Alex Lieu is the Chief Creative Officer of 42 Entertainment, a Pasadena, California-based creator of alternate reality games. Responsible for all creative aspects of the player experience, Alex leads the creative efforts for game design, media, graphics, human interfaces, websites, and advertising for 42's client campaigns. For our last newsletter of 2008, we are sharing an interview with the versatile designer and manager, who has a long track-record of leading development of large-scale interactive and cross-platform projects.

Alex was Creative Director on the award winning interactive game, Dead Man's Tale for Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and the re-launch of Windows Messenger. He then went on to direct the award winning game for the launch of Windows Vista, 2007's The Vanishing Point. Also in 2007, Alex served as Creative Director and Lead Designer for Year Zero, which started with the discovery of a phone number on a Nine Inch Nails (NIN) tour t-shirt that led players through a series of websites and trans-media assets from an alternate reality future. Most recently, Alex was behind the creative efforts for The Dark Knight's viral campaign, "Why So Serious?"

Alex will serve as a member of the ADC Hybrid Jury for the 88th Annual Awards in 2009. After learning more about 42 Entertaiment, his thoughts on the status of the industry, finding out what ARG really is, and his plan to save us from the robotrons, we definitely look forward to seeing him in action on the awards entries floor in March. Interviewed by Regan Murphy, regan@adcglobal.org.

Alex: Raised on after-school reruns of The Brady Bunch, I wanted follow in the footsteps of Mike Brady and become an architect. I was always fascinated with the episodes that would show him presenting models of buildings and blueprints of projects for work. (Does anyone else remember the episode when Mr. Brady's rendered that fluffy pink powder puff building for the eccentric cosmetics designer Beebe Gallini?) My other dream job was to be a comic book artist. I spent way too many solitary hours drawing Batman, but it was through that in which I discovered my love for Rapidographs. Text balloons soon led to typography. Typography quickly led to graphic design. And what else does an aspiring graphic designer dream about more than working with their favorite band?

Alex: Working on ARGs in general is quite an adventure. From a creative standpoint, not having limits in how to tell stories is pretty empowering. When we say "trans-media" we literally mean the world as a platform. So, whether it's painting murals, firework shows, hiding cell phones in cakes to custom screen printing, casual game development, radio dramas, videos, scavenger hunts or motion graphics, everything is an opportunity to tell a piece of the story and bring the world to life. This is a dream come true for any creative. The internet serves as a centralized place to connect all these things, and the great thing is that all the pieces add up to something special. For The Dark Knight and NIN's Year Zero, the best part was working directly with the creatives and having the chance to immerse ourselves in worlds that had depth and relevance.

Alex: Innovation is really all about creativity - innovation in technology is a by-product of that. Taking risks that produce results and that allow people to be engaged with the brand in new and unexpected ways are the real measures of innovation. Sometimes people get enamored with the sexier pieces of content production and don't follow through with either their commitment to the audience or to the goals they are trying to achieve.

Alex: The explosion of connectivity and access has had a profound impact on countless aspects of everyday life - the core of which centers around information, content distribution, and community. Entertainment studios, gaming companies and every conceivable brand, now have a 24 hour a day, direct access, open door to consumers that allows them to build much deeper relationships than ever before. When you consider that more and more people are citing the internet as the biggest influence on their purchasing decisions, brands need to shift from antiquated product and in corporate website offerings and really focus heavily on brand engagement. Instead of viewing the digital world as another billboard space, it's imperative that brands focus on why and how people are using technology, and figure out what their role is in that.

Alex: We approach each project and challenge with fresh eyes, watching the rapid adoption curve of technology use and global networking into our everyday lives, but also understanding the core, resonating touch-points that will make the connection personal and participatory.

Alex: This is actually a really good question. There seems to be a gap in understanding between those who don't use the web or technology as a central part of their everyday life and those who are one the leading edge of a new type of engagement. We study why people are using these things, and design experiences that are native to the web-centric audience. The second part of that answer would be that our experiences are built around participation, and it's hard to communicate a participatory experience without having been a part of the strong, passionate community or watching it unfold in real time.

Alex: NIN's Year Zero project was a great example where the concept album was re-thought for 2007 - everything from the music to concerts to alternate reality gaming to the album packaging itself. The key in design was having all the elements in the music, through the music, through the performance of the music, through the audience listening to the music, through art and narrative inspired by the music and even the way music is marketed to deliver pieces of the album's concept...which was a vision of a not-too-distant dystopian future that once pieced together inspired a change in conversation today among those participating.

Places you want to go: Endor, Wonderland, the year 2084 to stop the Robotrons.

