Check out some great work from Akash Das.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

AD: Freshness. Freshness in terms of the projects they have done and also how they have compiled their book. I remember hiring two people onto my team…one just showed me some thought-through book covers and the other a scrapbook full of ideas. Newness in the idea is what I look for.

WS: How important is finish? If ideas are the most important thing, can sketches be enough? Do you look at physical books anymore or is it all websites?

AD: I believe skills can be learned over time, from your seniors and from people you admire in the business. As a newcomer, people should focus on ideas. And for the second part, I get to see both websites as well as physical books. But I feel a personal interaction is always better.

WS: How important is writing? Do you need to see long copy?

AD: A good long copy for writers seals it. I can only talk about the Indian agencies, but here it is difficult to find good writers. There are kids who can come up with good ideas but they lack that craft. A healthy mixture of copy and ideas is always better.

WS: What do you think of showing work that is not advertising?

AD: In the new age, communications is not bound to any particular medium. Things like photography, poetry, illustration, etc. give me a picture of how differently the person thinks. But be very selective with what you want to show.