Crystal Ginn

To launch TNT – “we know drama” – in Belgium, Turner decided to take the drama to the streets. In a small town square where usually nothing at all happens, they placed a big red button and encouraged people with a giant arrow to push it to “add drama”. Oh dear god I wish I had been one of the people who pushed that button, it’s brilliant. Suddenly there’s cops and robbers, motorcycle ladies in lingerie and really clumsy ambulance drivers….

Check out http://www.tnt-tv.be for more. (source: adland.tv)

Personally, banners must die but I’ll give IKEA a at-tip for highligting IKEA’s mantra on saving space b squeezing 2,800 tin product images into a banner. See the banner itself, here. Roll over, click, buy it. Looks like the URLs lead to different site to accommodate purchase and not the .com site.

The definition of this role can also be affected by :

1. Your Title.
Different titles which will consequently add a variation or focus to the role.
ex. Digital or Interactive – Producer or Project Manager

2. Your Project.
Your project’s final output can either be a website, an experience, a product, a tool, an application, a service, a campaign or an ecosystem. It will make your role shift based on the tasks, responiebilities and deliverables of the project itself.

3. Your Company.
Your company could have a focus solely on design, ux, marketing, strategy etc. or be a hybrid. You can be part of an agency in design, in advertising, in production etc. Depending on what the company offers, your role will define which hats you need to wear.

4. Your Team Structure.
You can be a Producer that manages internal and external teams.
You can also manage one of the two and partner with an account manager role.
You can also partner with a Project Manager who will focus on the foundation and internal maintenance work of your project while you manage production, client, team and output.
You can be technical/development savvy and not need a tech lead type role or you can be more of a tech PM focus lead your self.

Every Web Producer is a unique mold. You don’t go to school for this role, you learn on the job and finetune your style, preferences and career path as you go. You can take courses, obtain certificates, attend talks, workshops etc. to polish your knowledge.

In the end you are the project lead. You know what works best for your project and team structure and you will do your best to create an environment, team and style that to make your projects run as smoothly as possible

Discover, Learn, Develop, Master. Repeat.

Become a Master: Code. Pitch. Craft.

Captivating email subject line in my inbox this morning. By General Assembly.
https://generalassemb.ly/ 

As a Web Project Manager it’s your job to solve problems just as much as it is a designer’s or developer’s job.

— C

“Fail productively.”

How do I be a new leader but also be me?
Look within yourself and see that you have what it takes to lead. The world needs more good creative leaders.

— C

+ Always keep track of which recruiter has pitched you somewhere and where you have reached out yourself directly.
There is this invisible contract between a recruiter and an agency when you are being pitched. Meaning if recruiter A pitched you at agency A, recruiter B cannot pitch you at agency A, as there is an invisible contract between you-recruiter A-agency A. This contract usually lasts 6mos — up to a year. Meaning, if someone else presents you there later on, the original recruiter takes the cut. So keep track. Be honest and nice.

There is no handbook that teaches you such things. You find out the hard way (ahem). It’s a competitive field out there and you always want to play a fair game with recruiters. Trust me, their world is small and word goes around.

+ To print or not print out your resume.
I tried something new the last time I was looking for flance (short for freelance) work: I never took prints out of my resume with me. I sent it (once more) as an attachment, about an hour before my interview. I indirectly forced my interviewer (or the assistant) to print it and therefore force them to scan my resume before i arrived. It’s frankly annoying when an interviewer has not done their homework on you or forgets to print out your resume overall. If I’ve taken time to craft that piece of paper oh so carefully, please scan it. Towards the end of my job hunt, I ended up carrying spare copies. I gave up on my stubbornness.

+ Don’t dress up too much
A simple, solid color dress with a splash of another color works.Either it’s a funky necklace, belt or shoes. If a Creative is interviewing you, trust me, they will compliment on your funky shoes. (check!)

+ Power zone of hands
Don’t let your hands carry you away. Keep your gestures between you waist and shoulder area. As you go through tons of interviews, you’ll naturally practice this. If nervous, have a bottle of water with you, no pens or anything else alike to fuss with.

