On paper, it had been my dream job, but what I’d come to realize (and apparently what my friends have always known) working for someone else wasn’t cutting it. I wanted a community of collaboration, what I got was complete autonomy. Don’t get me wrong the experience was great, but a lot of times knowing what you don’t want is just as important as finding what you do. And so starts a new journey…

I remember being in the office at somewhere close to 2am and realizing there was still a lot of oil to burn. At one point, my boss sent me a message and said, “Mihae, it’s only marketing.” At that moment I found comfort, it had eased the pressure and lifted the burden of performance. It didn’t change the fact that I still spent the night at the office but somehow it felt better. He would repeat the statement during a recap of the project, but the second time around it felt deflating. It made me question the worth of the work. Keep in mind, I’m not anti-advertising nor hate the corporation, I just wanted the work I did to be meaningful beyond someone’s bottom line. And when you work for the end result of profit over losses, you realize a certain degree of futility. You can walk away from it because at the end of our days, it’s really not worth that much.

I’d written a job posting once and it concluded with a line from Confucius, “Find a job that you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” In the days since writing it, I had oscillated between believing it to questioning it to downright denying it, in fact I may still just be on a pendulum swing in one direction, moments away from heading just as powerfully back. But for now, I can say I believe it.

During Steve Job’s commencement speech at Standford (2005) he said, “for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” The speech ends with a statement, or maybe even a call to action, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

It has stayed with me and I found myself rereading it just moments before my evaluation. I’d written the quote on a sheet of paper and read it word for word to my boss. He gave a hesitant but warm smile and asked, “what are your plans?” The beauty of that moment was that I didn’t have any.

I’d gone into my evaluation with a quote and I’d come out, perhaps for the first time, knowing that my whole life was ahead of me, that the biggest hurdle was getting over the self-doubt and the nagging “shoulds” that seem to come from everywhere except yourself and I’d jumped over to the other side to find I was feeling delightfully foolish with an appetite to match.

It’s the kind of thing movies are made of…

Other related stories:

NPR

http://issuu.com/levisworkshops/docs/v2/chopshop

Walk in any subway station in NYC and you’ll see Diesel’s current campaign BE STUPID. And maybe it’s exactly what their creative agency of choice Anomaly banked on, but it had me rooting for stupid too. Maybe it was the multiplatform campaign, which no doubt cost a pretty penny (not to mention an all expense paid  trip across Mongolia by train or if you prefer shark swimming in South Africa) but the campaign struck a chord with me. Mainly, because I’ve recently taken a contract corporate gig, I now know what it means to die a little each day. Yes, I had some doubts from the beginning, but I also had high hopes, believing I could play a pivotal role in a redesign, rethinking how an e-commerce site functioned anew, but what I’ve discovered is something else entirely, something which spoke to the first lines of Diesel’s campaign copy “Like balloons we are all filled with hopes and dreams but over time a single sentence creeps into our live…Don’t be stupid. It’s the crusher of possibility.” And maybe e-commerce isn’t necessarily the place for experimentation and online innovation but it should be.

I’ve grappled with how to move forward and perhaps I found my answer at AIGA’s recent NYC event on Design and Advertising when an audience member told a humorous story and asked a poignant question. During the talk Doug Jaegar, the youngest to ever be elected President of the Art Director’s Club, had thrown up on screen a series of interesting one liners from various professionals in the industry about design and advertising. To quote a few, which lose a lot without the visual but none-the-less here they are: From an ad agency – “Design is the bass line, advertising is the guitar solo.” From a design group – “Advertising creates problems, design creates solutions.” Even Todd Waterbury of Wieden+Kennedy, had one to eloquently contribute, “Design is a language, advertising a sentence.” Well, our audience member being in pharmaceutical advertising, asked “while everything you’ve said makes sense, my client isn’t gonna hear ‘design is a language, advertising a sentence’ and see the error of their ways. What two minute elevator pitch can I use with a client to get them to not want to put a generic smiling, healthy looking patient on a poster with the drug name and legal copy?” It got more than a few laughs but it was a very good question. The answer via Doug Jaegar,”maybe you should quit your job.” I think his point being that you will always have battles to fight, working with people who appreciate ideas shouldn’t have to be one of them.

