Author: TCG Advertising

Megan Harley’s route from her home in East Petersburg to the Art Institute of York, where she is working on her Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design, takes her right by our front door. She must have noticed that our Welcome mat is always out, and called us about doing an internship. We’re glad she did!

Megan spends a couple afternoons a week with us. We work in such a collaborative way that she is getting a taste of many aspects of our creative process.

“I want to learn as much as I can about the real business, how it all works,” says Megan, who described how her love of art began as a little kid and continued through high school. She “loves logos” and has a special interest in working with companies to develop their corporate identity and brand.

We expect to benefit from the internship almost as much as Megan will.

“In our business, learning never ends,” notes our art director, Kim. “Megan brings us a fresh perspective from today’s design classroom.”

We work in a fun and creative business and we’re some of the most talented people around. (We’re not just saying that; our clients tell us that all the time.) Creativity, like money, doesn’t grow on trees and even the most creative people need a little fresh thought and a nudge now and then. One resource we’ve used comes from creative coach Mark McGuiness. It’s a creative thinking booster called reframing.

Essentially, reframing moves you from one interpretation of an event, situation, behavior, person or object to a completely different interpretation. Maybe you’ve formed an opinion of someone as being difficult or unpleasant. Then you learn about a challenging personal situation the person is dealing with and your feelings turn from annoyance to sympathy. You’ve reframed your opinion.

Here’s another example: your daughter is failing math. She studies extra hard, does well on a test, and her grade rises. It’s still a failing grade, but her overall performance is on the upswing – failing vs. progress in the right direction. Framing her situation in a positive way does not change the essential nature of it, but your daughter feels better about herself and sees a good outcome from her efforts.

Creative reframing lets you see new possibilities. Where some might see an obstacle, you see an opportunity. With reframing, you are simply reappraising a situation, event, person, etc., which stimulates your thinking and recalibrates the way you feel.

McGuiness suggests you start reframing by asking questions such as these:

What else could this mean?
Where else could this be useful?
What can I learn from this?
What is the funny side of this?
How does this look to other people involved?
What opportunities are lurking inside this problem?
What does the solution to this problem look like and can I start doing that right now?

The best thing about reframing or any type of creative thinking is that it leads to creative doing. And that’s really the fun part!

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

Quotes about love abound, but this one by Dr. Seuss is one of the best.

In many ways, we feel we’ve been living a reality that other agencies may just dream of living. Here’s why: We love working together. We love the work we do. We love our clients, who work with us to create terrific advertising and marketing campaigns. We love the excitement as we begin to work with a new client. At the same time, we love the comfort of working with long-term clients who trust and respect us. We love seeing our clients succeed and knowing we’ve played a part in their success.

That’s a whole lotta talk about love, for sure. We know we’re lucky to have days filled with people and work we love. And sometimes we have to pinch ourselves just to make sure it’s not a dream.