To develop the graphics content, InDesign for graphic layout, and Photoshop for image retouching. ⢠Xerox iGen3® usin
SOLUTIONS
INTRODUCING TECHCREATIVE: SOLUTIONS
THE NEXT KEY ROLE IN HIRING
Brian Regan, President, Semper International, LLC I was at the Print Leadership Summit this June in Dallas, when something interesting happened. Speaking on print industry growth strategy and dreams, Paul Reilly of New Direction Partners asked the audience how many of them had a recent hire in their print or production teams. About five people raised their hands. Then, he asked the crowd how many had a recent hire in their technology, marketing or design teams. Nearly everyone in the audience raised their hands.
what is tech? “Technology is the
right tool applied to the right problem.
”
12 10.2014
• A s a job seeker, have you noticed that all the new higher paying jobs seem to require new skills like Dreamweaver or other design tools, or are looking for something called “content”? As a result, we have been a watching the rise of a new kind of employee for the past 18 years. We call this new critical team member the Techcreative.
Over the years we have watched Techcreative roles morph from printers who could manipulate graphic templates into marketing organizations who could create content and promote it in multiple channels and beyond. Today, Techcreative teams touch nearly every modern business unit.
The Techcreative in Action: A Leading Color System Launches a New Product The impact of this new Techcreative role is perhaps best seen in action. In this case study, we can explore how the industry’s leading color company
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1
Deep understanding of a particular technology or area.
2
A good grasp of general technology innovation (so they don’t live alone or in a silo).
finite Transferable Can be used in many ways for many problems. Example: A cup can bail out a boat, be kept hot or cold, combined together to create a wheel.
1
Wants to apply new technology to problems at hand. Examples: The space elevator, using sapphire screens on the iPad, PayPal.
2
Curious about the world around them.
3
Passionate about their calling.
4
Vision to see not only what is, but what could be.
skills
3
Has clearly defined goals and tolerances (parameters).
Strong quantitative background to drive results based on existing constraints.
Example: A cup is specifically designed to hold a fixed volume, not all the liquid in the ocean.
what is creative? “
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.
”
– Steve Jobs
Founder and CEO, Apple Inc.
Evolving Making incremental changes to optimize existing technology to make it cheaper or more effective. Example: The iPhone 5s.
Adaptive Creating a new idea that didn’t exist before. Example: I have a computer, I have a phone: let’s combine them.
TechCreatives are assets who can not only design, but shepherd artistic ideas and new concepts, across various mediums and new technology through the design and implementation phases of an idea or project.
The Techcreative Defined Techcreatives are the intermediaries between the two worlds of creativity and technology—those with the technical expertise to make your ideas a reality. They are assets who cannot only create, but also shepherd artistic ideas and new concepts across various mediums and new technology through the design and implementation phases of a conceptual plan or project.
Example: A bridge is technology used to cross a river.
CEO, Semper
• H ave you noticed that most of your recent hires have been in your IT, marketing, or technology teams? • Is your sales team being inundated by so many questions on technology or databases that they need to bring a subject matter expert to every meeting?
Designed for a specific outcome.
– David Regan,
That crowd is not alone in recognizing that our industry is undergoing a fundamental shift in our internal rosters. Throughout our ranks, we are starting to hear top companies ask questions you may recognize:
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skills
Rigid
adopted Techcreative solutions to launch its new ColorVision Spyder product. Company: Pantone Affiliate Companies: •M agicomm LLC: Strategy, Project Management & Programming • C ole & Co.: Creative Services • C olorCentric Corporation: Digital Print, Finishing & Mailing • G oodway Graphics: Internet & Email Services The Problem. Pantone LLC, is the world-renowned authority on color and a provider of color systems and the technology for communicating color across a variety of industries. The Pantone team needed to generate
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SOLUTIONS
buzz and sales during the launch of their new product, ColorVision Spyder 2, to give it a jump start into the market. They opted to use a variety of dynamic printed and digital material showcasing this new technology to the creative market, including designers, artists, and photographers. Techcreative Solution. Part of the challenge lay in getting a variety of digital marketing and publishing tools to integrate smoothly during production. The tools these campaigns leveraged included: • A dobe Creative Suite. To develop the graphics content, InDesign for graphic layout, and Photoshop for image retouching. • X erox iGen3® using a DocuSP® RIP and Adobe Postscript®. For printed material. • X MPie® PersonalEffect™. To generate the variable-data print stream and the personalized URLs. • D igital Camera • E mail. To deploy the supporting emails for the campaign. •M icrosoft Office. To manipulate the databases and for ongoing documentation. • M ac, PC, and smartphone code. Because the campaign outreach included both traditional PC coding, plus smartphone OS code to reach an increasingly mobile audience. This broad range of tools required a variety of highly skilled personnel during the creative and production process, including strategists, project managers, photographers, graphic designers, and iGen operators. Due to the range of skills required, multiple companies were involved in the campaign. These teams worked together to create a multitouch, multichannel product launch that included magazine ads, Web assets, a multitouch email nurturing campaign, and a critical direct mail campaign to show off the value of the Spyder 2 and the color accuracy of the digital production press.
Looking Toward the Future Once you start looking, the smoke signals indicating this shift toward Techcreative seem unmistakable. Even how children play is changing. The days of erector sets and Lincoln Logs have moved to Minecraft and 3D printing that allow children to create digital communities and transform graphic ideas into physical reality. In fact, people of all ages have less constraints on their imagination today—and more technology to breathe life into their ideas. Amid this transformation, businesses still need to meet today's economic realities. To do that, we need to work together to learn how to meet this digital revolution. Some of these new questions include: • H ow do you position yourself to capitalize on this trend? • D o you have the internal skills needed in-house to compete in this new marketplace?
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Who Is Techcreative? Today, the Techcreative role spans a variety of industries, as the media channels and the skills it takes to properly implement creative design expand from print-only into digital channels, databases, apps, and the rest of the World Wide Web. Marketing roles are morphing to incorporate cross-channel customer engagement strategies, analytics, graphic design, and video production. Similarly, line manufacturers faced with new mechanized processes and Six-Sigma advances are looking for out-of-the-box thinkers to streamline production strategies and improve workplace efficiency. Techcreatives are working in some of the most interesting, cutting-edge industries and roles in business. Here are some examples: • 3 D animation • C AD design • D epartment and project managers • D esigners/developers • E ngineers • G raphic design • Interactive media/print •M ultichannel distribution
• P ackaging/structural engineering • P remedia/prepress • P rint production managers • R endering • S earch Engine Optimization (SEO) or Social media • V ariable-Data Print •W eb to Print
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• H ow can the print industry attract the best and brightest? • Will traditional tendencies of protectionism and fear of change in our industry impact our ability to survive and thrive in this new era? • H ow many new students are entering our industry, and what skill sets are we teaching them? The question is not if business must adjust to new technology and new market dynamics, but what that shift will look like. From there, firms need to identify what staffing, technology, and other resources they will need to execute this plan. By exploring apprenticeships and other on-the-job training programs, or looking into more modern methods like flex staffing, contract work, and alternative on-the-job training programs, we will ready our firms to meet the techcreative challenge with open arms, ready to raise our hands with pride at the next group presentation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Join the conversation on Twitter today. #techcreative. Is your next applicant techcreative-ready? Take the following 22-question quiz. http://bit.ly/semper_22questions
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