I got into Graphic Design because it was sexy, and because I had a passion for playing with ideas and visuals. The passion still burns strongly, but the opportunities to use it have become increasingly infrequent.

This seems strange, given that I work in the communications sector at a time when there has been an unprecedented explosion in media, routes to market and – above all – sheer volume of content. The problem is that the combination of easy access to new media, alongside a ‘last-minute’ mentality and a challenging economic environment, has created a marketplace where the emphasis has shifted from quality of content to quantity.

There are other ways to be creative, of course, and discovering new ways to harness the potential of new media certainly gets the juices flowing – and can be rewarding in more than one sense of the word. But nothing quite beats the process of starting out with a blank sheet, an open brief and a head full of ideas…and seeing it all the way through to an enticing and exciting finished result. Something both we and our clients can be proud of.

I’m convinced that this is going to change, and pretty soon. This isn’t just because at the time of writing we’re seeing the first glimmers of an economic recovery. It’s more because it stands to reason that, in a world where we’re grown accustomed to being deluged with communications, it must surely follow that it’s increasingly important for businesses to produce communications which stand out from the crowd and really grab the recipient by the proverbials. Creative communications, brim-full of good ideas, lovingly and slickly executed – and loads of new ways to deliver them.

Bring it on!