Give A Damn, Damn It: Reddit Co-founder Alexis Ohanian

Alexis Ohanian shares lessons learned from years of building three startups from scratch. Making a customer's day should be obligatory throughout every organization, he urges. Whether you mail swag to early users (like Hipmunk) or add fun to the otherwise mundane (like Wufoo), everything should have a personality that wins over users and, as a side effect, is more effective than any other kind of "traditional" marketing. 

You are building something. I hope that you want to make the thing you are making, and as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian says, do it so you can surprise and delight. You do that by giving a damn. 

Paula Scher: Once you know what you're doing, it's not as good

Sometimes you have to ignore the brief, says renowned designer and artist Paula Scher. With a dry wit, Scher takes us behind-the-scenes on four landmark projects -- from revamping MoMA's identity to reinvigorating a Pittsburgh neighborhood through design -- to illustrate how asking questions, pushing into uncharted territory, and doing something you've never done before leads to great work.

​I love the work of Paula Scher. She has created some of my favorite arts marketing identities, including this poster that actually made me stop my hustled walk towards the subway so I could stare at it for a little while:

In this talk, from this year's 99u conference, ​she continues to explore themes she's shared before. In the talk, as in the past, she discusses failure, demonstrates those things that they don't teach you in design school and displays her love for typography. For more check out her TED Talk on serious play and how her career took off because she hated Helvetica. 

Gareth Kay: Brand Building in a Digital Age

One thing that holds true is the importance of storytelling -- it has worked since the Stone Age. How stories are told has changed with culture, though, and technology has shaped emerging culture and behavior very dramatically over the last 10 – 20 years. Most obviously, to quote Charles Vallance, we’ve moved from a download culture to an upload culture. As a result, old ways of storytelling are less relevant. Brands and communications used to be built on the consumption of a message and interruption; they were massive firework displays. Today, the conversation around brands is much more participatory. One thing that's changed, and should be of concern, is that people see brands as less important and meaningful now. The Havas Media Lab published some research that suggested most people wouldn't care if 70% of brands disappeared. Brands need to create real value in order to be meaningful and distinct. That means we have to think less about what our brand says and more about how a brand can be useful and helpful.

Gareth Kay, Chief Strategy Officer at Goodby, Silverstein and Partners interviewed as part of Think with Google The Brand New Series.

James Victore: In The Particular Lies The Universal

What's the value of your creative voice? A lot, according to designer James Victore. At the 99% Conference and using some of his own creative challenges as examples, Victore argues that it is only through finding your voice, your fears, and your passion -- and expressing them -- that you can make great work.

James Victore runs an independent design studio hell-bent on world domination. He is an author, designer, filmmaker and firestarter. He continually strives to make work that is sexy, strong and memorable; work that toes the line between the sacred and the profane. His paintings of expressionist designs can be seen on ceramics, surfboards, billboards and supermodels. 

He is also presenting Take This Job & Love It, a one day live event about work, life, and bucking the status quo, in New York on September 29.​

Michael Bierut On The New Philbrook Museum of Art Brand

Michael Bierut of the New York City-based firm Pentagram discusses his work with Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's always fascinating to see where inspiration comes from. Earlier we covered Beirut and the creation of the logo for the Frank Gehry designed New World Symphony.