“Thank you very much, Cassandra, and I want to first say congratulations to the women and men who are graduating – after some long days and nights of hard work, your determination has shown through and propelled you to this day. I also want to say congratulations to the families and friends who have been a support system for you – be it monetarily or emotionally or whatever, I’m really glad to see all of you here today too. And I don’t want to leave out the faculty and staff at the Art Institute who were also certainly a part of making this day possible for everyone graduating today.

As Cassandra said when she introduced me, I am the owner of ADi, an animation company here in Portland. When I graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelors of Science in Radio / Television broadcasting, I had no plans at that time to be involved with animation, let alone own an animation company.

I grew up in television. My parents met at CBS in the 1950’s where my mom was a Producer and my dad was Director. I grew up in NY and from the ages of about 8yrs old till I was about 16, I had a pretty successful career as a child actor. I was in commercials, I was on All My Children, I was in a Broadway play.”

And during that time, I met a lot of kids that were having fun doing this as I was, but I also met some kids doing it because their parents wanted them to do it. Isnt that crazy? 10yr olds, living out their parent’s dreams. And my mom always always said to me ‘We’ll stop doing this when it isn’t fun anymore.”
So, I got to be about 16, and it wasn’t fun anymore. I wanted to be hanging out with other kids my age, getting into some trouble like teenagers get into, and going out on dates. And my mom – though I’m certain she was disappointed in some way when I essentially quit being a professional actor – she never made me feel like I had made a mistake by making that choice.

And I know I’m lucky in that respect – we all have made choices that perhaps our parents weren’t too happy about it. That’s par for the course. And I suspect that you might have made some choices that they might have thought were good choices too – but they might not have been as vocal about their approval as they were about any disapprovals; I mean, ain’t it always the bad things that people are more vocal about? Trust me, that doesn’t change. I cant tell you how many clients – when you hand to them something that you put blood, sweat and tears into, you make their deadline, you deliver their final product, and they say thanks …..and then you don’t hear anything more…..for days, or weeks. And you shrug it off, and think “well, no news is good news.” But damn, they’ll track you down by phone, email, posting on your Facebook page or on Twitter if they aren’t happy.
And the tornado of activity that goes on when someone isn’t happy is this stuff you end up taking to heart as opposed to those quiet moments when things go well and there isn’t a lot of drama involved – but in reality, the quiet times may be the times when you have actually had great success. You just gotta remember to congratulate yourself – and your team – with the same if not more energy as you put forth when you’re upset and frustrated at something going wrong. We always remember the bad, but it’s up to you to remember the good.

So I left acting and being in front of the camera when I was in my teens and I had decided that I wanted to be behind the camera- – just like my parents had done. I figured that I wanted to be on the Producer side of things rather than be a Director. I felt at the time that I didn’t quite have the confidence in my creative outlook and vision to be a Director, though when I look back now I know I choose to be a Producer because it felt in my comfort zone – which I equate with my gut. Folks, trust your gut, I’m sure you’ve been told that a thousand times but no truer words have been spoken – trust your gut. There’s a reason when you are making a decision – be it what color should I choose for this part of my project or what length should this part of my animation be – that you can feel this little pebble sized something in your belly that is either in place and you feel balanced or it is off and your gut is making noise because something in your equilibrium is off and you need to abort mission right there and so you should speak up and don’t leave that moment or conversation till you have gotten the balance back to where it needs to be. You have to trust your gut and believe in yourself. The fact that you are graduating today means you have what it takes. Trust yourself. Believe in your gut.

