Humble Pied originally started as a crowd-sourced AIGA student presentation, with friends and peers alike offering their words of wisdom within the creative industry.

We worked with our friends at Translation on the endtag for this recent pre-Super Bowl XLIV commercial. The commercial takes its inspirations from a 1993 spot featuring two other superstars, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan which was based around a battle for a Big Mac. While the original “The Showdown” commercial was focused more on trick shots, the “Check This” version is a contemporary update with rim-rattling dunks.

Just part of a great article by ISO50

Dan: During the micro day to day stuff if I am in a creative rut I surf the web, go for a walk, check out a movie, shop for books, go to a museum or do other largely cliche things to fill up my brain with inspiration. Sometimes though I get sick of looking to other sources and try to clear my head by just getting out of the office and ideas come when I least expect them.

Andre: When it comes to daily creativity, I try to break down all of my tasks in a rough schedule everyday. I work on projects from 2-3 hour chunks at a time. I do not spend an entire day on one project alone unless its absolutely necessary. I turn off email and IM or check it every hour on the hour. Breaking down time helps me because when I have 2 hours to complete a task I’m solely focused on elements or details that might otherwise been overlooked. I think it makes me more creative because I look forward the next time I will get to work on a project and forces me to take some time off and think about what I will do next time. The schedule also helps me shift gears between different mediums. Multi-tasking doesn’t work for me, I can’t be having an IM conversation while writing a contract while talking to an intern while waiting for an email while trying to design something too. Getting rid of those small distractions and focusing on a single project helps.

D: The way our studio is set up though we try to have some overlap in who works on what, so there isn’t a ton of pressure on any one person to carry all of the creative weight, which can be kind of daunting and lets us be a bit more free with things.

D: But for the larger macro in a rut stuff we try to keep moving our business in new directions so we can stay happy creatively. To do self initiated work that balances out the day to day client stuff but in the end comes back and informs it.

A: On a macro scale, creativity comes and goes for me. I can’t predict when I will be excited about a project. I just try to be happy in my personal life which in turn makes me productive at work. And being productive at work also makes me happy in my personal life. So I try to do as many things that make me happy: playing soccer, reading books, playing video games, hanging with my lady, getting drunk, whatever I’m in the mood for. I find it tough to be creative when I’m worried or angry at something.

D: Also we work a lot of different mediums which helps keep things fresh, since one day we can be doing motion and the next a tee shirt or a branding project.

D: Teaching helps too because it exposes us to up and coming talent and fresh ideas every week. We are learning from them just as much as they are from us.

Dan Covert and Andre Andreev of dress code will take the stage at MAD to discuss how they collaborate . . . with music. The talk will be technical at times and casual at others, much like their work.

Music has been at the core of dress code’s business from the start. Dan and Andre began to work together on short-run, screen-printed posters and cd packages. They both did time at MTV. And, now, they are venturing more and more into directing music videos and short spots. Their list of collaborators has been ever-expanding including sound designers, animators, cinematographers and always music.

Each month, “Collaboration” will examine the process of co-creation; it will look closely at collaborative outcomes as we all learn to work with each other.

Join us to discover the pros and cons of working with experts in our field and others.

TIME AND PLACE
Thursday 14 January 2010
6:30–8:00PM
Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle
New York, NY

6:30PM Check-in
7:00-8:00PM Discussion

Register at AIGA NY

Monday, February 8th, Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
Time and Location TBD

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Saturday, February 20th, 
AIGA St. Louis Student Conference

10:00am Keynote Presentation
2:00pm Breakout Sessions
3:00pm Book Signing
Maryville University
St. Louis, MO

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Thursday, March 4th, Philadelphia University

Reception 6pm
Lecture 7pm
Q+A & book signing to follow
Philadelphia, PA
Room TBD

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Wednesday, April 7th, 
SUNY New Paltz
6:30pm
Q+A & book signing to follow
Lecture Center
1 Hawk Drive, New Paltz, NY 12561

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Thursday, April 22nd, Portfolio Center
10am
Q+A & book signing to follow
125 Bennett St.
Atlanta, GA 30309

Graphic design students: You’ve been working hard to become the best designer you can be. But do you really know how things will be when you get out there and start to work? How will you establish yourself, find clients, pay the bills—and still have fun with it all?

The co-owners of New York design firm Dress Code—G. Dan Covert and Andre Andreev—know exactly what you should expect after school. (They’ve even published a book about it called Never Sleep.) They only graduated a few years ago, but they’ve already gained major clients such as MTV, and they understand what it’s like to make your name and build a business. In this on-demand DesignCast, they’ll share their best ideas on navigating the “real world.” From client relationships to managing people, from working under pressure to not having work at all, they’ll walk you through their own successes and failures, from their school days through the time when they finally set up their own firm.

Dan and Andre will explain:

• How the design paradigm shifts once you leave the comforts of the classroom

• How to end up where you want to be, or close to it

• The best ways to prepare for the reality that follows graduation, i.e. job interviews, landing your first job, making an impact when you start working, learning as you go, and staying happy, creatively

Download for PC and Mac