Advertising Concept Book - buy one for every one of your clients.

I have one reason you should get this book. The entire book looks like a comp. All illustrations are rough sketches of the ads that they are talking about. Genius. Because the point of the book is concept now, design later. You should make roughs and tissue paper and sketches and whatever you may call it, as many as you can, as simple as you can to explain your idea. When you have it, the idea that scrawny little sketch jumps out at you and the designing can begin. Put that mouse down, leave the wacom tablet alone. Take your time to look through this solid, informative and fun read. Giggle at each comp that you instantly recognize the ad in. Learn the lesson: have the concept before the computer. Honestly, every client out there should have this book.

Take your time to look through this solid, informative and fun read. Giggle at each comp that you instantly recognize the ad in. Learn the lesson: have the concept before the computer. Honestly, every client out there should have this book. Maybe then they'll be able to look at a scamp and understand the idea. Concept is king. This book boils down creative to its essentials and reminds you on how to be a better concept creator. You'll read about different types of strategy, there's a series of "tools" to help generate ideas, and there's more examples than you can shake a stick at. This is the scamp advertising bible. Ideas rule. Ideas based on solid concepts are the only ideas. Ideas that can be expressed in a thumbnail are where you start any ad. Just the fact that the book looks like a sketch-pad full of thumbnails.... It may seem like a frivolous idea at first but you'll soon realize all those comps you are looking at are solid ideas on their own, then designed. It reenforces the point that the book makes very nicely. And Barry is right. So right. The foundation of every great ad, is a great idea.

You can buy "The Advertising Concept Book: Think Now, Design Later" by Pete Barry at Barnes and Noble.