At 15, I’d gotten my first job, waitressing in a small town seafood restaurant, the beginning of what would become a mainstay profession throughout my education. The job enabled me to save enough money to go on a five month exchange to Madrid, Spain where I happened to pick up a bit of Spanish (though mostly forgotten it came in handy when applying at a Mexican restaurant). In college it paid the bills, and was often a second job through my first career missteps.

After a short stint as a hair transplant technician, I found myself returning to art school at Parsons, and thus went back to the old familiar routine of waitressing and school. At the time, Drew Nieporent was just about to open his latest restaurant with an up and coming new face, Aaron Sanchez.

I’d spend the next 2 years at Centrico while earning my second degree at Parsons. It was in that time that I’d make some really lasting friendships and what would ultimately lead me to a small town in Mexico, sampling the bite size deliciousness of Tacombi.

With a lease finally signed, I’m looking forward to getting to work!

To the average movie-goer the term producer sort of gets lost somewhere between “mover and shaker” and a “show me the money” persona. Few outside the industry have a real grasp for how integral the role is in the making of any film or project for that matter. The finesse, the patience and above all the creative pragmatism carefully mixed with a driven determinism.

Take Anna Rodgers, one of the producers for The Yellow Bittern, a documentary film about the life and times of Liam Clancy. Liam was the youngest member of the group The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, Ireland’s first pop stars. An appearance by the group on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1961 and their fame was officially cemented, within a year they would sell out Carnegie Hall.

Rodgers spent the last five years working with Clancy on numerous productions from The Legend of Liam Clancy to Liam Clancy and Friends, Live at The Bitter End and the final documentary feature The Yellow Bittern.

From the logistics of shoot coordination, research and footage acquisition to making sure Liam got through New York City’s Gay Pride Parade to his concert across town relatively on time and in one piece – the producer made it happen.

I’m reminded of an article written by Ted Royer, Executive Creative Director for Droga5 NY, entitled “I want to marry a producer.”

“A producer listens to the most batshit crazy idea and doesn’t say yes or no or ask why, but instantly asks ‘How?’ She could talk me out of dumb things with grace and logic, or conversely show me what it’s possible to do with virtually nothing. A producer realizes that just as business and creativity need each other, responsibility (her) and irresponsibility (me) do too. A producer wouldn’t be afraid of different challenges, no matter what form they took. A producer would be tough, fighting battles I’d neither see nor even know about.”

When Clancy passed away last December, Rodgers went to pay her respects. Not just to one of Ireland’s first pop stars, nor the man who Bob Dylan described as “the best ballad singer I’d ever heard in my whole life,” but to the soft spoken Irishman whom she spent the last five years documenting and befriending.

She’d never been one to romanticize death, so seeing a cold lifeless body was far from something she’d ever willingly seek out, but she put her fears aside kissed the cheek of this man, whom she spent the last five years documenting, and with heartfelt tears streaming down her face said thank you and goodbye. Liam’s daughter, who stood by, broke down.

What does this all have to do with the film you ask – everything. There’s a sense of humanity, a gentleness and heart that the documentary exudes, which isn’t to take away from the skill of the director Alan Gilsenan.

The film is about the life and times of this icon of Irish heritage and though the documentary ends with Clancy commenting on the masks that we all wear, performers included, we get a sense that we have gotten a glimpse into the man who walked on stage before the lights hit.

And while I am biased by the friendship I’ve come to have with Ms. Anna Rodgers, I have a firm belief that much of that was to do with her own subdued strength, fighting the battles you don’t hear about.

The Yellow Bittern is a classification of heron known for its shyness, hiding in the reeds building its nest, but prone to frequent heights of flight.  I think it’s a befitting moniker for the film in more ways than one.

The film goes on sale St. Patricks day and is available on their website.

Related Links:
Today is Better than Two Tomorrows a film by Anna Rodgers

Definitely not wanting to go that route, I thought a lot about the qualities that spoke out to me and more importantly what would make me take a closer look at a candidate. I just had to remember what it was like when I was clicking through hundreds of resumes for a designer while at Windup.

