For anyone who can’t make it to the official Addy Gala (or who didn’t want to fork out $90 for it) Ad2 is having a separate event just for you! Come to Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke Tuesday, March 9th from 6-8 pm and walk through our special Addy Gallery of winners. See who the best of the best is from both the professional and student entries. This event is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!
Welcome to Ad2Roanoke’s first installment of “Career ADvice from…” a series of enlightening interviews with local (and not-so-local) creative professionals.
Our questionnaire was written in order to get helpful information for the big questions we all have as students and young professionals in the advertising industry. Hopefully, you’ll learn a bit more about what to do after graduating, what you can expect from your first job and get a personal look into the minds of some seasoned professionals. You’ll definitely want to come back and check out advice installments from art directors, interactive designers, copywriters, photographers, more creative directors and even a celebrity or two!
With that said, we’re kicking off the first edition with the big wigs, the masterminds behind most of the work that gets out of the door and, you’ll read, the people you’ll be getting coffee for your first six months: the Creative Directors.
In this article:
"Telemachus, your margins are spot on, but you need to watch your kerning."
In February, Ad2Roanoke is kicking off the first year of its mentorship program, and we’re looking for students and fresh graduates who are interested in getting a head start in the advertising industry. We’ve hand-selected a talented group of local advertising veterans who are happy to serve as professional resources and cheerleaders. The participating experts range from the creative to the strategic, so regardless of whether you want to be a creative director or an account supervisor, we’ve got someone ready to give you some one-on-one career advice.
Eligible participants must be:
This is a great opportunity for those looking to get a leg up in the field, but seats are limited! If you’d like to attend, please send an email with your name, the name of your school, your (estimated) graduation year and where you’d like your career to take you, to ad2@ad2roanoke.org. We’ll be selecting participants first-come, first-served based on eligibility and professional goals, in order to find the best match, so feel free to elaborate on your professional plans. Event details to follow.
If you are not a member of Ad2Roanoke but wish to participate, you may join the club at http://ad2roanoke.org/membership/join/
There’s an old adage that says “A good director/coach/designer works with what he’s given”. So, what if that’s self imposed palette limitations in a low resolution environment? Today, take some time to be inspired by a few games that come out of the neo-8-bit movement.
Play online | Put it on your iPhone for $3
Canabalt really just needs to be experienced, but I’ll try and describe it anyway. Your city is being decimated, and you have to escape. See how far you can get as you bound your way to freedom in the parkour platformer. For a game that takes only one finger to play, I almost hate to admit how much time I’ve spent jumping from rooftop to rooftop, crashing through plate glass and scrambling to avoid the falling engines. Play this one with speakers up or headphones on.
Play more games by Adam Saltsman
More games after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
View the pictures from this year’s Ugly Sweater Gala and upload the shots you took to share with the rest of us. We’d love to see them.
Big thanks to John Park for starting us out. See these with captions on Flickr.
Ad2 Roanoke has selected Youth Experiencing the Amenities (yea!) and Spirit of Tolerance and Art in the Region (S.T.A.R.) of Roanoke as our public service project for this year and we need your help! E-mail publicservice@ad2roanoke.org [Ed. note: FIXED] to volunteer and continue building your portfolio while helping these worthy causes.
Now you can find the latest AD2 Roanoke info in bite-sized, mobile-friendly chunks. Check it out by visiting ad2roanoke.org on your favorite hand-held device today!
AD2 Roanoke and Steve FM present you with the solution to holiday stress, the 2009 Ugly Sweater Gala. Cover up the extra pounds from Thanksgiving with glitter and horizontal neon stripes. Have a Cosby-esque jello shot and soothe away the facial tics. Whatever you do, make sure you wear something that would make Aunt Ethel proud. We know you have one. Work it. Wear it.
The cover for this event is $10 or $5 with a donation of gently worn clothing that will go to the Rescue Mission. This fund-raising event is open to everyone.
RSVPs aren’t required, but let us know if your coming on Facebook.
Listen:
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When I was wrapping up my graphic design studies program, I remember my professor encouraging us to think of ourselves as “professionals”. I had no idea what he meant by that. I now know he was trying to motivate us to polish our portfolios before being thrown into an increasingly competitive job market. He knew it was happening with more than just his classroom full of students, too. We had been studying techniques toward self-promotion, and one thing that stuck out in my mind was the idea of an online portfolio.
By this point in my education, I had been through all of one (1) class that even hinted at how I might get a portfolio online. I could build a web site, or at the very least modify a template, but beyond building the thing, I had no clue how to actually get it up and running. I also didn’t want to spend money on hosting space, although I did, eventually.
So, about 5 years later, thinking back on how big of a hassle that was I had one of those “if I knew then what I know now” moments. And with that moment came an idea for a professional-looking, low-cost portfolio website for those willing to invest the time. I’ll also share with you how to use it as a marketing tool and how to integrate some cool social media techniques. Let’s get started.
A while back, I needed some inspiration and was looking at design books. It made me wonder if other designers and industry-gurus have book suggestions that have helped them along their graphic design travels.
Here are some suggestions that I received…
How To Be a Graphic Designer Without Not Losing Your Soul – Adrian Shaughnessy http://bit.ly/1s46ko
Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far – Stefan Sagmeister http://bit.ly/pF5xx
100 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers – Josh Berger, Sarah Dougher http://bit.ly/279h8O
Hey Whipple, Squeeze This – Luke Sullivan http://bit.ly/sId7r
And David Ogilvy is so rockin’ awesome that these were suggested several times:
The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy
Ogilvy On Advertising – David Ogilvy http://bit.ly/1eP8v0
Confessions of an Advertising Man – David Ogilvy http://bit.ly/1gjwgN
Also see, David Airey’s blog on his favorite book: http://www.davidairey.com/whats-your-favourite-graphic-design-book
(Sidenote: I apologize to Brad and Patrick, since they responded to my query and unfortunately your answers were lost by a work email change-over. Sorry!)
