Submitted by Andrew Oechsler on the 2017 summer session program in London, England sponsored by the Department of Art and Design …
This week was full of surprises and excitement. One of the main visits we did that stuck out to me the most was our visit with Michael Johnson at Johnson Banks agency. This agency focused specifically on branding instead of purely advertising, which is what we have usually seen up until this point. However, Johnson Banks did not sit down with us and show us a reel of all their best work and make us feel inferior to them. Instead, their small six person team showed us the steps which they take to solve various branding problems and then proceeded to show us their work that didn’t quite make the cut and in fact received terrible criticism. I think quite highly of them for doing something like this. They showed us their worst stuff and then proceeded to explain what they learned from that and how they used that work to drive their other work forward. This is the kind of humility that I am looking for in a company when I apply for jobs.
Let me preface this next statement with “I love my parents”, however, I was never allowed to watch Harry Potter growing up as a child and I would have to sneak off to my grandmothers and watch the films when they were released on DVD. So growing up I had a secret love for Harry Potter and when I walked through the doors to the Warner Brothers Studio, my jaw literally hit the floor. Walking through the studio for the “Making of Harry Potter” was astonishing. Seeing behind the scenes to the people that made the real magic of the franchise made me truly understand why the movies are such sagas and will live on forever.
After seeing Harry Potter, I wasn’t sure anything could top it. I was wrong. The next day we got to see Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre. It was honestly surreal to stand in the Globe Theatre and watch William Shakespeare’s work of art unfold before my eyes. The play itself was unlike anything I have ever seen before. It wasn’t your classic rendition of Romeo and Juliet. Instead, Romeo and Juliet were star crossed punk rock lovers who danced the YMCA together with a dinosaur to dubstep. Although it was unconventional, it really struck a cord with me. To have Romeo in the crowd standing in front of me declaring his love for Juliet was an experience I will never soon forget. Although the first half was humorous and fun, the second half took a dark turn and by the end, I found myself in tears as I watched the two pour out their hearts in agony and fall in tragedy. I’m not sure anything can quite top this and I am truly grateful for this opportunity.