Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Ekrem Dupanović
Miloš Opačić is a young designer at McCann Belgrade and one of the key talents in McCann’s creative team. He is a highly-valued visual artist who demonstrates a clear dedication to each project, has a passion for advertising as an industry, has a strong team spirit, and is curious to discover new sources of inspiration. He was one of the youngest Serbian speakers at the Cannes Lions 2017 festival. He spends his free time working on art projects which charge his creative batteries. He says Milton Glaser’s opinion that every designer should turn off his computer for a month every year and design with a pencil is pure utopian thinking in today’s time.
MEDIA MARKETING: A young designer, one of the key talents in the creative team of McCann Belgrade and already a promising industry leader. How does one achieve all that at your age?
Miloš Opačić: Your question made me blush a bit…?
Thank you for your kind words. Perhaps I wouldn’t say ‘key’, but rather ‘well-integrated’ member of a team in which individuals do not stand out, and that is accomplished with a dedicated work and willingness to go a step further. Ambition is certainly a great driver, but, if it isn’t backed by knowledge and constant education, it can be counterproductive. I use every opportunity to learn something, and more importantly, to share that knowledge with my team. Sometimes it also means to stand up and challenge the opinion of the majority – of course, if there is a clear vision, but also the willingness to accept the conflicting opinion of the rest of the team without vanity.
MEDIA MARKETING: People say that you feel a special passion for advertising. How come when all research shows that young people shy away from working in advertising, claiming it is aggressive and dishonest?
Miloš Opačić: I would say that’s the exact reason. Most of the ads we see are “fake”, because they try to distort the truth and this causes distrust towards the product. These methods simply won’t cut it anymore. People have learned to recognize the difference. As there is no perfect man, there is no perfect product. That’s why I think that we live in the best age of advertising. We face a challenge of understanding the product, recognizing its advantages and disadvantages, and presenting it in the most interesting way.
MEDIA MARKETING: You were one of the youngest speakers from Serbia at the Cannes Lions 2017. What did you talk about?
Miloš Opačić: Within the Luft Art Association, the three of us (Nemanja Obradović, Marko Gamser and I) were actually the only speakers from the entire region I beleive. We talked about the moksit, a serigraphy printing technique using mosquito nets, we came up with ourselves in an 8 square meters shed, under lousy working conditions, between college and finding agency employment. Essentially, we talked about how create fantastic things from nothing, as long as you have the ideas and will. People in the west find these stories simply incredible but very inspirational.
MEDIA MARKETING: What should young leaders learn from their older colleagues and apply in their work?
Miloš Opačić: They need to learn when to stop. That’s probably the hardest thing, and it comes with experience, but it’s crucial to know how to assess which battles are worth fighting, and which are not, if you want to remain sane… ?
MEDIA MARKETING: And what should they ignore?
Miloš Opačić: The premise of a safe permanent job. The communist time when changing jobs was considered a sign of disloyalty and treason is long gone. Cocooning yourself in one agency for 10 years means staying at the same level, no matter how many positions you climb there. Changes are needed the moment you hit the ceiling and there’s nothing more you can learn there. Changing your work place even to a smaller agency – any change of environment – changes the the way you think
MEDIA MARKETING: One of the world’s greatest designers, Milton Glaser, says that every designer should turn off their computer at least for a month each year and work with a pencil. What do you think about that?
Miloš Opačić: Utopia.
I would rather say that it would be great if we could take unpaid leave one month each year and go do some job that has nothing to do with advertising. For example to be a waiter in a tropical bar or – and that is my favorite – be a plumber in some scientific base in Antarctica (which is actually possible) or something strange like that… It’s important to have a good rest and change perspective.
MEDIA MARKETING: Who is your role model among the renowned designers in Serbia, the region or the world? Do you even have someone you especially admire and from whom you have learned a lot?
Miloš Opačić:Generally, I don’t name people I don’t know, but certainly the influence of, for example, the Swiss international style and generally the modernist way of thinking influenced me greatly, as a child of New Belgrade. I would like to mention one person who helped me more than anyone else, and that’s my mentor from the university, Željko Lončar. The man is an extraordinary talent in everything he does and, more importantly, he is very dedicated to his work and his students. Curious thing about him is that even though he has never worked in advertising he knows all there is to know.
MEDIA MARKETING: What advice would you give to your peers? To join you in this industry, or to try and find a better job?
Miloš Opačić: Hmmm.
Advertising is not for everyone. Simply, designers today have many options when choosing a profession – from branding through illustration to the NGOs and cultural institutions. Everyone needs to choose their own path, and the road of advertising is for those who like teamwork, work well under pressure, and are ready to go a step further. And, let’s not forget the competitive spirit, because advertising provides the opportunity of rewards for good work and effort through festivals, which is something few industries have.
MEDIA MARKETING: How much free time do you have, and how do you like to spend it?
Miloš Opačić: If by free time you mean the time spent outside the agency, I dedicate a lot of it to the Luft collective and working on art projects, which sometimes takes up the whole of the rest of the day. When we aren’t working on projects, then I use my free time to ride a bicycle and socialize with my friends. I don’t stand still much. A place can’t hold me down.