Concerts you have attended: In the last year I went to see The Cure and NIN.

Movies: The Dark Knight, 2001, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Foods: Red meat, chocolate, sushi.

Websites: Websites are boring, experiences are where it’s at.

Join us for a festive night of food, drinks and gift-giving.

The Art Directors Annual 87 and ADC Young Guns 6 Annual will make their debut at the party and will be available for purchase.

Tuesday, December 16
6-9pm
@ADC Gallery
106 West 29th Street, NYC

Admission: $20 or a new, unwrapped toy or book to benefit The Children's Aid Society.

The Art Directors Club 87th Annual Awards and ADC Young Guns 6 Traveling Exhibitions will be making a number of stops in the upcoming months.

Columbia College Chicago / Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery in Chicago, IL
Thursday, November 13th - Saturday, December 13th, 2008
For more information on the Averill and Bernard Leviton A+D Gallery, visit their website: www2.colum.edu/adgallery.

Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong
Thursday, November 20th - Saturday, December 20th
And for more information on Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong, visit their website: www.hkbu.edu.hk.

Circulo de Creativos Argentinos in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Wednesday, December 3rd - Thursday, December, 4th, 2008
For more information on Circulo de Creativos Argentinos in Argentina, visit their website: www.diente.org.

ADC 87th Annual Awards and ADC Young Guns 6 Traveling Exhibitions:
Capital Corporation Image Institution at 798 Art District, Beijing, China
Saturday, December 20th - Monday, December 29th, 2008
For more information on Capital Corporation Image Institution in China, visit their website: www.ccii.com.cn.

And more to come...

Don't forget the January 16, 2009 entry deadline for Professionals and the January 30, 2009 deadline for Students. It's your chance to win a Gold Cube in the 88th Annual Awards. Enter your Advertising, Design, Interactive, Photography, Illustration and even unpublished work in Playground. There are also breakout categories, ADC Hybrid, ADC Design Sphere, the newly introduced ADC Black Cube and a sponsored award from Corbis! So go ahead, enter now at www.adcawards.org!

The Art Directors Annual honors the year's best work in design and advertising around the globe through print, illustration, photography, broadcast, interactive media, and cross-disciplinary hybrid campaigns. The 87th edition introduces the ADC Design Sphere, celebrating design innovation in a sustained program of brand communication, and presents the seven most recent Hall of Fame Laureates. The Art Directors Annual 87 includes a companion disc of Television and Cinema, Broadcast, and Interactive winners. To be unveiled at the annual ADC Holiday party on December 16th, the 87th edition was designed by C&G Partners. Past annuals are for sale year-round at discounted prices. Visit the ADC Store.

The Fall Semester of the Saturday Career Workshop program ended on Saturday November 22nd, with a inventive self portrait workshop led by SVA's Benita Raphan. This semester 40+ New York City High School juniors participated in workshops in advertising, illustration and design taught by Euro RSCG's Jason Pacheco, ADC Young Guns 5 winners WeShouldDoItAll, Sarah Nelson and Jonathan Jackson, and ADC Young Guns 6 winner and award-winning illustrator, Josh Cochran. The students partook in a College Seminar and Portfolio Day, to learn about The Art Institute of New York, Cooper Union, The Fashion Institute of Technology, CUNY College of Technology, SUNY Purchase and the School of Visual of Arts. Students showed the school representatives their portfolios as well.

This season's workshop was a success on many levels as the 45 students enrolled in the workshop represented the widest variety of schools to date. Students attended from Law Enforcement and Safety High School, Frank Sinatra, Madison, Fashion Industries, Bronx Science, Bayside, E.R. Murrow and the High School of Art and Design, to name a few. The level of work produced by the students coupled with the excitement they showed for the work was inspiring. We look forward to Spring 2009!

All new ADC members joining before the Annual Awards January 16, 2009 entry deadline will receive an unprecedented 20% off their largest entry fee.

IT PAYS TO JOIN - SPREAD THE WORD.

Members enjoy ADC's global affiliation and networking opportunities, exclusive benefits, access to information and programming. Now you can purchase membership subscriptions for your family, friends and colleuges through the ADC Store. Professional, Non-Resident / International, and Student Memberships are available. Current members receive discounts on gift memberships. Beginning on December 12, ADC gift memberships will be available for purchase at the ADC Store.

Exclusively for ADC members, Adobe Systems now offers a 15% discount on anything in the Adobe store including Adobe products, third-party plug-ins, training and more. This discount is one of many programs Adobe plans to bring to members through its long-standing relationship with ADC. Adobe is proud to be part of the design community and will continue to work with ADC to create innovative programs that give members a voice and actively engage the community in dialogues about the important issues in the fields of design and technology. It's easy--'login' to the ADC site, then click 'My Account' and scroll down to 'Special Offers'!

