We Create The World We Want To Live In
An interview with Marc Posch
Dear friends.
Here is your fresh squeezed nutritious boost of creative Monday Morning energy, with an interview I gave last year to Smashing Magazine. I hope you find it entertaining. Now, enjoy the rest of the week, and see you soon.
Marc Posch is an entrepreneur and creative director who has shaped many companies' brands, ranging from tech startups to international organizations. As the founder and driving force behind Opus Creative Group, he is passionate about applying the power of story, deep industry expertise, and visual design to shape identities, uncover purpose, and ignite sustainable growth. His philosophy: We create the world we want to live in.
Hi Marc. Let me start with a question about your education. Why did you choose a career in the design business?
I learned early that understanding and applying design principles can be a superpower and that our job is not about decor but influencing perception. People trust printed or digital material, whether they admit it or not. We can manipulate or inspire by using language and images. I prefer inspiring.
What was your first job or nuggets from jobs you had that helped you get to where you are today?
Be authentic. Don’t try to be the best at what you do - be the only one who does what you do. Did Picasso try to be better than - let’s say, Van Gogh or Cezanne? Or did Mozart try to beat Johann Sebastian Bach? They all created unique art that made them immortal. That’s what a true artist does: Learn from the masters but then carve out your path. Ever since the Second Industrial Revolution, a phase of rapid standardization and industrialization, our entire economic system - and education system - was rebuilt upon “creating” people with the same skill sets so they can easily be replaced and won't cause much friction: that’s why we have standardized testing and standardized education protocols. But those systems will never deliver a Picasso or Mozart - or in today’s terms, a Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos.
The industry is changing very fast; how do you keep yourself updated?
I recommend stepping out of your industry bubble and looking at outside sources for inspiration. In my case, I’m bored to death with design forums. They are all about typographical issues and WordPress problems, as if those matter. Look at the arts, study other cultures, travel, and visit unknown places. This is how we grow.
Any advice about CVs?
Keep it interesting. Start with a bold quote or statement. Don't be nice. Don’t bore people with details nobody cares about (worked as a Barista, loves pets, was a good student in high school…) Make it sound so interesting that I want to have coffee with you.
Advice for someone looking for a job?
Life is always about taking risks. No risk - no glory, or how Don Draper from "Mad Men" put it and what I sometimes tell my clients:
"You need to decide what kind of company you want to be: comfortable and dead - or risky and possibly rich." - Don Draper
I believe the greatest enemy in our careers is the Comfort Zone, where we end up with our education and/or job experience. This may have worked 100 years ago, but in our fast-paced time and amidst the largest technological revolution, being stuck in a comfort zone can easily leave us in the dustbin of history while the world moves on. Taking risks, learning new things, and reaching out to people with a different background than ours are essential ingredients for growth. It's a principle that has always guided me along the way. Risk-taking is the gateway to growth. The opposite would be stagnation and ultimately fading away.
What advice can you give entrepreneurs just starting a new venture?
Don't be afraid that you can’t make it because you’re small or don’t have big VC funding (yet):
The person or company with a larger wallet is not smarter than you, just more comfortable. This should be great news for smaller companies: Comfort is the enemy of innovation.
Lessons from jobs that you couldn’t get.
Always aim high but also know your limitations - and prepare for them (get support, build a team, get experts on board). And... sometimes you find yourself in the middle of chaos, and sometimes in the middle of chaos, you find yourself.
Some advice added: Steve Jobs once said, “Create relevance, not awareness.” In other words, relevance matters because it feels useful and applicable. In another time and space, Jimi Hendrix said, “Knowledge speaks, but Wisdom listens.” Put the two men together, and we see that the number one step toward being relevant is listening. And once you’ve listened with compassion, your intuition will know how to make your wisdom and truth relevant to the other person.
Lastly, can you provide some book recommendations?
Too many to list. What I currently have on my nightstand: “Sapiens” by Yuval Harari, “Peak” by Chip Conley, “Enlightenment Now" by Steven Pinker, “Iron John” by Robert Bly... and always “Siddharta” by Herman Hesse, a book I keep reading again and again since I was in my teens.
ABOUT OPUS
We are Agents of Transformation. Our job is not about decor but impact. It's about using the magic of creativity to change things, to initiate a transformation: A change of mindset, a vision tuning into reality, an idea becoming a product people love. Transforming things is at the core of what we do at Opus and what we are passionate about.
We bring over 20 years of experience in creative exploration, from creative thinking to brand design, to the table. Asking "why" is often the first step, but more importantly, asking "why not" is what leads to breakthroughs. | MORE
See you next week! Let's make history. Yours, Marc Posch
Opus Creative Group, Los Angeles | +1.213.446.7986 | OpusCreativeGroup.com