AW: Where do you see the next inspirations coming from?
Mays: In terms of a younger audience, I see inspiration coming from fashion, product design, architecture. I don’t think the generation that’s growing up at the moment has quite the love affair with the automobile that my generation had when we were 8 or 10 years old, simply because the focus of our culture has changed, and the automobile and industrial elements are no longer the focal points of our culture. Today it’s all about communications, computers, and the Internet, and you’re going to see a lot of computer-generated design that finds its inspiration in that very culture. AW


start your creative engines
j mays’ five tips for keeping your creative team on track:

1. never delegate your motivation to someone else; he just might not care as much as you do.

2. you are the group. design with passion and creativity. if it isn’t coming from you, it may not happen.

3. you are responsible for investing the customers’ money into a product. spend it on their behalf. spend it where they want it, need it, and can participate in it.

4. it isn’t always necessary to invent from a clean sheet of paper. we can be inspired and create by embracing our culture and history.

5. the future is not just your opportunity; it’s your responsibility. you have the ability to get it right or make a mess of it. what you do will shape the future.