Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

I have a love for ads made long ago. So simple, so sell-y, so radiant with clipart. Naturally, I swooned when I learned that the National Academy of Sciences in Washington is currently running a retrospective of 20th-century health posters. It’s pretty fascinating to look back on how simply the public health authorities chose to warn nations about the mysterious ailments of the time. The kind of look and feel we use today to promote indie bands and liquor, they used to inform and warn about the dangers of tuberculosis and syphilis.

Knowing that the anti-information approach will probably never make a comeback, I think we should all take a moment to pay homage to the era of cartooned minimalism.

"Achoo. And so begins an epidemic."

The OGG hit us with Neologism. That's a new fangled word constructed from the mash up of two words. For instance internet etiquette turns into "netiquette." Ronald Reagan's economic policy became "Reaganomics." You get the idea.

Neologisms occur more often in cultures where language rapidly changes and pop culture thrives. I illustrated slack academics to yield "slackademics." Hey, I went to art school. I get this meaning.