Now that they’ve been here for a little more than a year, we thought we’d sit down with Brooke Nottingham and Michael Janes to hear a recent graduate’s perspective on advertising. Michael completed the communication design program at Texas Tech in 2011. The same year, Brooke earned a BA in journalism from the University of North Texas.

If you could tell recent graduates one thing, what would it be?

Brooke:
If you don’t have experience, focus on your potential. My degree is in news writing and editorial, so I had zero advertising experience aside from one freshman year ad class. I didn’t even watch Mad Men. So when RSW asked if I had ad writing experience, I told them, “Well, no…but I can’t wait to learn.”

Michael:
It’s intimidating to be given a blank piece of paper and asked to be creative at something you’ve never done before. But if you keep working, eventually things will make sense and come together…that is, until you get a new project and the learning process starts over.

What was your favorite moment from your first 12 months at RSW?

Brooke:
Seeing a headline I wrote on one of our billboards for the North Texas Food Bank. A close second is telling my parents about it.

Michael:
Seeing a photo of cancer awareness posters I had designed decorating walls in Singapore. People were encouraged to write comments on them and these were covered in comments.

Think back to the night before your first day. What was that like?

Brooke:
I started in April, so I had a stomach full of Easter leftovers and nerves. I ironed my blazer. I saw another wrinkle and ironed it again. I called my brother to ask if a new hire had ever shown up and been told, “Never mind.” I set two alarm clocks. I decided to wear a different blazer.

Michael:
Maybe it was just because I watched Office Space, but I think I was more worried about the traffic than anything else.

How do you know you have done good work?

Brooke:
Really, I don’t know until someone says, “This is good.” As the creator, I’m always going to see the flaws, or some unrealized potential, or think what I could do with just another 10 minutes.

Michael:
I usually know something is good when I laugh after thinking of the idea, and smile when creating the design.

What is something important you have learned from the people you work with?

Brooke:
To forget intimidation and be bold about sharing my ideas. Our environment emphasizes that all ideas are valuable, even if they don’t lead to a final product.

I also learned that it’s rough being a San Francisco 49ers fan in an office of stubborn Dallas Cowboys fans. Seriously, you guys: “The Catch” happened in 1982. Get over it!

Michael:
I can do good work by myself, but it is easier to do great work when working with other talented people.

Do you believe robots will write headlines and develop brand identities one day?

Brooke:
I can see the end now, and it’s a John Henry scenario where I challenge a robot to a headline-writing contest and write my fool self to death.

Michael:
We are all going to be out of work someday. It will probably be like WALL-E, where we’re fat and sippin’ on Slurpees.

WALL-E