Lecture Series Debuts with a Creative Manager at Publix
Mark Nielson spoke to Digital Arts & Design students about the branding and advertising work done at the grocery chain
Full Sail's Digital Arts and Design staff launched a new guest speaker program this summer – the Designer Lecture Xperience Series, or DLXS. The series was created by Peter Soutullo, Course Director for the Production Management class, and was developed to give students an open forum for interacting with creative artists throughout the graphic design industry.
“The mission of the Designer Lecture Xperience Series is to bring in a variety of industry professionals to share their insight, knowledge and creative work,” Peter says. “[It] will be a great addition to the already established tradition of talented artists coming to campus to speak with our students.”
The first DLXS event featured keynote speaker Mark Nielson, one of three Creative Managers at Publix Super Markets. Mark has worked at the grocery chain for over a decade, and has been heavily involved in some of their most successful advertising campaigns – including a complete re-design of their store brand collateral. The Publix design team's use of white space and clean lines has been recognized by several design organizations, even being featured in the influential magazine, Communication Arts.
“Publix never wants to be just a retailer, and we always try to vary our messaging through different tactics,” he said. “I was really proud of the work we did on those designs. In this industry you have to be yourself, and if there’s something you’re proud of, something that feels right to you for a reason, don’t be shy – you have to own it.”
Mark went on to speak about the responsibilities that designers are faced with when helping brand a major company. He included a number of examples from his portfolio, and showed some of the creative ways he’s overcome different design obstacles. This included everything from newspaper ads and direct mail to in-store publications and recipe books – and how these projects incorporated the principles of consumer behavior, color theory, and other marketing trends.
“We’re designers, we’re artists, but you need to step back sometimes and see the big picture,” he said. “Find out why this product is being made, why it does what it has to do, and why you need to sell it. Trust your gut, there’s a reason you feel the way you do when you know something can work for a certain situation.”
Nielson stayed after the presentation to speak with students one-on-one about how they can best prepare for their own careers in the industry. That kind of interaction is what Peter Soutullo was hoping for when he developed the DLXS series, and he’s already looking forward to seeing how future meetings will inspire students.
“Mark had some great words of advice and things to pay attention to for students,” Peter said. “Hopefully this is the first in a long line of DLXS lectures. The next one will hopefully be in the beginning of October, so keep an eye out for that. It is my hope that DLXS will keep enhancing the student and faculty experience at Full Sail.”
“The mission of the Designer Lecture Xperience Series is to bring in a variety of industry professionals to share their insight, knowledge and creative work,” Peter says. “[It] will be a great addition to the already established tradition of talented artists coming to campus to speak with our students.”
The first DLXS event featured keynote speaker Mark Nielson, one of three Creative Managers at Publix Super Markets. Mark has worked at the grocery chain for over a decade, and has been heavily involved in some of their most successful advertising campaigns – including a complete re-design of their store brand collateral. The Publix design team's use of white space and clean lines has been recognized by several design organizations, even being featured in the influential magazine, Communication Arts.
“Publix never wants to be just a retailer, and we always try to vary our messaging through different tactics,” he said. “I was really proud of the work we did on those designs. In this industry you have to be yourself, and if there’s something you’re proud of, something that feels right to you for a reason, don’t be shy – you have to own it.”
Mark went on to speak about the responsibilities that designers are faced with when helping brand a major company. He included a number of examples from his portfolio, and showed some of the creative ways he’s overcome different design obstacles. This included everything from newspaper ads and direct mail to in-store publications and recipe books – and how these projects incorporated the principles of consumer behavior, color theory, and other marketing trends.
“We’re designers, we’re artists, but you need to step back sometimes and see the big picture,” he said. “Find out why this product is being made, why it does what it has to do, and why you need to sell it. Trust your gut, there’s a reason you feel the way you do when you know something can work for a certain situation.”
Nielson stayed after the presentation to speak with students one-on-one about how they can best prepare for their own careers in the industry. That kind of interaction is what Peter Soutullo was hoping for when he developed the DLXS series, and he’s already looking forward to seeing how future meetings will inspire students.
“Mark had some great words of advice and things to pay attention to for students,” Peter said. “Hopefully this is the first in a long line of DLXS lectures. The next one will hopefully be in the beginning of October, so keep an eye out for that. It is my hope that DLXS will keep enhancing the student and faculty experience at Full Sail.”
