Idea Machines: People Who Create Great Concepts Again and Again

Creatives live and die according to their ability to come up with great design and concepts for their clients. Some creatives seem to consistently generate winning concepts while others are very hit-and-miss in their work.

How do successful creatives come up with great ideas over and over again? We plan to find out by asking them on Tuesday, February 22.

Join us as we interact with a panel of creatives known for their ability to produce great concepts. We will be addressing questions like:

• What process do you use when approaching a branding or design challenge?
• Where do you go for inspiration?
• How does our immediate and constant digital connection to information and people enhance and/or interfere with the creative process?
• Brainstorming: Useful activity or exercise in futility?
• What are effective methods of managing a creative team?
• What things can get in the way of good ideas?
• How do you present concepts to clients?
• What in agency cultures can foster good concepts and what can get in the way?
• and much more.

This is a working lunch you will not want to miss as we have a panel of stellar creatives. Space is limited so register early. Registration has closed for this event.

Jeff Barfoot

RBMM (www.rbmm.com & www.barfootworldwide.com)

His design and illustration work has been recognized by most major design competitions and publications, including Communication Arts, the Art Directors Club of New York, Graphis, Print magazine, the AR100 (for annual report design), the Dallas Society of Visual Communications (DSVC), the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), the One Show, and the American Advertising Federation.

Over the course of his career, he has done identity, retail branding, and investor communications projects for 7-Eleven, the American Heart Association, Blockbuster, the Dallas Museum of Art, Fossil, Hallmark, Hasbro, IBM, KEXP Seattle, Neenah Paper, Neiman Marcus, Nickelodeon, Pepsi, Sappi Fine Paper, Sony, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, and Yum! Brands. 

In the evening, Jeff heads out to his backyard studio where he and his wife, Shay, run Bee Things, designing and screen-printing limited-edition art prints, apparel, and paper products for the home. Jeff has two moppy-haired sons and two miniature wiener dogs, all four of which eat his food.

Chris Smith

Writer and Creative Director, The Richards Group (www.richards.com)

Christopher Smith has written for some of the industry’s best-known brands, including Motel 6, Central Market, Zales, The Home Depot, 7-Eleven, Red Lobster, and Chick-fil-A. His work has garnered him shiny paperweights from Communication Arts and The One Show, plus some Emmys, Effies, Clios, Addys, and a few other things that end in “ys”. He has been fortunate enough to have his name engraved as writer or creative director on four Radio Mercury Awards, including the 2009 $100,000 Grand Prize. 

Chris has moonlighted as an improv and standup comedian and voiceover performer for fourteen years. He has also written screenplays, articles for mental_floss magazine, jokes for television, and has co-authored three books of trivia published by HarperCollins.

In 2006, Chris realized his lifelong dream of appearing on Jeopardy! And get this—he actually won, twice, taking home something north of $43,000, a tote bag, and a picture frame.

A native of upstate New York and graduate of Penn State, he lives in Dallas with his wife/college sweetheart Heather, their daughter Clara and twin sons Callum and Finnegan.

Laura Root

Creative Director, Squires & Company (www.squirescompany.com)

Laura brings over eight years of design, branding, advertising, and annual report experience to Squires & Company. She has worked for the well-known design firms of fd2s in Austin, and Eisenberg & Associates in Dallas. She has produced annual reports for companies like Belo, TXU, Rent-A-Center, FelCor Lodging Trust, Sabre Holdings, and The American Heart Association. She has also done work for The Santa Fe Opera, Domtar Paper, XTO Energy, The Dallas Center for Performing Arts, Uptown Dallas and Woodall Rogers Park. Laura is an award-winning designer, whose work has been featured in design publications such as Print Magazine, Graphis, Logo Lounge, Black Book AR100, and Graphic Design USA magazine. Her work has also been recognized by the Dallas Society for Visual Communications, the Art Directors Club of Houston, the Austin Advertising Federation.

Wayne Geyer

Creative Director, GeyerCom LLC (waynegeyer.com)

Wayne is a writing consultant to creative professionals. He helps designers find their voices — sometimes for their clients, and often for their own marketing efforts. Wayne also teaches designers, design students, marketing teams and other “non-writers” how to solve communications problems more effectively through writing. In his workshop at the upcoming AIGA Austin Design Ranch (designranch.org), he will encourage participants to write their own country music lyrics. Wayne is creative directive of GeyerCom LLC and has written for Southwest Airlines, Toys R Us, Dallas Cowboys, Dr Pepper, Heineken, American Airlines and a whole host of other companies you hear about every day.

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