So as I am sure you guys all discovered in school – all of sudden, you had people around you are focused in the same sort of art and disciplines that you are focused in. And…maybe…you are seeing some talent that is blowing your mind, — and it isn’t yours. Now you can either choose to push that aside and consider it a challenge that you’re going to be the best out there or you can talk to those folks, gain inspiration from them, and give each other respect and maybe even make them a part of your lifelong team. In the creative industry you are only as good as your team, — you will only succeed if your network succeeds. Because you know what? You’ll bump into them again. OR you’ll meet someone – 5 years, 10years down the road – that will connect you back to that person. I’m sure you’ve heard not to burn any bridges? Well…
A couple of months ago at my company we interviewed for a contract position, and there were a couple of candidates that rose to the top of the selection process, and because being able to work on a team is kinda sorta everywhere in the creative industry – if you plan on getting paid for your work – I asked the staff if they knew any of the people interviewed. Well, they did. And in particular, two staff members had experience working with one of those really talented candidates – everyone at ADi is an AI alumni, by the way– and they said that that person did not work well with others, they had worked on class projects with that person and though they had a good portfolio they were not good with criticism nor good with actively being able to work under production timelines. And that was all I needed to hear – and I crossed that person right off of the list without further thought.
The creative community, whether it be in Portland, or the US, or honestly – in the World – the longer you are in it the smaller it gets. You have to be good to people – you have to respect the people you choose to work with – you gotta be good to your team.
Speaking of teams, this is a good time for me to bring up one particular point that I think I have unique insight on – being a successful female in an otherwise male dominated industry. And not just a successful woman, but a woman who is in the position of leading and giving direction to a lot of guys. Now before half of this audience tunes out because you don’t think this part of my speech is directed at you – I really suggest that you do stay tuned in. Remember that part just a moment ago when I mentioned how important it is to be able to work in a team, respect your team, support your team members?
For all the ladies out there – Never leave a meeting without saying out loud what you came in there to say, AND make sure you are Heard. Prepare to participate! It doesn’t count if you quickly mumble something as everyone is packing their stuff up. One of my favorite quotes in the world is from Eleanor Roosevelt, and it hangs next to my desk: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” You’re the one in charge of being heard, and realize that outside of school and in a business environment – (and as creative as the folks may be who are gathered around the table, if money is being exchanged for the work you are doing, it IS a business environment) – realize you may not be asked for your opinion or thoughts directly. You have to speak up. Show confidence. Don’t betray your gut.

So here’s the crux of what I want to share with you today. And this will sound dramatic, but much like those bad critiques from people in our lives that stick to you more than the good critiques…I want to make sure you understand the breadth of what I want to share and not blow it off, because it is really important you hear it.
It – the planning, the problem solving, the design, the creative, the vision, the goal – IT will all go BAD. You are going to fail. I don’t mean ‘you’ll run out of time before a deadline’ or you have a client who isn’t happy with what you delivered to them’ or something just doesn’t turn out the way you envisioned that end product to look like’ but I mean you’re going to cry like the most dearest and sweetest and closest person in the world to you died. You’re going to feel like — and this is my personal experience – you’re going to feel like something inside you, like…a vital organ of some sort – is tearing and you cant breath. And you’ll feel very very alone.

But, and here’s the key thing, – you’re going to get through it. At the time of the failure you wont see even a pinprick of light, not a odor of success will be in your midst, and it really makes you feel like you want to – nay, you should – throw the towel in.
But you’re going to get through it. Because of all the things I’ve been talking about, – of building a team where you trust those closest around you, because you respect not just those other people but because you respect and trust yourself. You believe in yourself.
I’ve seen brilliant, passionate people around me go through this very thing – this IS going to happen. And I want to make sure you hear me when I tell you – you’re going to survive it.

Alright, the rough, heavy stuff is over. Here’s the part of my speech where I commend you for being the creative individuals that you are. Let me see a show of hands — Who here has been told ‘You really think you can make a living doing THAT?’ or ‘with all of those tattoos no one is going to hire you for anything more than being a busboy’ or, my personal favorite, ‘Wow, you’re really creative. So…, what are you going to do for a real job?’ … Yeah, well, make sure you go back to those folks who said that to you and, very politely since, as I recently mentioned, it’s all about relationships and who you know and the creative industry is a small and chatty and gossipy one, – and go back to them and give them the FYI that you have graduated with a degree from the Art Institute of Portland and you’re about to prove them wrong.

At the end of the day, people may forget your words, but they will never ever forget how you make them feel.

Thank you everyone, — have a fantastic day, have a fantastic life, really truly listen to your gut and show confidence, celebrate the successes no matter how small, build trust and respect in your relationships and teams – and above all — respect and trust yourself.

Jerry Ketel’s Keynote address:

Thank you, it is a pleasure to be addressing you, my fellow creative professionals. And thank you for the introduction, although I think I will read to you what the Willamette Week wrote last week about this address, and I quote:

“This graphic designer managed to graduate art school AND get a job. Now he has to convince everybody else there is a future for art majors.”

