Lisa Port, KNSK Hamburg

The writer of this week's article may be on the verge of winning a Cannes Lion. It's possible, because art-director Lisa Port already won loads of awards with an outdoor campaign made for Hansapark. Before working at KNSK, Lisa worked at Duval Guillaume New York. She tells us all about her not-so-average, but painfully regognizable week.

Thanks Robin, for asking me to write something for your blog.

So this was my week as a Junior Art Director at KNSK in Hamburg. Three describing words for my week would be: hard, full pressure and still in love with my job.

It’s monday morning. I am stepping into my office and I see my teampartner deadly sad on the phone. Her former schoolfriend commited suicide. One big hug and a short conversation about him and then we need to continue to finish our final document from last weeks brief. I stayed for lunch time in and got a phonecall from my mum, telling me that my lovely grand aunt died in the consequences of a stroke. Ellen, my teampartner, stepped back in our office, finding me deadly sad on the phone. One hour I am sitting still and trying to accept what happened. – 3 pm Pitchbrief. Our heads full of one big question:„Why?“. Finally the content of the brief won and made the way down to our brains. The brief and all the information is really big, but as
well interesting and a welcome variety to our daily-business.

Of course it is one of the hardest things, to find space in your head for new ideas, when you are in private troubles. But on the other hand: It’s a good method to forget private stuff easier, when you make thought of a completely different topic. And when you make deep thoughts.

So the next two and a half days I put more and more information into my brain. All the background information about the hopeful-future-client. The Account-Girl for this project is doing a great job. Without asking we get a lot of information, books, reports, whatever we need. And suddenly there it was. – A brand new wonderful idea. A shiny peak of hope. It’s big, brilliant and bright. Everything is perfectly made up in my mind how it will look, the sound, the people.

How the press is writing about it, how people will love and hate it. Everything is in my head and I try to explain it, and after all the perfectly detailed description. My teampartner, still devastated, just goes: hmmmpppfffff.

Still in love with the idea we continue continue continue until the last minute. It’s 2:59 pm Thursday afternoon. Ellen sends the document to the printer. 3.00 pm presentation of the ideas. One idea survived in the 2 ½ hour meeting. Thanks God. Unfortunately, the shiny peak died. – hmmmpppfffff.

This is one thing which always will be the most exiting thing in my job. Will I crack the brief? Will I find some new idea, or a lot, or nothing? There is no brief where I didn’t feel the pressure to not fail. Finally of course you are always finding a solution, but will you reach the creative level you want to be? This job will never get boring, because you have to prove yourself always from new. Just for yourself. And if you cannot reach the level you have to try harder next week.

So my resume from this week: Try harder!