When did you know that this career was what you wanted to do?
I knew my sophomore year of college. Randomly, maybe even a bit nerdy of me, I decorated my dorm room in college with the ads of Absolut Vodka. I collected every one of them because they were so cool, and I would cut out of magazines all the amazing type ads or the beauty ads I thought had gorgeous colors or shapes.
One day on campus, in the beginning of my sophomore year, I walked into my Reporting 201 class at the J School (School of Journalism), and the professor said, “Okay, I want you all to write a story in 2 minutes about something that happened on campus today. Go!” And I sat there and thought… uh, this is not my thing.
I knew I would never be able to creatively write a story that fast, and I really thought I wanted to make and design ads instead of being in front of a camera or in a newsroom. So, I raised my hand, and when called upon, I said, “I don’t think I belong in this room. I mean technically it says I am on the roster, but I don’t think I’m cut out for this. I think I want to create ads instead.”
The professor looked at me and said, “Well, you’re in the wrong building. That’s the Art and Design building down the street.” So I packed up my books, walked down the street, opened the doors to the Art and Design building, and never looked back!
What was your first job?
I’ll never forget my first job out of college working with 3 people in total at Turner Communications. Like everyone, I was hustling to get into one of the big ad agencies in Chicago, and stumbled upon a fella, Steve Turner, who had just left Leo Burnett and he liked what I was doing and offered me a job. Not only that, but my writer partner, who happened to be my long-time high school friend, got hired too.
Since Steve was just starting the company, my friend and I worked out of his house until he could find an office space. At the time, it felt highly unusual, but what was so amazing about this opportunity was that we were able to create really out-of-the-box ideas for clients. Even more, we assumed many roles because there was no production team, no secretary, and no account team. That allowed me personally to expand beyond being an Art Director and learn about the different positions of account, production, and client services firsthand.
What was a milestone project for you?
Recently, we pitched a client an Augmented Reality experience and got the green light. What was so cool about this experience was that we used the technology in the Health Care space, promoting disease education to the consumer.
Based on the topic of Nasal Polyps, we devised a campaign called the “Nose Wizard Challenge,” where, when you scan a code, a menu of experiences appears—from a Nose Runner game to a Nose Wizard quiz and even a Nose filter to see what you’d look like with a different nose.
Each of the experiences took the user on a journey of fun and learning. The Nose Runner took place in the canals of a nose, running through and hopping over allergens, popping a polyp, and collecting points. Everything was clickable with fun facts about Nasal Polyps. That campaign won a ton of awards and was something my team and I really enjoyed creating.
Do you have any brainstorming rituals?
Yes, of course! I once attended improv school at the Upright Citizens Brigade, and they used a series of warm-ups I still use today. One is to physically stand up and get some of the energy out by doing a few jumping jacks.
Another is to list every bad idea or first idea that comes into your head so that we empty the contents out and then build upon those bad ideas to make them better. We use the phrase “yes, and…” because if you use the word “no” or any version of a negative in a brainstorm, it kills the momentum.
