Visiting Wieden+Kennedy on Monday of the New York trip was the perfect way to kick off our week in New York. I learned so much from the many professionals who were part of the panels that day and a lot of their advice was resounded in agency visits later in the week. Here are five pieces of advice that I got out of the visit to Wieden+Kennedy:

1. Everyone in an agency is creative and their voice should have weight. Even people who are outside of the traditional art director/writer partnership should have a say in the creative process.
2. Starting as a designer can help art directors become really good at what they do. Along with this, learning how to do a little bit of everything will be really beneficial in the art direction field. Motion design is also becoming more and more important for AD’s to know to do.
3. The best tip for copywriters is to constantly think about how to make their writing shorter. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to get really good at Google slides to help out art directors.
4. You never want to get “good” at advertising because it’s boring. Get good at culture instead. If you can get good at culture, then you will always be relevant.
5. You have to let an agency’s culture develop itself. You can’t force it. Be comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations, but realize that you can’t force an entire company to take part in a culture you assign.

I was so thankful for the generosity that we were shown at W+K as well as the rest of the agencies we visited throughout the week. Most of all, I felt inspired knowing that each and every one of us is constantly working to make ourselves better, even after we’ve been in the industry for years. It reminded me that we are all a work in progress.

Emily Foster

5.15.18