Villing
Points of View
There's no such thing as a free lunch, but our ideas are on the house.
The following 54 articles were tagged as "creative".
Lessons from a Commercial Shoot
Although my internship at Villing & Company is still in its early stages, I’ve already been given great learning opportunities - like participating in the filming and production of a TV commercial.Read More
Q&A with Art Director Ellen Imbur
A special Q&A with Villing & Company Art Director Ellen Imbur.Read More
Q&A with Creative Director Jeff Middaugh
Villing & Company assistant account executive, Aaron Charles, interviews creative director, Jeff Middaugh, to see what the life of an agency creative director is like.Read More
Do You Believe in Music?
Great music can sometimes transcend the transition between commercial and popular music.Read More
How 'The Revenant' Used Virtual Reality as a Marketing Tool
As marketers begin to warm up to virtual reality as a tool in the marketing mix, this is the type of campaign that makes sense. I’ll give you two reasons why – storytelling and visuals.Read More
When Life Hands You Rainclouds, Change the Weather (But Don't Expect It to be Easy)
Villing & Company video specialist, Brad Rosier, talks about the joys and pitfalls of the oft-parroted digital mantra: "We can always change it in post."Read More- Above & Beyond: Delta Does Video Right
Too many marketers believe when it comes to communicating marketing messages in whatever medium, good enough is good enough.Read More 
Behind the Scenes: Filming a TV Commercial
Villing Intern Alexa Tupper gives unique perspective on a recent video shoot and explains why investing the appropriate time and effort in a project is so important. Read More
Universal Thinks "Inside the Box" to Advertise Jurassic World
Because most forms of traditional advertising are struggling to break through the clutter, advertisers have to come up with creative ways to build awareness.Read More- Marketing That Moves: The Power of Storytelling Revisited
Whether a story is part of a news article, a simple conversation, a good book or even in the context of marketing communications, a compelling narrative well presented has unique, yet universal power.Read More - A Stunning Animated Short Film
As marketers, we understand the importance of great stories and how narrative has amazing potential for powerfully communicating brand messages. But sometimes—well, oftentimes—art should be appreciated for art's sake.Read More - Selling Sad: We Analyze the Reaction to the Nationwide Commercial
Did you see the Nationwide ad with the little boy in it? Of course you did! We take a look at whether their strategy worked.Read More 
Strategic Product Placement: A Weapon in the Fight for the Consumer Dollar
Truly effective product placement should take into account both the product and the venue and weave these two elements together in a strategic manner.Read More- The Head-Shakers Among the Legion of Nodders
It's easier to agree. Way easier. The only trouble is that sometimes the blindfolded, nodding marchers are heading right off the edge of a cliff.Read More 
The Color of Marketing
The role of color in marketing is hardly breaking news. Color has influenced marketing decisions for over a century. Read More- Why Words Matter in Marketing
Words get a bad rap these days. If I hear one more person say nobody reads anymore, I may throw just throw a typewriter at someone.Read More - Design And Functionality Are The Same
Design tends to be the go-to term for the folks on the art end of things while functionality remains the five-syllable favorite for the tech set. But both are all about the same thing.Read More - Creativity Unplugged - Switching Off Tech When Switching On Ideas
Going low-tech to write down your thoughts on paper can be freeing and refreshing from our everyday gadgets.Read More - Experience Speaks Louder Than Words
A recent viral Volkswagen public service announcement shows how to make an intangible message more tangible using modern technology.Read More - Mad Men Unstuck in Time, Part 1 - Present Perception of Past Ads
This first article in a multipart series taking us back in time to visit various eras in advertising over the last century.Read More - Elmore Leonard on Writing Copy
A look at the late Elmore Leonard's ten rules of writing and their application to ad copywriting.Read More 
Want to Make A Real Impact? Go Off Script.
