Phil Chang is a Brand Strategist and Creative Director based in NYC who has worked with Nike, Apple, Netflix, Samsung, MTV, The Museum of Modern Art, SSENSE, Bottega Veneta, Dropbox, Mandarin Oriental, Rodarte, adidas, and Calvin Klein.

He also wrote one of the most influential pieces of business/culture writing I've ever read, 2011’s The New Middleman. A quote:

“As technology (specifically, the internet) continues to facilitate tenable careers in creative industries, the number of professional participants in fields like fashion, art, music and design continues to proliferate at an exponential rate. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is a moot point – the useful fact to be gleaned is that this phenomenon makes it difficult to distinguish exceptional talent from the rest of the mix. Effectively, this is why you see countless corporate brands get ‘influencer marketing’ so communicatively and tactically wrong. Recognizing who has the potential for permanent, dynamic relevance is an art in its own right, and while it might seem like anyone could easily train themselves to do that, I ask the same question that I imagine the oft-maligned Damien Hirst constantly positing to his detractors, “Why haven’t you already, then?”

…again, this was written in 2011. Feels like it could have been written last week, right?

Listen to his thoughts on advertising, freelance creative direction, landing a gig at Wieden + Kennedy, why creatives shouldn't have to be in the office and a LOT more.

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YOUR HOMEWORK FOR THE WEEK:

• ‘Complete This Sentence: Donald Trump Wins Reelection If … ’

• How do I balance the demands of my day job with my desire to make things?

• There Are Only 153 Days a Year When Work Actually Gets Done in Hollywood

• It’s a Racial Thing, Don’t Kid Yourself’: An Oral History of Chicago’s 1983 Mayoral Race

OFFICE HOURS LIVE:

CHICAGO! I’m going to be doing a LIVE TAPING of the Office Hours podcast (The most recent epsiode is at the top of this email) in November at the Hoxton Hotel Chicago. Details to come!

TUNES:

If you watched the amazing HBO show The Righteous Gemstones, here’s a playlist I made featuring music from season 1.

Unfortunately, the powers-that-be at HBO haven’t released the best song from the show…

This Ghetto Sage (Saba, Smino and Noname’s new Avengers-like rap group) project is definitely going to be on my shortlist for best projects whenever it comes out, SHEESH.