SUSAN BACHMAN
Hi! I’m Susan Bachman, a partner and the person in charge of the way things look at Market Arts Creative. There are those who accuse me of being too conservative with words, as if fearful that there won’t be enough to go around. I prefer to think of my verbal brevity as the counter-balance to those who don’t know when it’s time to be quiet. (You know who you are, Jan.) Anyway, to prove that I can be chatty when appropriate, here’s a little inside info about me.
So far, life has served-up some really great experiences like graduating with a Fine Arts degree from the University of Michigan, building my craft at boutique ad agencies, and even running my own design firm. But my formative experience, the biggest life lesson I’ve learned so far happened when I was only eight years old.
I was sitting on the lunchroom floor, waiting with my class to receive the coveted award, most valuable third grade girl athlete. The moment came. My name was called. But triumph soon became disaster when I tried to stand on a foot that was profoundly asleep. It took forever to reach the podium, dragging one leg behind like a poor impersonation of Quasimodo. Yes, I was humiliated in front of the entire student body, and no, it wasn’t a Kodak moment. But a lesson was learned.
Fidget, folks; you’ve got to move around! That applies to your mind as well as your body. And that’s the rule I live by. A brain that’s busy is awake to ideas, alive with possibilities and leaping (not limping) to unlikely conclusions. Over the years, I’ve learned that colored pens (yes, I carry them everywhere) cocktail napkins and random scraps of paper are my medium for grabbing hold of and giving life to what’s inside my head.
So what if I’m just a little bit obsessive about the way things look. I’m also passionate about the way things sound. If I do say so myself, I’ve got a knack for cutting copy down to size, saving those extra words for when the world runs out of adjectives. Of course, creative ideas don’t travel in straight lines. That’s why digression is good and tangents are worth the time. Happily, we use both to get the job done at Market Arts Creative. So even if I’m shopping for shoes, I’m really putting into practice what I learned. Fidget. Move your body and engage your brain or you’ll end up dragging both behind you.