Well, I don’t have to convince everybody that the world needs art majors. I mean, have you been to Gresham? Or Beaverton? Or Detroit? The world needs some imagination, don’t you think?

I mean, look at us (directing attention to commencement faculty all dressed in cap and gown). Can’t we get some help from the fashion designers in the house?

We creative types have a whole world to change!

Willamette Week then suggested that someone who would be more qualified to address you would be servers, personal assistants or telemarketers, (you know, for an approximation of what art school will really be like.)

Well, believe it or not, a former waitperson and bartender IS addressing you today.

OK, I know, I’ve probably shattered your image of me as a demi-god, among the pantheon of artistic greats like the guy who invented paint splattered aprons. The truth is, I was simply the guy who outlasted the competition. My very first job as a creative professional, I was fired. In fact I was fired 3 times in my career as an art director.

But let me back up a little…

From a very early age, I was fascinated with the arts. Probably, like you, I found myself drawing pictures and sorting colors in the crayola box, or simply melting them all together with my mother’s iron to see what color you get. Minus the wax paper.

But my mother knew I was going to be a creative at 16 months when she discovered me enraptured by the ads on TV. Actually, she thought I had ADD.

Because whenever the TV show was on, I would be playing in my cage, I mean playpen, slobbering on rubberized animals and lead paint. But when the ads came on, I would stop, get very quiet and watch the commercial.

It could have been an ad for hair coloring or halitosis or hemorrhoids, it didn’t matter, an ad man was born!

After a few years, it seemed evident that I was either going to go into demolition or art school. I choose art school. What a mistake that was!

But honestly, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. Don’t you agree class of 2008? Didn’t you find it hard?

Well, I have to tell you, it doesn’t necessarily get any easier. When I first got out of school, like you, I walked into the loving arms of a recession. Except this recession was the worst in Oregon’s history. 1981, Timber was going away and at the time, there was very little to replace it. Nike had barely been born. So what did I do?

I bartended! And I worked during the day as a freelancer. Slowly eking out an existence and building my portfolio until I got a job at an honest to goodness advertising agency. Right here in Portland.

And I became very excited, because my boss was a man of experience and he had big dreams! We were going to go far, and be part of the creative firmament! Yes, because he was the man who at a former agency in LA, was responsible for ads for Krazy Glue and The Ron Popeil Pocket Fisherman and the Vegematic!

Yes, he knew how to get a response out of people, make the phones ring, sell product! Sell, sell, sell!

I was so starry-eyed that I wasn’t listening. This was the man who was responsible for some of the worst advertising ever. Today’s equivalent would be to work for the people who did the Head-On commercial. Head on. Apply directly to the forehead.

It didn’t work out. But would I do it again? You bet I would. Because it was a chance. And I took it.

Because, like you, I have dreams.

My career has had many blunders and mistakes and failures.

Like the time I was offered stock options consulting for Starbucks in the early 1990s. I thought, how many coffee shops could there be?

I’ve been kicked in the teeth by an unappreciative client, backstabbed by jealous rivals and partners and sidelined by everything from volcanoes to 9/11.

I’ve had to work harder than my competition, staying up until the wee hours of the morning, living on coffee and cigarettes for days until I deliver a project just in time and later find out that the project was killed because the client needed to go on vacation.

See what you have to look forward to!

Is it all worth it? Yes. The answer is unequivocally yes. There is no other job in the world like a creative job. You get to go in every morning and play. And you get the best toys to play with–computers, and fabricating machines and ideas. You get to create things! Use your mind to come up with crazy wacky designs and ideas that no one wants to believe until you make them believe.

Sure, you might have to work until 2 in the morning, or maybe even seven. But at least you aren’t gouging your eyes out with spreadsheets.

I have had more fun than any accountant, lawyer or stockbroker I have ever met.

And so, my fellow creative professionals, while the road is hard, it is rewarding. BUT there are a few tools that you will need to survive in your creative careers.

The top three things you need to succeed (aside from a thick skin), as a creative professional are Talent, discipline and passion.

Yes, you know by now that you need talent, Talent includes smarts as well as creativity–you need to be as smart as you are creative. Creativity is useful talent.

Second, you need discipline. When you walk out that door today, know that you will need to be working on your skills every day, constantly sharpening and honing them.

