Mike Frank, former VP, group creative director at Razorfish, has joined Deutsch as SVP, creative director. In his role, Frank will provide creative leadership to Deutsch’s 35-person Volkswagen platform team. He starts at Deutsch this week, and will report to Tara Greer, EVP, executive creative director.
“Mike’s deep automotive experience, coupled with his passion and understanding of product development, makes him a conceptually and creatively strong platform leader,” said Pam Scheideler, chief digital officer of Deutsch’s Los Angeles office. “Few people are strong at both product design and branding. Mike knows both sides well and has been on our radar for quite some time.”
Prior to joining Deutsch, Frank spent seven years at Razorfish, most recently serving as the creative lead for the L.A. office. During his tenure, he created groundbreaking campaigns, experiences and products for brands including Visa, Motorola, Target, Acura and BlackBerry. Prior to Razorfish, he served as a creative director at IBM Interactive Experience working on Sony, AOL, NCAA, Nissan and Coke.
“Volkswagen is an iconic global brand with a history of innovation in the digital space,” said Frank. “And Deutsch’s heritage of brand-building coupled with their deep UX and tech chops presents a incredible opportunity to affect the brand trajectory.”
Frank earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Georgetown University. He studied graphic design at The Maryland Institute College of Art and also studied at Yale School of Management.
Review: Writer-Director Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man”
Imagine you could wake up one morning, stand at the mirror, and literally peel off any part of your looks you don't like — with only movie-star beauty remaining.
How would it change your life? How SHOULD it change your life?
That's a question – well, a launching point, really — for Edward, protagonist of Aaron Schimberg's fascinating, genre-bending, undeniably provocative and occasionally frustrating "A Different Man," featuring a stellar trio of Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson and Renate Reinsve.
The very title is open to multiple interpretations. Who (and what) is "different"? The original Edward, who has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes bulging tumors on his face? Or the man he becomes when he's able to slip out of that skin? And is he "different" to others, or to himself?
When we meet Edward, a struggling actor in New York (Stan, in elaborate makeup), he's filming some sort of commercial. We soon learn it's an instructional video on how to behave around colleagues with deformities. But even there, the director stops him, offering changes. "Wouldn't want to scare anyone," he says.
On Edward's way home on the subway, people stare. Back at his small apartment building, he meets a young woman in the hallway, in the midst of moving to the flat next door. She winces visibly when she first sees him, as virtually everyone does.
But later, Ingrid (Reinsve) tries to make it up to him, coming over to chat. She is charming and forthright, and tells Edward she's a budding playwright.
Edward goes for a medical checkup and learns that one of his tumors is slowly progressing over the eye. But he's also told of an experimental trial he could join. With the possibility — maybe — of a cure.
So... Read More