Vivian Rosenthal

Are big ideas relevant anymore?

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What role does technology play in the future? Does the future belong to specialists or generalists?
The future can no longer be written without technology. We can’t go backwards. We have no choice but to embrace technology in our movement forward as a species. To envision a future without technology, however appealing it might be, is naïve, nostalgic and potentially dangerous. It’s going to shape how we evolve, in every capacity, from how we think to how we medicate, how we learn, how we create, how we design, how we look, how we buy, how we choose, how we love and who we love. We are in a state of becoming, of constant flux. We need everyone to participate, specialists and generalists, to shape our future. We need you.

Is the recession feeding creativity?
Yes, the recession is certainly feeding creativity, but perhaps more so amongst the smaller entities. It’s always harder to be creative the larger you are. With larger scales come larger risks. But for small companies like ours, the recession has allowed for new paradigms in thinking, for experimentation, for dreaming, and for risk. A recession is really the time when global brands should be taking risks and using creativity to push themselves forward, but sadly this is often not the case. It’s hard to say who’s to blame. Is it the brands? Is it the agencies, who don’t want to risk losing the brands? We need to commend anyone, brands, agencies, design studios, individuals, who are embracing creativity and risk in the face of a recession, rather than hiding behind it.

Do award shows matter any more, and who is qualified to judge work?
Awards shows matter to those who think awards shows matter. In other words, it’s a very insular and cyclical structure. That’s not to say they don’t matter. They do. Good work should be recognized. But power has shifted to you, to me, to us, to the people. The power is in numbers. The web has democratized the power of opinion. And so I think we have to question the relevancy of an awards show and whether it is truly a representation of the people, of reality. Or otherwise we’re going to have to keep constructing our own reality through these awards shows in order to continue the cycle of justifying a potentially archaic system that privileges the ad agencies and the billions of dollars spent on advertising. What I really appreciate about this jury process is that it created, for the first time, an open circuit, rather than a closed circuit. It is hard to say definitely who is qualified to judge work. I think hopefully it’s someone who is open minded, it’s someone who tries to leave preconceived notions of advertising behind, and someone who is tireless in their pursuit of new ideas and experiences.

What keeps you up at night?
The fear that there isn’t enough time to do everything, to make everything that I want to make. As my uncle used to say, we’re in a race against death. Although it sounds a bit morbid, overall I think it’s a good thing. This finite timeline pushes us, drives us to dream, to create and to problem solve. We are quickly reaching our biological limits. And so what we’re doing as a society is extending those limits through technology, it’s completely pervasive in our lives. I’m both excited and terrified, maybe more terrified. And that keeps me up at night. I used to dream about being a cyborg and having those barriers come down. And now that we’re so dependent on technology, I’m not sure I’m ready.