Recently, I had the great pleasure of interviewing the graduating students of Brooks Institute Visual Communication discipline in Santa Barbara. For those who are not familiar with Brooks or its visual communication discipline, you can visit their site here:

<a href="http://www.brooks.edu/viscom.asp#">http://www.brooks.edu/viscom.asp#</a>

Like many, I have long been familiar with Brooks as the iconic photography school, and have worked with many of its graduates. What was less familiar to me was the fledgling department of Visual Communication Design. I must say that my day with this group of young designers was inspiring and inspirational. What impressed me the most, beyond their raw talent, was their enthusiasm for the design profession and the potential they have to make a positive difference in the world. They were not concerned with budgets, process, politics, competition. Their focus was on communication and connection.

As I listened to each one present their work and the thinking back of it, I was reminded of how fresh thinking can be so inspirational. There were no boundaries to the possibilities inherent in their creative approaches to some very interesting assignments ( my compliments to the faculty for bringing relevant assignments with real-world implications) in brand identity and naming, packaging, integrated communications in traditional and digital media.

These young people are ready to have an impact on this business.  I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.