April 30, 2007
Photography
Let your product do the talking
As I heard it, Tom Shortlidge worked at Young & Rubicam Advertising in the late 60s and moonlighted part-time at Crate & Barrel to make ends meet. The owner, Gordon Segal, asked him to take a look at some packaging designs he was considering. Mr. Shortlidge had a better idea.
Make no mistake about it, Crate & Barrel has a long track record of searching out, designing, and developing products that people want. But I doubt they would argue that Tom Shortlidge played a major role. He established a design palette that makes the product shot the center of interest—a palette so simple and insightful that it has survived, nearly intact, for over thirty years.
Yes, that is correct. I was a copywriter in Tom's creative department when he was ECD. I can remember him working on Crate & Barrel layouts in his office--sometimes even after office hours! :)
Devon
Posted by: Devon | December 3, 2007 6:51 PM