NY Times Article

CEO - chief executive officer

23-33 magic 10 years where your career and opportunities are presented to them

-passionate curiosity - curious about everything - learning from others

confident people - know theres a lot of things they dont know - this is the diffrence between confidence and arrogance.

Woody Allen - 50% is showing up

-being comfortable w/being uncomfortable

Steve Jobs - mini ipod - constantly questioning what works - even in the height of success - mini ipod to nano ipod.

failure - dont take it personally

formulaic - only do this, only do that - be an exotic person

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/business/17excerpt.html?_r=1

Highest Paid Designers

Before anybody answers Architect I will tell you now it is no highly paid at all (as I have been researching this question and that is a popular answer, I've also studied and worked in architecture and people always wrongly think I'm well off). Contrary to popular belief architects earn £30,000-£40,000 a year and perhaps more in London or in a senior role. You also have 5 years worth of education and 2 years work experience (RIBA framework) to get through first. It is not the most value for money but it's an enjoyable creative job that hardly repeats itself (every project being unique).

I suspect the highly paid design jobs are freelance jobs but they come with risks. It's not so much the profession with design but how high up the ladder you have climbed and the contacts you've made. If you're a director of a design firm then you could be earning around £100k+ per year depending on the profession.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_highest_paid_design_jobs#ixzz1LVJ5loxh

Melinda Gates

Voted Second most creative person on Fast Company in 2010 because of her influence over the world's largest foundation is enormous -- Bill has said it wouldn't exist if it weren't for her. Maybe it should be called the Melinda & Bill Gates Foundation. She has championed not only big-picture, tech-oriented solutions to improve health and education over the long term but also more modest steps to help the poorest of the poor right now, such as distributing condoms. The foundation's latest surprise: funding health and education messages to be integrated into Viacom TV programming. Sneaky? Perhaps. Daring? For sure -- and that's what Gates, 44, expects of the foundation. "We will get out there and try something," she told Vogue this year. "If it doesn't work, we will try something else. And we will keep trying until we find something that works." --by Jeff Chu

http://www.fastcompany.com/100/2009/melinda-gates

Packaging design to help increase sales!

“Waitrose Herbs have a lot to say for themselves. Each minimally packaged pot carries bold tabloid style text, telling you everything you may not already know about the contents. Guest herbs make an exclusive and seasonal appearance with a splash of red in the headline. Herbs are as rich in myth and magic as they are in flavour and nutrition. This was a great opportunity to spread the word and present some real shelf talkers.”

An Absolut World of Branding

I was 15 years old when I saw my first Absolut ad. I have been intrigued by the brand ever since and how Absolut has taken one product and made so many variations of it. This is the essence of creativity and marketing to me. The clever designs and witty captions are simple yet compelling, helping Absolut become one of the leading spirit companies in the world. When seeing the product, logo, or ads consumers are immediately able to identify it as Absolut. Their brand is recognized globally not only by their logo, but their product and their ad campaigns. To me this shows the true power of branding. The company was not just focused on creating an exceptional logo such as Nike, or McDonalds were, they have created and branded an Absolut world.

The history of Absolut Vodka dates back hundreds of years showing the value, recognition and glory of the brand. The popularity of Absolut in the U.S. has stirred excitement in our pop culture inspiring art, fashion and music to be associated with the Absolut. The power of the brand is limitless.