‘New – Russian/New,‘ Tracy Wong, Tony Zimney ‘Like Moths to a Film,‘ Adam Deer
Washington-based Design Firm WONGDOODY – Like Moths to a Film
Adam Deer’s ”Like Moths to a Film” was meant to serve as a show-bill poster for the Seattle International Film Festival. Deer, WONGDOODY’s art director, utilized moths to represent different genres of film. The entry was submitted to this year’s Poster Annual 2015.
Additional Washington-based designers include Steve Sandstrom, Michael Courtney, Landon Fisher, Art Chantry, Brian C. Bosworth, Michael Strassburger, Nancy Stentz, Dave Peacock, Tom Draper, Anne Traver, John Rousseau, Pat Hansen, Nancy Gellos, Steve Cullen and Jim Haven. Also included are Graphis winners Shawn Diaz, a Gold winner in Photography Annual 2013, and Ramon Vasquez, a Gold winner in Photography Annual 2013.
‘Expedia 15th Anniversary,’ Ramon Vasquez ‘Seattle’s Best Coffee Photo Library,‘ Shawn Diaz
In 1993, co-founders Tracy Wong and Pat Doody started an ad agency with two employees and no clients. Today, WONGDOODY, which has offices in Seattle and Los Angeles, has approximately 120 full-time employees and $142 million in billings.
The firm changed its name back to WONGDOODY from Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener in November 2013. In 2013, Advertising Age tabbed WONGDOODY as the Small Agency of the Year in the 76-150 employee category and named the firm the best advertising agency in Washington. WONGDOODY has a diverse list of clients, including Alaska Airlines, ESPN, T-Mobile and VIZIO, among others. WONGDOODY was featured in Magazine Issue 307,
“What the heck is a WONGDOODY?” asks the headline from a self-promotional ad for the Seattle-based advertising agency. Having been mistaken for things like a newly discovered virus and a cheese snack, the humor of their combined names does not escape WONGDOODY’s co-founders, Tracy Wong and Pat Doody.”
The SuperSonics, the former Seattle-based NBA franchise, were a WONGDOODY client for more than 12 years. “It stabs you twice,” Wong said of the team leaving Seattle for Oklahoma City. “The work that we did [for the SuperSonics] put us on the international creative map.” [See above]
Despite the loss of the SuperSonics, the firm still works with professional athletes. It crafted commercials for ESPN’s College GameDay and featured Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in an advertisement for Alaska Airlines.
Wong believes his agency has thrived due to its culture as a creative democracy.
“Our process is very different. Our process is democratic,” Wong told Graphis. “We saw early on that the relationship with the client is more important than the work.”
Wong also believes his employees should “love your client like your dog” and that they should try to “be egoless.”
Listening, Wong said, is one of the best creative tools we have. “Anything is possible as long as no one cares who takes the credit,” he said, which serves as a mantra of sorts for his employees.
WONGDOODY, a consistent Graphis winner, was represented in the Advertising Annual 2014 with their New Day. New Zoo series. In addition, WONGDOODY’s ”SIFFtacular” was a Gold winner in the Design Annual 2014, and ”White Obama” was a Gold winner in the Poster Annual 2010. To check out more work by WONGDOODY, click here.
The Poster Competition features the most compelling and influential design of the year. Prizes consist of Gold and Platinum awards, with winning entries published in the Poster Annual 2015. To submit your own work to the Poster Annual 2015 competition, click here.
