Catchin’ Waves
DALLE-E: Curt Doty
In 1984, I was literally walking the halls of Art Center after I graduated when I noticed some of the first Mac Classics in some of the drawing rooms, for whatever reason. I thought “What wave was I missing here?” Now that I was a classically trained illustrator headed to NY, I buried my head in the sand and focused on traditional painting for magazines, books and posters five years, then the dreaded “C” word reared its head and I am not talking about cash registers, which I definitely avoided my entire career, but rather the “C” stood for Computer and it was entering into the creative realm. I gave in and declared this was a wave I did not want to miss out on. But no way I was going back to school, so I decided I needed to learn how to do digital art or digital design “on the job.” Where were those jobs? I was in NYC, the center of everything, but where to look? Turns out my first break and real job in design ended up being at ABC News, at the network. Wha-a-a-a? OK, thankfully, I was hired by an old timer news guy who invented News Graphics as we know them today. He was concerned that because of union strongholds on anything tech, that true creatives were not leading the charge with this new technology (I’m talking Quantel Paintbox and Abekus A-62). Ben Blank hired me for my conceptual brain with the skills of design and illustration and I rode that crest for two years.
I was learning about storytelling from a whole new angle. Video mixed with graphics. News wasn’t enough for me creatively, so my curiosity led me to the entertainment side of broadcast design (motion graphics had been coined in the 60’s but did not hit its stride till after effects came out). I was picked up by legendary TV guys Billy Pittard and Edward M. Sullivan and under the guidance of creative directors Jeff Boortz and Bill Dawson , I rode the wave of main title design (two emmy nominations) then network branding which was a wave I rode all over the world, mainly Germany, Latin America, Australia, Asia and China. It was a cottage industry that created all types of jobs in animation, art direction, design, concept art, compositing, creative direction, editing, illustration, producing, and storyboarding. I distinctly remember the day when all the designers lost their drafting tables, used for sketching, and got flat desks with desktop Macs.
I rode that wave for ten years. Disruption came with the dot com bubble burst and something called the internet moved my cheese. I coasted on the wave of branding, learned about marketing and then I got into the movie biz with Universal. Again, my new boss told me that he really needed a true creative (sound familiar?) in the mix for him. My creative director background and my roots in motion, illustration and directing live action all played a hand and for a while, I was a kid in the candy store, on the lot, vending out to the hottest agencies in town.
Then I learned my second lesson about disruption. I was in the home video department at the peak of DVD dominance, but there was a new technology coming up, and it was in two formats (remember VHS and Betamax?). HD DVD and Blu-ray started a fast and furious (intended) and short-lived format war. Studios were divided. Toshiba and Microsoft backed HD DVD (the better technology) and Sony backed Blu-ray. Universal led the coalition of studios supporting HD DVD. My same boss, Ken Graffeo , headed up the coalition, let alone still being the head of marketing. After I read the white paper specs on what this new technology was going to do to transform the disc and movie watching experience, I had a grasp on the potential, thanks to my two years of EA being a client where I first forayed into interface design with the mission of branding it. “Real-Time Navigation” was the phrase that bridged those worlds and I raised my hand and said to Ken that I was the one to lead on figuring out what that meant. This was the birth of interactive content while watching a movie. Menus were dead. “Navigation” became the thing. This was the wave I needed to be on.
In an exciting two years, we were able to out-innovate the other format and I learned how to work with engineers. There were many industry firsts that were ahead of their time, MyChat, Watch Parties, Live Director commentaries, ordering pizza, picture-in-picture, story boards, actor biographies, GPS, and "Tech specs" with overall nav paradigm branded as "U-Control" and many more. Big dollars being spent and a lot of toes being stepped on as to who held the keys to this interactive future. In the end, because of back room deals with Warner Bros and Sony, Blu-ray prevailed. I did have fun. I got to hire Don LaFontaine to do the VO for the launch campaign and convinced Goodby and Silverstein to accept the account which included a bunch of studios that normally they would not take on.
What I was able to take away after that wave crashed were relationships with Apple and Microsoft and a new passion for the sweet spot of tech, content and design, which is still my guiding principle.
I was recruited by powerhouse Trailer Park to reinvent a home entertainment division, combining an original content group and a Blu-ray menu group. My insider knowledge knew of an imminent mobile shift, so I reorganized the group under the moniker Trailer Park Advanced Content. Focusing on anything interactive that wasn’t a website. Creating opportunities for BDJ developers to learn how to code for mobile apps was the key strategy right after the birth of Touch, thanks Steve. Designers made the transition to interface designers and producers learned all about interactive content. We rode the wave of theatrical ipad apps, Second screen experiences with Microsoft’s Glass, iAds with Apple and launched Apple’s iBookstore. For Paramount, we created the Paramount 100 years iPad app and launched Microsoft’s Silverlight interactive movies for their smartphones. Once again, un-paralleled for their time (only to be mimicked by Amazon’s X-ray and Apple InSight) Thank you Mark Turner . This was all in a short two years, taking that troubled division and turning it into a $10M group.
My next wave came when I was able to take Apple to a small keyart house Bemis Balkind, and help create one of Apple’s first interactive iBooks using their new IBA software. Rolling Stones 50, set an industry standard and reinvented the digital coffee table book. Thanks to my team Lisa Gremmel , Weston Doty , and Adele Martin . We took that idea back to our studio clients, Universal and 20th Century Fox and created interactive movie books, a first, and created a new theatrical promotional vehicle.
Another two years flew by, then I found myself recruited into the PR world with Fortune 500 companies. I got to build a digital group again for Weber Shandwick and tackle all kinds of interactive content on websites and build content hubs, learning all about social media and content marketing. Some dabbling in VR, way too early, but no significant waves to catch, but significant hires in Andre Espinoza (ex-Uni), Montana Rucobo and Lane Kinkade . We actually did a lot of print and social, especially creating the grassroots campaign for Covered California.
After launching over 20 mobile apps, there were no waves to catch. By then, I had started my own consultancy focused on branding, marketing and product development. I definitely focused on UX and built teams with amazing UXers, Andreas Adamec , Kaylena Nguyen and Hailee Thompson . We did some amazing web3 experiences but that wave crashed and burned…badly.
Guess what wave hit next? Yes, AI. I am riding that wave, and it is a big one. I created a new consultancy RealmIQ, focused on education, evangelism and AI adoption, started an AI podcast and began public speaking again. Adopt and Thrive is my new tagline. Ride that wave with me. Learn more.
About the Author
Curt Doty specializes in branding, product development, social strategy, integrated marketing, and UXD. He has extensive experience on AI-driven platforms MidJourney, Adobe Firefly, ChatGPT, OpusClips, and DALL-E. His legacy of entertainment branding: Electronic Arts, EA Sports, ProSieben, SAT.1, WBTV Latin America, Discovery Health, ABC, CBS, A&E, StarTV, Fox, Kabel 1, TV Guide Channel, and Prevue Channel.
He is a sought after public speaker having been featured at Streaming Media NYC, Digital Hollywood, Mobile Growth Association, Mobile Congress, App Growth Summit, Promax, CES, CTIA, NAB, NATPE, MMA Global, New Mexico Angels, Santa Fe Business Incubator, EntrepeneursRx, Digital Hollywood, Streaming Media and AI Impact. His consultancy RealmIQ helps companies manage the AI Revolution through workshops and consulting.
© 2024 Curt Doty Company LLC. All rights reserved. RealmIQ is a division of the Curt Doty Company. Reproduction, in whole or part, without permission of the publisher is prohibited. Publisher is not responsible for any AI errors or omissions.
