200: Usefulness and unexpected magic

AI for Artists and Entrepreneurs launches today from MCAD; The creative hiring process in 2025; AI+Creativity updates

Peer pressure works.

Issue 200 of this newsletter is a joyful reminder to thank

Joseph Rueter

and

Greg Swan

for encouraging me, back in 2023, to start. They suggested I document the inner workings of a course I was about to teach at MCAD called The Future of Advertising. Thanks, fellas!

Now, I’ve been writing online since before the early days of blogging, at one point publishing daily. But then there were those months, and eventually a full year, of not writing. (Pressfield can explain.) I can’t find what post #200 on my original blog was about. But this one’s about seeing around corners.

Back in May 2017 I gave a speech to a room full of magazine publishers about artificial intelligence and automation—around the same time eight Google engineers co-authored Attention Is All You Need, introducing the Transformer architecture, which quickly led to LLMs and ChatGPT. I quoted Stanford organizational sociologist, R. David Dixon Jr., who provided a cheerful observation of that point in time (bolding mine):

“Humans are increasingly less effective and more expensive than good machines. This is true not just for those working at the ground floor, but also for the managers above them. As artificial intelligence and machine learning develops, particularly in their ability to understand and contribute in natural human conversation, humans will reach the end of their usefulness in an increasing number of industries systems entirely.”

Ah, yes. Our “usefulness.”

As I suggested in my speech, “What matters most now is our reaction to these developments. Don’t throw up your hands. Don’t fold. Instead, be even more curious. Can our thinking, our ideas outpace technologies which might appear to threaten our existence?” Or as Seth Godin put it, “How can I become so resilient, so human and such a linchpin that shifts in technology won’t be able to catch up?” I think it’s still critical.

Being “so human.”

In that 2017 speech I encouraged focus, “in the continuous search for unexpected magic.” By which I mean those remarkable words which stick with you, concepts you’re compelled to share, those images, designs, music and experiences that become a part of who you are. It’s getting harder to do, of course. But is there a worthwhile alternative? And really, the only way to keep finding magic is to dig deeper—into our humanity, and into this profound technology that is so often “indistinguishable from magic.”

AI for Artists and Entrepreneurs, 2.0

Today I’m launching another MCAD course. This is my ninth curriculum since 2008, and the first asynchronous and online. A huge thanks to Seth Cortright for teaching me how to leverage the Miro platform. I’m very excited to see how the learning experience, student exploration, task delivery and work develop in this “endless” space. Being able to pinch/zoom from macro to micro feels like a game changer to me.

Session 1 introduces expectations, the tech stack, and context. Thanks to

Jim Cuene

we’ll be discussing that New York magazine story. We’ve got a short awareness and opinions survey, office time booking, and a ~140 word writing assignment. We’ll set sail.

When I first taught this course the primary focus was to “gain advantage.” I think that still resonates. But these days I feel like that search for unexpected magic holds more sway; especially as a result of AI.

I’ll keep you posted.

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Hiring creative roles in 2025

I’m hiring a Digital Designer. 97 people applied. (The application process is now closed.) Here’s a candid overview of my side of the experience.

• Everything is processed through a “talent platform.” Which means how I experienced processing creative applications was pretty mechanical. The first time I saw a candidate was through a uniform interface focused on name and resume. In other words—the first things I saw were NOT a portfolio, a website, or cover letter or anything representing “creativity.” And I get it. The bureaucracy aims for an unbiased, even-handed hiring process, as it should. 🧐 Observation: If you can use your network to get your online portfolio in front of a creative hiring manager, you should.

• I didn’t read a single resume. Because I’m hiring for a portfolio. The HR team gives me a confused look when I say that, but it’s true. I’m hiring for a proven ability to do specific types of creative work—which is very visible through an online portfolio and really hard to see in a resume. I really don’t care where you worked or studied. I care what you created. 🧐 Observation: The single most important element in a creative person’s resume is the URL to their portfolio. Make sure it’s clickable; test your PDF.

• As of this year, the State of Minnesota requires employers over 30 people to post the salary range (this role is $65,000-$75,000—what I’d consider “mid range” for a Digital Designer, or ~4 years experience). 🧐 Observation: That top number is, in fact, the actual top. We don’t have more.

• The HR team asked me to identify eight people for initial phone interviews. We’ll narrow that list for Zoom interviews, and narrow further for a final in-person interview. Ideally, the entire process might take three weeks, tops. But it’s 20 hours in my busy calendar. 🧐 Observation: Once the job is posted the talent team wants to move fast; I’m probably the bottleneck.

