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Interviews are usually all peaches and cream. Everyone puts on their best face and no agency has any problems. But it should be the time to ask all the questions that will give you the best insight into how the agency works, and what you’ll be experiencing if you take the job. Advergirl, Leigh House, has a great post up on what questions you should ask in an inteview. A few that stood out to me:

Melissa Harbin, Account Director, Goodby Silverstein & Partners

What’s the agency’s real agenda? To win awards? To get noticed in the industry? To advance the client’s business? To change consumer behavior?
Melissa’s point of view: a ‘yes’ answer to all of the above would be lame and untruthful

Gordon Robertson, Creative Director, MARC

I know there will be curveballs on the job. What kind can I expect? From where might they come?

John Reid, formerly ACD at Crispin , currently freelance at Chiat / Day

What accounts would I be working on?

John’s point of view: If they say “everything,” they mean “I don’t know,” or, even more likely, “the big, gnarly one that will probably torpedo your career,” unless the agency has a reputation for chaotic gunslingery, in which case you very well may get to work on all of the clients.

How’s the department structured?

John’s point of view: As a junior, you want a very “flat” structure–lots of creatives on one level and then just the CD above you. As a more senior person, you want a few layers so you can progress, get promoted and get more responsibility.

Here’s a very important one, also from Mr. Reid:

I also like to ask “What are the account people like?” If you’re an account person, you should ask about the creatives, etc.

John’s point of view: If people immediately badmouth the other department, that’s a terrible sign that the agency is locked in an lame mindset.

As a creative, you need account people that will not only defend your work (let alone not throw you under the bus), but champion it like it’s the fucking 15 ten commandments from up on high.
What do you like to ask?

I say Cat, you say:

Dog, right? Well, what happens when I say “Best Buy”? That’s exactly what Brand Tags is set to find out.

It’s a wonderfully simple idea, they give you a brand, you plug in the first word that comes to mind. The results are displayed in a weighted tag cloud. So, for Best Buy, some of the most popular results were:

It’s definitely an interesting way for brands and marketers to gain some insight.

Found at The Toad Stool

Thanks to Krissy, I will soon be in possession of this insane letterpress calendar from Elum. If you haven’t seen any of their invites before, definitely give a look:

found at Boing Boing

Check out this flickr set of crazy beautiful design on these vintage porn posters from the 60’s & 70’s.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has this neat tutorial on how to make a sawed-off USB flash drive. Looks pretty easy too. Fancy image post courtesy of the slightly-updated Picturesque 2.0.

Matthew Johnston’s Photostream has an incredible side-by-side comparison of landmarks in NYC at GTA IV’s Liberty City. here are a few shots:

AdverBox has this interesting print ad from Grey Istanbul. I really don’t like the tag and I don’t think you need it. Maybe if the pieces were at starting position, but here it leaves nothing for the viewer. It’s done well and in modern advertising, that’s all that really matters, right?