First Person: Brett Player

Hi, I’m Brett Player, the Creative Director of Play and a ’98 grad from Portfolio Center. To say PC has played a significant role in my career and life would be a dramatic understatement. Currently Play employs two other grads, Chris Rawls and Roger Fleming. Throughout Play’s 5 year history, we’ve employed through salary or freelance over 20 graduates and continue to rely on grads daily. This equation has brought success to our agency, both financially and creatively. Thanks PC.

Before here, I worked in various shops in NYC, including Landor, Desgrippes Gobé and Novo, now Arch Worldwide. I was always shoulder to shoulder with fellow grads. Together we created identities, packaging and websites for huge international brands. Next to us was all the Ivy leaguers, RISDI and Art Center grads. I’ve always held the opinion PC grads are scrappers. We strategize a great deal, but what we’re really proficient at is rolling our sleeves up and getting to work. We put the hours in, love to experiment and prefer avant guard to safe. PC did this to us.

I now teach and have been doing so since I arrived back in Atlanta. I’m always excited to see a student’s progress because of the unexpected. Shock me, make me want to look and make me see. The best compliment I’ve received was a year ago when the VP at Target called a brand I developed for them “arresting.” I think that’s what PC has to offer, arresting work that is semi responsible. Because if it’s 100% responsible at the time, how can it be arresting? It simply can’t.

To conclude this ramble, here are some thoughts: Be kind and supportive to your fellow students, because in a bar fight they’re the ones who’ll start swinging and have a beer with you after. Continue to push for “arresting” work; otherwise its just noise. And remember, your education never ends. You will learn to push clients into areas that excite them and, perhaps, even make them a little uncomfortable.