+ If you attend more than 1 interview in a day …
:: Ditch the bike. I love biking, but the sweaty hair won’t do it.
:: Carry the following in your purse/bag: deo, hand sanitizer, perfume, mints/gum, hair product, phone charger.

+ Always follow-up promptly after the interview
You know this one, always follow-up with thank youz etc. no later than a day and lay out the request for next steps. Once I got to work client side I adapted a different opinion to the follow-up time frame. My employers would say things like “Oh this guy followed up within hours but the other guy didn’t follow-up until a day and a half later”. If you want the job, you gotta shine so follow-up promptly!

If you have any more to share, comment away:

Tip: Prep yourself emotionally for project kick-offs.

You may have the print outs, gantt charts, budget forecasts and assets ready but that’s not all it takes to prepare yourself and your team for a new project to commence. It’s taken me a while to realize that high levels of stress during the beginning phase of a project is rooted in not preparing myself ‘mentally’ for a new project. It may sound corny, but everyone needs a to hit the refresh button on their confidence levels from time to time.
When the curtain opens
A project kick off, can easily be underestimated. Get the team together, share the basics, talk about what needs to get done and GO. That’s definitely your stepping stone to series of failures to come across the lifespan of your project. From team chemistry, to communication and overall commitment.

You want to kick off of a project similar to team kick off:

• Gather the entire team
• Talk about the project
• Talk about what the team wants out this project: expectations, milestones etc.
• Get a whiteboard and write everyones names on it and key project details (doodling allowed too!)

This makes the meeting more of a facilitation training vs presenting. With facilitation and making things a bit more personable you create a safe environment for your project and team.

Ideally, I’d like to also structure a conversation on the following:

• List out what the team wants
• List out any fears, uncovering things they are afraid of (more like risks)
• List out expectations; mine and teams’ (workstyle, communication styles etc.)
• Talk about roles. If any conflict or overlap, make it clear
• Goals. Project and personal goals (adding a piece to my portfolio, thought leadership, company goal etc.)

Behind the Scenes

1. Be a good leader and follower

Creative and effective leadership in design environments calls for emotional literacy and intelligence. A project lead needs to have the ability to listen to others and also express themselves. This behavior affects relationships and facilitates communication.

Project lead criteria:

a. Self-awareness
b. Self-management
c. Social awareness
d. Relationship management

2. Helping relieve someone from an idea they are attached to (aka how to properly kill an idea) vs Helping pushing an idea forward

3. Awareness of others and how the team works.

4. Ask questions vs being directive.

5. Adjust attitude and team conflict.
During the project’s entire lifespan

Know yourself. Know and understand your emotional landscape. Work out your own shit so you can be a great leader to others.

Be in touch with the fears inside you. Fear gets triggered a lot in our society. Before walking into a meeting, listen to yourself and deal with fears. Bring less baggage to the table.

Classic example: The fear that I’m not a good PM. That’s a valid dear to have, I’m sure there is a trigger to that thought, but for the time being, you have to put it aside and walk into your meeting with confidence and later evaluate the root of your fear.

Sarah B. Nelson, once summarized the key emotional states you need to put aside while at work: HALT

Hungry. Angry. Tired. Lonely

Take care as many as you can before going into a meeting (please).

Key takeaway: Always work on checks & balances of the emotional state of your teams and project.

Under: Emotional literacy and intelligence for creative and effective leadership in design environments

My presentation @SheSays Digital Production Course: The Basics, 7/22/11 @TheLabNYC

Before you start, you have to learn the lingo. So say hello to our ‘Digital Production Glossary’. In this class we’ll cover the “what”, eg w: Image formats, software, program languages, banners and online advertising terminology, digital video glossary, version control etc. We’ll also cover the differences between PMs and producers and their responsibilities

The course is run by SheSays, an award-wining organization doing courses like this for the past year. Most courses sell out quickly so book now through Eventbrite http://digitalcreativecourse.eventbrite.com/

This is a very practical course for anyone wanting to know how to make great digital work. It’ll transform you into a doer not just a talker because the instructors will give you pointers you can start acting upon the very next day.

“Transactive memory. Memory is a shared process in groups. Groups remember more together, with the possibility of each person’s recall triggering the memory of other group members”

— Paula Wellings,
Adaptive Path