The ADC and Idealist have created a partnership to bring like-minded causes and creatives together for social change. Want to join the movement? If you're a designer, writer, programmer, photographer, illustrator or all of the above, and you're interested in donating your time and talent to help further a cause, simply create a profile and start connecting. The more detailed you are about your areas of expertise and the causes that you are interested in helping, the better your chance of making meaningful connections. Start now by visiting www.designismconnects.org .

VEAUX: Fresh Talent Market (link www.veaux.org) is an online talent market that helps fresh creatives sell themselves and picky buyers find the choicest cut of artistic goodness around. This portfolio community and business-networking site provides a connection between emerging artists and industry professionals. Emerging artists can post portfolios using an easy and intuitive interface, tag work by style and medium to help buyers find you, and get in touch with creative buyers interested in your services. Buyers can find the exact talent they are looking for using VEAUX's advanced search and easily bookmark interesting work to find again later. As an ADC Member you are entitled to upgrade your Veaux Choice account to a Deluxe account at no additional charge. Login to your ADC account to access this special offer.

One Laptop per Child, a non-profit organization established to bring the benefits of technology to the developing world, is sponsoring a contest to create commercials for their cause. One winning commercial will be selected to promote the organization's annual Give One Get One (G1G1) campaign. Along with bringing greater attention to this important campaign, the winning submission will air on national television between December 15th and Dec 31st.

The details are simple: Create a commercial (:30 or :60 second video) for One Laptop Per Child by Dec 15 and post it to the Daily Motion site. This an amazing opportunity for you to "give back" during the holiday season and have the chance for even broader exposure of your creative work. Visit Motion Daily for more information. The G1G1 program has begun and will be on-going through 2009. For $399, one can give a XO Laptop to a child in a developing nation and get one laptop themselves, which makes the perfect holiday gift for a child in their family or community. To make your donation, visit amazon.com/xo. To learn more about One Laptop per Child and Give One Get One go here.

Sign up now for your 30-day free trial and receive a 25% discount on a PaperSpecs membership if you are also an ADC member. PaperSpecs is an all-in-one online swatchbook and offers access to the latest paper mill promotions and swatchbooks, up-to-date information on over 4,500 papers, quick tips on timeline paper and printing topics, online webinars, and how-to articles and facts. ADC members will also receive the e-book, 19 Ways to Cut Your Paper Costs. Login to your ADC account to access this special offer.

Mothi Hasson Gallery is very pleased to announce Carl Fischer's, Carl Fischer's first New York City solo-exhibition. Fischer, ADC President 1995-1997, is a native New Yorker whose photographic career has always been anchored by his background in graphic design. Fischer's photographs have been regularly exhibited in museums and galleries for many years. As recognition for the importance of photography in art and design continue to grow, Fischer's work has once again captured the interest of gallerists, collectors and museum directors here and abroad. For more information please visit motihasson.com.

Exhibit on view through January 6, 2009
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-8pm; Friday and Saturday, 10am-6pm and by appointment

World renowned Swedish digital media school Hyper Island is on a global Recruitment Tour and they will be in New York City on the 19th, 20th and 21st of December. The school will have visited Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Los Angeles and San Francisco before stopping in New York to meet with creative people who are interested in becoming Hyper Island Diploma students in the fall of 2009. The recruitment days consist of a personal interview, meetings with Hyper Island students and staff, an individual creative task, and a team assignment.

There is a limited amount of seats at the international recruitment days. Participants are accepted on a first come, first serve basis. For more information on the tour schedule and how to apply go here. Truly a unique opportunity!

An exhibition of over 35 Duane Michals's color prints with hand-applied text is currently on view at Pace/MacGill Gallery through January 10, 2009. The ADC Hall of Famer's most recent series features images which assume the shape of traditional Eastern fans. The unconventional format and exhibition title reference Ukiyo-e, the popular genre of woodblock prints produced during the Japanese Edo period's floating world" of sophisticated, urban culture (c. 1620-1867). Michals was inducted into ADC's Hall of Fame in 2004. Over the past five decades, Michals's photography has been exhibited worldwide. Recently he has had one-person shows at the International Center of Photography, New York. Go here for more information.

