindsets deeper with a historical perspective of where have people been in the past, and how did their cultural journey affect them.

-Jordan Romania

Let’s talk about HUGE

My lady crush, a memoir, THIS agency. What an incredible experience. Not only is this office dog friendly, they are an in-house bulldog that integrates any talent you thought you knew in the advertising world. Their secret? Integration. We all learned that your agency is your team, regardless of the name. HUGE does an amazing job of training their superheroes to fit any puzzle that needs work. Not only do they invent some of their own products (Venmo, watch out, Zelle is the new P2P) but they also flatter curiosity in a revolutionary way. Say hello to “minors.” You’re a strategist who loves writing but you have never been a copywriter - take a six-week course and learn from your guru partners how to strengthen your writing. The idea made me feel more welcome in an office than I had yet in New York (or Dumbo.) Like most agencies, HUGE has their core values:

Be Honest, be nice

Listen

Take chances

Stay curious 

Inspire others

Make stuff

Give a shit!

And boy, do I give a shit about this agency. Darien, a hilarious strategist with impeccable style, left us with great advice…Your website is your brand. Make people want you. Now that’s HUGE.

-Salem Weresh