Ian Grais - Profile and Q&A

Creative Mornings/Vancouver is very excited to feature Ian Grais as our speaker on October 7, 2011. Grais was born and raised in Western Canada.  He studied Economics at the University of British Columbia then advertising and design at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, prior to founding Rethink in 1999 with partners Tom Shepansky and Chris Staples.

Ian has been ranked the number one art director and also the number one creative director in Canada for the past decade. At Rethink Ian creates and directs a wide range of projects encompassing design, interactive, installation and advertising.

Currently Ian serves on The Graphic Design Advisory Committee at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and Langara College as well as the Professional Advisory Board for the Illustration program at Sheridan College in Ontario.

In his spare time Ian collects ideas, images, and ephemera.

CMV: How do you define creativity and apply it in your career?

IG: Ability to come up with multiple solutions to a problem, to make new connections and to recognize workable ones.

CMV: What did you learn from your most memorable creative failure?

IG: Don’t expect people to just show up.

CMV: Where do you find your best creative inspiration?

IG: Inspiration is for beginners.

CMV: What’s your one guilty creative indulgence?

IG: I don’t make early morning commitments.

CMV: What’s the one creative advice or tip you wish you’d known as a young person?

IG: Invest everything I own in Apple.

CMV: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

IG: Opened a Toronto Office in a recession.

CMV: Who would you like to hear speak at CreativeMornings?

IG: William Gibson, Brian Jungen, Jeremy Thorp, Kai Vermehr or Steffen Sauerteig (eboy)