It came together when I’d come across an article in the Harvard Business Review via CNN. Entitled “The Innovator’s DNA,” the article was about a six year study highlighting the key skills that innovative and creative entrepreneurs share. I connected with it because I saw my own characteristic parallels. So I ran with it. I rewrote my resume, with a fresh approach focusing on the skills that made me an intelligent thinker and innovator. I stressed the importance of “foolish” experimenting and social networking- the ability to put yourself in positions and amongst the unfamiliar with a childlike enthusiasm and taking actions that were open and fearless.

Prior to application, I sent out an email asking for feedback, which was anything but fearless. Admittedly, I had a lot of trepidation and sat for several minutes before hitting send. There were people on that list who I highly respected and their feedback would be taken to heart no matter how much I would steel myself against it, but I hit send and put my head on the chopping block and implored that everyone be brutally honest, that the criticism would push me more than a pat on the back. It’s also just good practice to have another set of eyes for typos.

What came back was a mixed bag, which I suppose was to be expected. Of course I zeroed in on the less than praiseworthy comments. After all, I had chosen these people not only for the fact that many were design savvy but because they were also smart people. I won’t lie, it was deflating of sorts, despite all the compliments. I got more positive feedback than negative but it still planted a seed of doubt. The one comment that stung the most did so because it was also a compliment, “you are too seasoned and too senior to have a resume that (as much as I appreciate the work you put into it) feels to me like a ‘designer’ effort.”

I know that it seemed like a very JV move, I’d put in a lot of time that could have been spent on the long list of side projects that seems to grow exponentially with each passing week that could add to my own portfolio, but I still thought maybe the concept would push beyond my “unseasoned” effort.

So what started out as simply an attempt to redesign my resume has evolved into an experiment. I’ve identified 50 “innovative” ad agencies and design studios and split the list in half. My methodology in the split for the most part was an exacting flip of a coin. Heads they get Resume 1: “5 Elements of Innovative Thinking,” tails Resume 2: “Mihae S Mukaida-Contact Info and Chronological List of Professional Experience.” Some of the bigger agencies have a standardized submission, in which case I’ll have to go with the run of the mill CV, which I’m balancing out by sending those who had advertised their openings with Resume 1. The rationale being that those with job postings will most likely be receiving a boatload of responses.

Putting together the list alone took 2 days of research. I’d looked at AdAge’s 50 Top Interactive Agencies, gone through AIGA’s design archives, Communication Arts, looked at interviews of designers and ad executives, which inevitably led to others. Which, on a side note, you have to check out the site of SCPF. It’s a novel approach, tongue-in-cheeky without going all cheese. Although, I’m still not sure if they were tipping their hat to Alex Bogusky (founding partner of Crispin Porter + Bogusky and recent cover of Fast Company magazine) or snubbing him…but I digress, onto the scientific methodology.

While it won’t be winning any scientific award for exactitude, the objective of the experiment is to determine what kind of response each resume type will garner and hopefully find out why one or the other did or did not elicit an interview. Each agency/studio claims to focus on ideas and innovation. Now, I know I’m making a big assumption but for simplicity sake, let’s say that I’m an ideal candidate, that the major variable for said agency/studio is the resume type.

The experiment in a nutshell: Designer seeks position as Art Director or equivalent at forward thinking agency/studio utilizing two types of resumes.

I’ve thus far identified 4 possible hypothetical outcomes:

1. Resume 1 = Well-Received » Interview
The novel approach grabbed attention and was found to “practice what it preached” resulting in intrigue and further investigation.

2. Resume 1 ≠ Well-Received » Delete
Approach was found to be ill-fitting for a senior level position and application was promptly tossed.

3. Resume 2 = Well-Received » Interview
Work experience documented was sufficient and inline with qualifications sought in potential candidate.

4. Resume 2 ≠ Well-Received » Delete
Either I totally suck, or the resume while adequate was either lost in the shuffle or they received other resumes that worked a little harder for attention.

Data Collection:
Aside from quantifiable results (i.e. getting an interview or not) further investigation will attempt to determine some qualitative data. In fact if you have received my resume and are reading this please go here: http://mihae.qhub.com/

Timeline:
March 10th: Cover letters, resumes, and portfolio links sent to all 50 agencies/studios
March 17th: Follow up communication will be made to those studios which have yet to respond
March 22nd: Data will be interpreted and results published