It’s a Boy!

He’s creative, smart, and even more amazingly, he’s a guy! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s true. EOS has thrown some testosterone into the mix with the start of our new design associate, Barry Klipp.

Barry’s quick thinking, smart concepts and refined design skills gave him the edge needed to beat out the competition. He’ll be working with the EOS team and learning various aspects of what it takes to be an art director, web director, photographer and designer.

Being the only guy takes a special kind of person. So, who is Barry exactly? Well, no one can tell you better than the man himself.

The World According to Barry

1. I’m a visual person and have been credited with the ability of capturing the essence of a person with my camera within the first 10 minutes of meeting them. I also get praise for my use of light… it’s all about the lighting.

2. I switched careers from photography to art direction because I wanted more of a challenge, a new avenue. I love thinking of ad concepts and new big ideas.

3. I entered a design contest for the cover of Media Magazine and Alex Bogusky tweeted about my design. I was also featured in the same issue.

4. The things I love most in life: my wife, Liz, cheeseburgers and of course my friend Baxter (my dog).

So there you have it. We’ve added a guy to the EOS team and we’re ready for you to send the next big creative challenge our way.

The Client Factor

Last week Lauren and I went to SCAD Atlanta to speak with students about life after art school. Well, I spoke with them about life after art school. Lauren had much more professional and beneficial insights to share.

Since I’ve been working here at eos, my life has been a whirlwind of designing websites, concepting, creating print collateral, logo redesigns, anything creative you can imagine, I’ve had the great fortune to do it all here. And I love it. So on the way to speak to these design students, I took a moment to reflect on how different life is when you leave art school and enter the corporate world.

The biggest and most important difference is what I like to call “The Client Factor.” Simply put (but not so easily executed), you are no longer creating for yourself, you are creating for the client.

And creating for the client takes modesty and professionalism (something that a lot of artists have trouble with). It also requires you to establish a level of trust with your client. After all, this is THEIR money you’re spending. Their hard work has earned that money. It’s imperative that you are empathetic to this.

That said, The Client Factor requires thorough planning before you even consider the execution. A lot of times people think creative work is just making something pretty. Not true at all. You must have a concept. A strategy. A support system that assures your client you are handling their hard-earned money with the utmost amount of sensitivity and smarts.

Look at good design out there today, I promise you it was made possible because of a domino-effect series of events between the client and the creative.

1. A plan was established
2. Trust developed between the client and the creative team because of this plan
3. This trust allows the creative to have more leeway when developing the work, leaving both companies with work that they all can be proud of.

So, in looking back after art school, I’ve learned that it is no longer about me. It’s about the client. It’s no longer about me. It’s about the client. If you’re a creative, say this over and over and over. And then over again. Because it can be tough at times. But if you can get that burned into your brain, I assure you, everyone involved will come out on top.