The roots of digital technology are penetrating into our lives at a pace beyond imagination. A few decades ago, one had little idea about the fact that the most remote information source can be tracked within minutes with a few clicks.The advantage of technology doesn’t just end with sourcing information to proceed thereafter. As we all see around us, technology has laid its hands to facilitate the easy execution of any job.
As for the advertising and communications industry, the metamorphosis of technology gathered active momentum sometime during the late eightees and early ninetees. Generally speaking, a typical ad agency cracks a concept and translates it into words and visuals. Prior to the era of digitization, the written content was typed using a typewriter and sent to the phototypesetting department (mostly outsourced). The size(s) of the font(s) were specified and the desired width of a line or a sentence were measured using a pica scale. After a relaxed schedule, the typesetter would deliver the typeset matter which in turn would be cut pasted on an artwork. Then a ‘positive’ and a bromide would be prepared which would be used for printing. This process in those days was considered to be ‘modern’ compared to the departing era of block printing. Preparing a colour artwork was even more tedious. For the visual, the agency had to shoot a ‘transparency’ (also known as a reversal film). Followed by this was the preparation of four colour positives and progressive proofs and their quality control was left to the expertise of the art director.Thanks to technology, today’s methodology has taken a ‘soft stand’ when the entire process of producing a creative layout is done digitally within a short spell of time.
Having said all this now, there’s one thought that’s snowballing in my mind, the thought whether creativity can get redundant. Whatever be the advent of technology, it cannot devour creativity. Creativity is about thinking, rationalizing and even the most advanced computer, aided with artificial intelligence can’t yield the desired results that a human mind can. Creativity is about passion, efforts involved in gathering knowledge, digging out a potential idea of communication out of anything we see around us, keeping abreast of current news ,et all. It is about developing a clear strategy. Thus, it is important to keep one’s mind well lubricated with a thought process that is organized and focussed to move with the changing times. Change is immortal, so is creativity.
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CreativityTechnologyIdeaThought
