Product Design
  • Jeff Goodby, Co-Chairman & Creative Director, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco

    Take a look at some great TV from Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

    WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

    JG: I look for things that no one I know, even myself, would ever come
    up with. If your solution is something that your friends or family might
    come up with, throw it away.

    WS: How important is finish? If ideas are the most important thing, can
    sketches be enough? Do you look at physical books anymore, or is it all
    websites?

    JG: I look mostly at digital books these days, but that doesn’t mean
    there wouldn’t be a notable place for a portfolio put together with Skil
    Saw, Dremel tool, and black masking tape.

    Finish isn’t important to me because I can imagine what the thing might
    be like. But the majority of creative directors care about finish, I think.
    They see it as a demonstration of taste and hand skills.

    WS: How important is writing? Do you need to see long copy?

    JG: How important is writing? Really? It’s the way we communicate and
    organize ideas. Even if you’re writing with pictures, you’re writing.

    I like to see some long copy because I believe that people who can write
    longer-form stuff are better at writing short form too. They know what to
    take out.

    WS: What do you think of showing work that is not advertising?

    JG: I love it. Much better than showing that Bagel Bites retail thing that
    never quite got produced.

    WS: Do you have any other advice for a student or junior trying to get
    into the business?

    JG: Try to look at the world through the eyes of a busy creative director
    who doesn’t really care who you are. As David Ogilvy said, “When selling
    fire extinguishers, open with fire.”

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