Here’s the meat of it:

I processed 97 applications over a day and half.

I probably spent less than 60 seconds per application, on average—meaning some were an obvious and immediate “no” while others warranted a lot more time exploring (i.e. 10-15 minutes looking at portfolios). So how does that work? My absolute, number one criteria for application evals is to be decisive. Here’s how I filtered applications:

1. You have to have an online creative portfolio. It said so in the application. Remarkably, 10% of the applications DID NOT HAVE a URL for an online portfolio listed on their resume. 🤷‍♂️

2. We could have a debate: Is listing just a LinkedIn URL on your resume a good idea if you’re applying for a creative role? Essentially, what you’re expecting is I will go visit your LinkedIn page then search for your actual creative online portfolio. You’ve decided to make the process harder. I did do this extra work for several candidates and either A) they didn’t have a creative portfolio URL, or B) they did and it was not up to the task. 🧐 Observation: If you’re really a creative person, have a distinct URL linking to your portfolio.

3. This role is for a Digital. Designer. Not a print designer. Not a product designer. Not a UX/developer. The job listing said the role would work on, “websites, apps, social.” So that’s what I’m looking for across an online portfolio in this example—is there a collection of website, digital app and social media design? I don’t want to guess how other kinds of work might translate to digital. And I’m not hiring someone so I can train them to learn how to do digital. Also, the portfolio can’t have just one digital case study—ideally you’ll have several. And if there isn’t a body of relevant digital work, there’s no reason to continue. 🧐 Observation: Consider re-organizing your portfolio (or creating an application-specific URL) to prioritize the most relevant work types cited in the application.

4. Now we’re focusing on relevant portfolios, which was probably 20% of the total. Those portfolios had at least 3-4 and often more examples of digital design. And this is where I settle in and spend time looking at the work. (Fascinating to see how Figma and Mr Mockup have made presenting digital work easier and more intriguing.) I have to say I love it when someone articulates their process. I love photos of pencil sketches from early stages of work. I appreciate anyone who documents their insights, personas, strategies and the ways in which those tasks evolve and contribute to initial wireframes, design guides, and prototypes. At this point I’m starting to think beyond mere execution (i.e. “have they proven they are a digital designer?”) and about personality (i.e. “how does this designer think?”). 🧐 Observation: The work itself matters most, but HOW you got there, how you work, is a story worth telling in your portfolio.

5. The last piece at this point of the process is the most illusive. I’m asking, “what does this portfolio communicate about the designer’s personality?” And, “do I think this personality will fit within the team and culture we’ve got?” I’m guessing here, based on 20+ years of hiring and leading designers. I’m also asking myself if I think the aesthetics of an individual’s portfolio will mesh with both the vibe of our current team and where I aspire to push the team’s aesthetics. This is where I might finally go look at an About or Bio page. (Again, I don’t look at resumes.) 🧐 Observation: Your portfolio is your story—so you do you. And the work itself is, I think, the most critical component especially for entry to mid-level roles. But don’t forget to find a way to tell us who you are.

I’ve given eight names to the recruiter.

Once we get through the next few weeks I’ll share more insights on the hiring process.

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🤖 AI+Creativity Update

🔎 Found this useful:

🎙️ The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast is a new favorite (Apple, Spotify). Thanks, Liz! Here’s a salient episode:

🎥 Netflix has published a guide for its partners on “Using Generative AI in Content Production.” You can see how brands and agencies might pursue similar thinking. Netflix’s guiding principles:

“Given the sensitivities surrounding the use of these tools and the evolving legal landscape, it is essential to act responsibly when employing generative workflows. Netflix asks partners to consider the following guiding principles before leveraging GenAI in any creative workflow:

1. The outputs do not replicate or substantially recreate identifiable characteristics of unowned or copyrighted material, or infringe any copyright-protected works

2. The generative tools used do not store, reuse, or train on production data inputs or outputs.

3. Where possible, generative tools are used in an enterprise-secured environment to safeguard inputs.

4. Generated material is temporary and not part of the final deliverables.

5. GenAI is not used to replace or generate new talent performances or union-covered work without consent.

If you can confidently say "yes" to all the above, socializing the intended use with your Netflix contact may be sufficient. If you answer “no” or “unsure” to any of these principles, escalate to your Netflix contact for more guidance before proceeding, as written approval may be required.

If your partner vendor is using a custom GenAI workflow — meaning a pipeline built from multiple tools or models — the same principles apply.”

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