Monday Keynote: Brian Collins

Monday night the conference kicked off with a cocktail party and dinner followed by the keynote presentation by Brian Collins. Rick Boyko opened the presentation with an entertaining explanation of some of his career stories, and how he came to wind up as the director of the VCU Brandcenter. In a previous life, Rick didn't really do much, other than work at ad agencies like Leo Burnett, TBWA Chiat/Day, and eventually became Chief Creative Officer and Co-President of Ogilvy & Mather North America. For more on Rick, click here.

After welcoming us all to the program, Rick then introduced his comrade, designer Brian Collins. Brian and Rick worked together at Ogilvy, where Brian headed up the Brand Integration Group (BIG). He now heads COLLINS Design Research. For more on Brian, click here. Now that you're totally impressed by these guys, I can tell you about what Brian had to say.

Brian is a designer in an advertising world. As someone such as myself who's background is that of a graphic designer turned art director, I had plenty to appreciate in what Brian had to say. Often, art directors in the advertising industry preoccupy themselves with things other than those focused on by graphic designers. This, in my opinion, is a mistake. The understanding of visual communication embodied by designers, the nuance of typography, imagery, and subtlety of elegant composition is something all advertising art directors should embrace more readily. But that's just me.

Brian's presentation showed how, as the advertising industry changes, design becomes not only an increasingly more important part of it, but the fields are inextricably linked. As the advertising experience harnesses storytelling as its central vehicle, it becomes more about great design, and experience design specifically. From a BP Station in LA to the Hershey store in Times Square Brian's work showed that the design experience is a part of a greater brand story.

The most compelling story Brian told was that of the Target prescription redesign, led by his former student, Deborah Adler. The story was compelling, not only because it exhibited the dramatic impact design can have on our everyday lives, but that it was based on a real, true, human story involving a problem faced by the designer's grandmother, and that it is a story that everyday people become linked to and involved with the next time they pick up a prescription.

Brian left us with some encouraging and inspiring thoughts about where advertising and design are headed, together. As the advertising industry continues to diversify the definition of what advertising is, design and innovation are leading the way.