In fact, I think discipline is more important than talent. If you work hard, you can overcome more talented but lazy professionals.

Third, you need to stoke the passion for your craft. This may sound like a no-brainer for you now, but trust me, continue to find new ways to challenge yourself and excite the passion within. Keep stoking the fire.

Talent, Discipline and Passion. Remember those three things and you will be a successful creative professional.

Because we need creative people in this world, people who solve problems, create beautiful things, and make our society a better place to live through their vision.

We need your creativity, class of 2008.

So tell me, is there a future for art majors? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you, is there a future for creative people?

Stand up. Is there a future for you guys?

You bet there is.

Thank you.

So here is my 15 minute speech (which is slightly more formal than when I presented it and had all the graduates stand and the audience of 350 people give a huge round of applause, high fives, etc for their milestone accomplishment):

“• I’m honored to be here. Thank you. I’m not a traditional choice for a Commencement Speaker of this esteemed college of insanely talented designers and professors. I am not a designer and do not have a design background.

• However, I am inspired by design, creativity, and innovation. Five and a half years ago, I started an interactive agency called eROI that is now 50 people strong. In just the past couple years, I’ve hired 7 of you – graduates of the Art Institute of Portland. And, I’ve got to be honest, you are some of the smartest, most talented creatives in the country, making folks from brand-name New York design schools pale in comparison. I’m even more convinced of this after visiting your Portfolio Show earlier today – wow, some great work there.

• Management guru, Peter Drucker, said that business has 2 functions: marketing and innovation. And, if you look at the market today, you’ll notice that companies like Apple, Google, and Nike are rewarded with huge premiums in their stock prices due to a sense of creativity and innovation through every element of their products and how they conduct business. From this, we know that design isn’t just about making pretty pictures, it’s about having a profoundly positive impact on the world.

more…”

“• When I thought about what I was going to say to you, I realized I needed to step into your shoes to figure out what might be helpful or entertaining or both, so I’ll do my best. You’ve MADE IT. You worked your butt off and you graduated from an incredible institution. You are PSYCHED. You should be – CONGRATULATIONS. So, now what? CHOICES, so many choices. For some of you, you’ll take the summer off and explore the world a little before you get locked into a job. For others, you’ll need to get a job ASAP.

• I want to tell you a little bit of my story, then give you a few bits of practical advice that may help out. I went to University of Virginia and loved it. I worked hard and played hard. The reality was that I played a lot harder than I worked, but managed to do alright. After my freshman year, I drove solo across country to work as the night janitor at Lake MacDonald Lodge at Glacier National Park in Montana. It was a transformative experience – I hiked nearly every day, went backpacking in the heart of grizzly country, and saw some of the most beautiful mountainous scenery and wildlife in my life. I also discovered an appreciation for cleaning out the hot oil in the deep fryers in the kitchen every week – IT SUCKED. After that summer, I realized that anything was possible and gained the confidence to do whatever it took to do what I wanted to do.

• The next summer, I worked at Black Butte Ranch near Sisters, Oregon. That place is Paradise on Earth and the reason why I’m here today – there is no better place than Portland. I feel so lucky to be here. So, let’s fast-forward a bit. I graduated with a double major in Environmental Science and Finance. There wasn’t a single company from Oregon that came to University of Virginia to recruit, so I had to make it happen. Six months before graduation, I flew out to Portland and did an informal informational interview at Intel in Hillsboro. Three months later, the hiring manager called me back and said that he can only talk to undergraduate candidates from Oregon and Washington – that was the policy. Without hesitation, I said “that’s great, I’m absolutely moving to Portland, so consider me from Oregon. When can we do the interview?” Within a couple weeks, I was offered a job as Financial Analyst at Intel.

• I lasted 3.5 years at Intel. I learned a lot of valuable lessons of some great things (results-orientation, well managed, and rewarding good behavior). I also learned what not to do in my next business – Intel, with its sea of cubicles and overall atmosphere, lacks creativity, to put it mildly. I found myself singing Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” whenever describing the culture there.