Reflecting on my own experiences with countless commercials, videos, feature stories and even new business pitches, it's interesting how many times the major takeaway was never included in a script. Read More
Typography (The Revival)
Recently the world of design is starting to revisit what most would call the lost art form of hand lettering, calligraphy, letterpress printing and wood type.Read More- Relearning How to Play
In the last few years I've been noticing the correlation between creativity and play more and more. For some reason, the theme keeps popping up in my mind.Read More 
A Mansion of a Logo
South Bend's Center for History invited us to help them create a new visual identity for the historic Oliver Mansion.Read More- Why Lousy Design Can Diminish Your Company's Perceived Trustworthiness
There is good design (the kind that does its job well), and there is bad design (the kind that doesn't). While mediocre design probably won't kill you, bad design can make your company look like it can't be trusted.Read More - How Long Is Too Long? Reflections on the Duration of Video Content
Frequent readers of Villing Views are familiar with Thom's thoughts on the issue of long versus short relative to headlines, taglines and text. Now he turns his attention to length of video content.Read More - Improving Video Quality By Educating Artists to Think Technically
With the advent of low cost video equipment with interchangeable lens systems and the increase in demand for video, video quality has never been more relevant.Read More - Making Video Look Pretty
Making video look great requires understanding a few basic principals. Our video producer shares a few things to keep in mind to help maximize the aesthetic potential of your videos.Read More - Astronauts, Animation and Originality: Thoughts on Firsts and Why They Impact Us More Than Lasts
It's easy to adopt the "me too" mentality when approaching marketing communications. But true leaders seldom say "me too"; they say "us first".Read More - Concept to Completion - Making 2D Photographs Appear 3D
Our video producer discusses what it takes to make still photographs come alive by using digital trickery and lots of creative imagination.Read More 
3 Keys to Turning Marketing into Storytelling
What I remember most about the holidays is storytelling. I find it ironic, then, that the art of storytelling in marketing campaigns seems to be lost this time of year.Read More- Transparency with a Purpose: Solid Marketing Tactics at Root of Miracle Whip's 'Love/Hate' Campaign
What happens when a company seeks and embraces negative feedback just as much as positive reinforcement from consumers? Read More - A Simple Message Told as an Epic Saga in One Minute
The power of motion graphics is that animators and designers can build worlds that don't exist in reality to tell powerful and engaging visual stories.Read More - You Talking to Me? Allstate's "Mayhem" Takes Familiar Product to New Audience
More than just incredibly good creative work, the Allstate Mayhem campaign shows the company is shifting its target to a younger audience.Read More - Thoughtful Design: If It Matters in Print, It Matters in Motion
These days, the tools needed to create motion graphics are accessible to practically everyone. This is both good and bad.Read More - It's the Thought That Counts: Marketing in a World of iPhone Movie Studios
The newest iPhone has arrived, and it's fitting an entire movie studio in your back pocket. Using this slick piece of tech that's barely bigger than a credit card, you can shoot, edit, score and even export HD video.Read More - The Democratization of Digital Cinematography: Why Low Budget No Longer Means Low Quality
Consumer video has come a long way in the last thirty years. This is great news for low-budget video geeks and companies who are looking for ways to cut advertising costs.Read More - Copywriters in the Digital Age: Essential or Essentially Extinct?
In an era of short attention spans, high visual imagery, bullet points, scannable text and steadily declining use of traditional media, are copywriters about to become extinct?Read More - What Peter Jackson Taught Me About Digital Set Design
The "Lord of the Rings" movies are full of digital locations and creatures that obviously don’t exist. Learn how you can use similar techniques to take your TV commercials to the next level.Read More - I May Be Married to Technology, but I Sometimes Cheat With a #2 Pencil
Is it just me, or do some of the best ideas come when you shut down your high-tech computer and start thinking with a simple pencil and paper?Read More - Feel the Burn: No Critical Pain, No Creative Gain.
Any designer or illustrator will tell you that criticism and revisions are not fun. Regardless of how in love we are with our masterpieces, however, nearly every design can be improved - often, a lot.Read More - Concept to Completion - Creating a Kinetic Typography TV Commercial
Brad Rosier explains the process of putting together a TV spot using kinetic typography.Read More - The Demise of Arrested Development and How it Relates to Long Tail Marketing and Niche Demand for Hi
Arrested Development died because it couldn't find its audience. However, recent developments make it easier for entertainment and marketing professionals to connect with valuable niches online.Read More - When Did Creativity Become a Commodity?
As the marketing services industry has changed due to media fragmentation and technological advances, my one solace has been that there would always be a market for ideas. Now I'm not so sure.Read More - Concept to Completion - Behind the Scenes on a Motion Graphics TV Commercial: Part 2
In the last article I explained the preproduction and production process in creating a motion graphics TV spot for McDonald’s. Now let’s talk about what I consider the really fun stuff: postproduction.Read More - Concept to Completion - Behind the Scenes on a Motion Graphics TV Commercial: Part 1
In this article and the next I’ll be taking you behind the scenes on a motion graphics-driven commercial that we recently created for McDonald’s.Read More - Making Words Look Better!
Words words words. We all use words. Now there's a way to pull all of these words together and make something worth looking at.Read More - The Day After Tomorrow: E Ink and the Blurring Line Between Video and Print
A couple of months back, my wife and I were visiting our local Borders bookstore. Normally, I don't pay attention to Esquire magazine, but on this occasion I couldn't help reaching for it with trembling hands.Read More - Free Wallpaper Wednesday
Seasons Greetings from Villing and Company! Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone but there's still time to take advantage of something we like to call "Free Wallpaper Wednesday!"Read More - Improve Your View
As a service to our professional community and our various partners and interested guests, Villing & Company has introduced a new selection of desktop wallpaper designs.Read More - iStock Legos or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Cheap Photography: Part 2
In part two, Brad Rosier shares examples of composite designs that make good use of cheap, online stock photography websites.Read More - iStock Legos or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Cheap Photography: Part 1
Recently, there's been an explosion of cheap, online stock photography websites. For graphic designers, this has been both a blessing and a curse.Read More 
Tell a Good Story and Your Marketing Will Live Happily Ever After.
As marketers in this modern day world, I believe it's still very important to tell a story to help sell the products and services we represent.Read More
