Innovation on the Side
Justin Gignac is a role model for life balance and innovation follow-through. His interview for the AIGA Journal of Design, Voice (more pictures), has been reprinted on the Business Week Innovation site. He works as an art director for an advertising agency, which calls for a lot of creativity, but he also has his own innovation project on the side. At first, his NYC garbage cubes were curiosities, but they are now starting to be seen as art.
BusinessWeek: Selling Trash. 2006-Nov-6, by Liz Danzico interview of Justin Gignac
...Well, original New York City garbage goes for $50, and limited edition garbage goes for $100. I've done limited editions from New Year's Eve in Times Square...
...If I'm going to sell garbage I have to make it as “collectible” as possible, so the label reads, "Garbage of New York City 100% authentic Hand-picked from the fertile streets of NY, NY." ....
...The garbage business has helped me get all of my jobs in advertising. People were impressed that I actually followed through with the idea. It's really tough to balance both, but it's important to have another creative outlet. Having a complete sense of ownership over something is very empowering...
...As long as you don't try to make both your full-time job, then it's manageable.
