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.
Comments
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