Exhibit on view through January 10, 2009
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday, 9:30am-5:30pm; Saturday, 10am-6pm

ADC celebrated its 2008 Hall of Fame inductions with a series of events all taking place during the Festival of Fame at the ADC Gallery last month. Three speaker events included: Alex Bogusky, Sir John Hegarty, John Maeda, Maira Kalman, and Eames Demetrios, grandson of Ray Eames. ADC's Hall of Fame 2008 benefit Gala induction ceremony began with a champagne reception and preview of the exhibition of the work of the new laureates, followed by a seated dinner and awards presentation emceed by the Emmy and Peabody Award winning journalist John Hockenberry. Photos, with captions, from the benefit Gala can be viewed here. Proceeds from the benefit Gala dinner funded ADC scholarship programs.

ADC welcomes book suggestions from ADC members. Each month the ADC Newsletter features one book from the visual communications field. Active ADC members are welcomed to submit suggestions to Regan Murphy (regan@adcglobal.org) through December 18. If your book suggestion is chosen, you will be notified by December 22. The book suggestion will be featured in the From the Library section of the monthly e-Newsletter.

Individual Members
Isami Akasaka: Fujisawa, Japan
Alex Basin: Brooklyn, NY
Anthony Cafaro: Livingston, NJ
Carolina Caicedo: NY, NY
Adrian Carhuayo: Mount Kisco, NY
Maria Casini: Malverne, NJ
Christine Cerniglia: Winter Springs, FL
Khania Curtis: Brooklyn, NY
Kathryn Davenel: Howard Beach, NJ
Giles Dickerson: Staten Island, NY
Jack Kalish: Brooklyn, NY
Ihn Sun Kim: Jersey City, NJ
Yuna Kim: NY, NY
Min Jung Lee: Wyckoff, NJ
Mario Licato: Brooklyn, NY
Chia Yang Lin: Bronx, NY
Hui-Hong Liu: NY, NY
Yvette Mahon: Sliema, Malta
Urszula Majchrzak: NY, NY
Asakura Makoto: Isioka-shi, Japan
Hye Jung Na: NY, NY
Kentaro Nagai: Tokyo, Japan
Lysa Opfer: Jersey City, NJ
Vanessa Rees: NY, NY
Benjamin Sandler: NY, NY
Andrew Schaff: Brooklyn, NY
Olena Shmahalo: Clovis, CA
Hem Partap Singh: Cresskill, NJ
Tonianne Tartaro: Matawan, NJ
Guillermo Tragant: Adrogue, Argentina
Mark Walton: Bucharest, Romania

Corporate Members
Internal Revenue Service

Edwin E. Lee (1929-2008), designer, art director, and a teacher of the graphic arts died at home on October 18, after battling cancer, in Ossining, NY. Mr. Lee was born in Walnut Grove, CA, attended the California College of Arts and Crafts and began his career at KPIX in San Francisco, moving to New York City in 1959. Lee won ADC gold in 1968, for Foster Grant sunglasses, in addition to many other awards.

Lee taught at SVA for eight years, at Parsons for five, and FIT, lastly for fourteen years. Lee was married for 53 years to wife, Jean, who survives him, along with their daughters, Kim Lee-Brown and Jennifer Knowles, their spouses Barry and Mark, and three grandchildren, Donald, Luke, and Linnea. Also surviving him are siblings LaVerne Mah of Sacramento, Ca, Ernest Lee of San Francisco, and Mollie Fong, of Los Gatos, Ca. Memorials may be made to the Grand Circle Foundation for the Minh Tu Orphanage/Duc Son Pagoda in Vietnam. The address is Grand Circle Foundation; attn: Jean Kenney; 347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210. Please specify that the donation is being made in memory of Edwin Lee.

ADC members - this is your place to share. The newsletter is published monthly. The deadline for submissions for the January newsletter is December 23. Send news or inquiries to regan@adcglobal.org with the subject line Newsletter.

The ADC Gallery can accommodate up to 430 guests and is handicap accessible.

Location: 106 West 29th Street
(Just West of 6th Avenue)
Closest subway stops are 1/9 or R/W to 28th St.

For more information click here.
For further questions or to make an appointment, please contact Olga Grisaitis at olga@adcglobal.org.

The Art Directors Club is the premier organization for integrated media and the first international creative collective of its kind. Founded in New York in 1920, ADC is a self-funding, not-for-profit membership organization whose mission is to connect, provoke and elevate creative visual communications professionals around the world. It focuses on the highest standards of excellence and integrity in visual communications for the industry, and encourages students and young professionals entering the field. ADC provides a forum for creatives in Advertising, Design, Interactive Media and Communications to explore the direction of these rapidly converging industries.

Not Yet A Member? Join Now.
The Art Directors Club 106 West 29th Street New York, NY 10001 212.643.1440 www.adcglobal.org