• It was March, 2000 when I left Intel to start a construction-related dot com. The timing couldn’t have been worse – the dot com world was crashing all around me – and I was beating my head against the wall for over 2 years TRYING to sell technology to commercial contractors – PAINFUL. Now, that I think of it, our branding, design, and marketing was god awful, which led to the demise of that business. I tweaked the business model to form a web and e-commerce company called GCM Development, and at the same time, started a separate full-service email marketing company called emailROI. A year later, I combined the 2 companies to form eROI, which is part online creative agency, part software company. And over the past 5 years, we’ve been fortunate to do some amazing work for clients like Wacom, Disney, HBO, and Kettle Foods. That work has propelled us to be one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the country (recognized by Inc. magazine).

• Let’s get back to YOU. You’ve got thousands of choices, but for the sake of time, I’m going to narrow it down to 3 professional choices – you can go to work for an agency (like eROI, W+K, Leo Ketel, and others in town), for a client-side or product-based company (like Nike, Wacom, or startups like SameUnderneath), or you can Freelance.

• No matter what path you choose, you absolutely need to begin networking. Tomorrow, while you are nursing your hangover, go to the following websites and sign up for the newsletters of Portland Ad Federation, American Marketing Association, AIGA, and pdxMindShare. Put the next event for each of these organizations on your calendar and go to it. Don’t be shy, talk to people there. Ask stupid questions, but whatever you do, get involved and begin the conversation. Before that, email/call the Executive Director or President and set up a 20-30 minute informational interview meeting. Ask for introductions to other people you should talk to.

• Research the organization, agency or company before your informational interview. Have at least 3 good questions ready to ask. I meet with folks networking for jobs at least once a week and it is painful when I’m asking all the questions instead of the other way around – those type of meetings only last 10 minutes, not 30. Ask who else might be good to talk to.

• You might be an incredibly talented designer, but if you don’t make that in-person connection with others in the Portland creative community, you won’t get the job or the clients as a freelancer.

• When interviewing design candidates, there are 3 things I like for in how they present their experience and their work – thoughtfulness, maturity, and balance.

o Thoughtfulness – you need to be able to confidently present the thought that went into the design and why it fit that brand. Many of the cleanest designs seem effortless, but there is a very deliberate thought process that made it work. Clients will value design a whole lot more if they understand how it fits with their brand and why their logo, website, email, letterhead was designed a certain way.

o Maturity – hopefully, you’ve had some experience with clients. With experience, comes the maturity of not only tolerating but truly enjoying tough feedback that can make you better as a designer.

o Balance – with balance, you know when to push back on demanding clients and when to make the design revisions they ask for. Also, a balance in your design style means that you can adapt to many different styles instead of designing one way.

• Lastly, make sure you do your homework on the companies you really want to work for. This is where idealism meets practical real-world application. You want to look for 3 main things to make sure that company is a good fit for you: great work, a quirky but amazing culture, and financial stability.

o Great work – you can see it on their website, read news about the agency, and ask around town about the agency’s reputation.

o Culture – perhaps the most important part of a company that will dictate whether or not you’ll want to hang around for a few weeks or a few decades. Is it a fun place to work? Is it a collaborative environment? Do you feel like you have a voice and can make a difference? At eROI, a year ago, our processes had not kept up with our growth and it created a major problem. While everyone got along great on a personal level, there was some significant professional tension between our Design and Production departments and our Sales and Account departments – because we were not including design and production team members into the beginning of the scoping, ideation, and strategy of the project. I met with all 34 employees one-on-one, back-to-back for 3 days straight and wrote down 50 process improvements and held an all-company meeting on the fourth day and we created change and improvement immediately including a process team that meets weekly. The point is that every company gets off-course, but good companies make sure everyone has a voice, validates it, and makes change happen quickly. The more transparent, the better. You need to find out – are people at your new company all aligned with the same vision – to do amazing work for clients and utterly delight people and customers?

o Financial Stability – a company can do great work and have an amazing culture but you want to make sure that it doesn’t go bankrupt – at least not for a little while.

• You are about to start the greatest adventure of your life. Make your choice – travel around the world, start networking for a job, begin your own company – whatever you do, do it with conviction, do it with confidence. As Robert Pirsig said in Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, “in your journey, the sides of the mountain sustain life, not the top.” In other words, enjoy the creative process of whatever choice you make. It will be full of excitement, anxiety, and stress, but enjoy it! There is no better time than now.

• Thank you.”