Foreword / Richard Wilde

Richard Wild is Chair of Advertising and Design Departments at School of Visual Arts New York. I’m honored to have his foreword for my book. Thank you Richard.

No, No, No, No, No, Yes is an amazing story that chronicles Gideon Amichay’s rise as a force in the rarefied domain of critical thinking.

In the world of visual communications, Gideon is one of the few individuals who has mastered the art of problem solving, an unteachable discipline. His accomplishments have expanded to include author, entrepreneurialist and teacher.

I’ve pondered for some time trying to understand how Gideon was able to achieve such success, and the one possible explanation I’ve come up with to unravel this enigma is a combination of various factors that have resulted in this achievement. By undertaking the seemingly impossible task of creating hundreds and hundreds of conceptual illustrations with the intent of being accepted into, arguably the most difficult venue, The NEW YORKER magazine, fostered the emergence of persistence, perseverance and endurance. These qualities were coupled with an essential inner sense of confidence, which can be traced back to what Gideon refers to as his first creative director, his mother, Rachel.

By focusing on illustration and by developing a voice based on conceptual ingenuity, this unique conceptual ability aided Gideon when he undertook the task of being an art director in the world of advertising. He entered this field without any of the dogma that is inherent in advertising education. This gave him the opportunity to embark on projects in the world of advertising with a new and untainted vision. His innovative ideas were challenged again and again, which met with every conceivable “NO”, which he took as an opportunity, a challenge that enlivened him and gave meaning to his life. He understood that one must embrace the roadblocks, not react to them, and it is at this very place where his genius emerged and flourished

Gideon mastered the art of storytelling, which is the foundation of all successful social media. This has become a tool in his arsenal where today, his concepts are so provocative that the media extends his work tenfold.

Gideon has now undertaken the task of educator at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The courses that he teaches set the stage for others to enter the world of risk taking, love of process, coupled with a spirit to embrace new challenges.

Gideon Amichay understands the pathway toward creativity where he does not have to knock down walls, which is time consuming and unproductive; he knows the secret of how to simply walk around them.
Teaching the intricacies of his journey to others will be Gideon Amichay’s legacy.

Richard Wilde
Chair of the Advertising Department at School of Visual Arts New York
Chair of the Design Department at School of Visual Arts New York

Available on: Amazon, Kindle

About Gideon Amichay

Founder & Chief Creative Officer of No, No, No, No, No, Yes a creative boutique based in Tel Aviv, focused on innovative advertising and marketing solutions. Instructor at SVA; International speaker about innovation, creativity and advertising; TEDx speaker. Former Chief Creative Officer, Joint Managing Partner (1994-2011) Shalmor Avnon Amichay / Y&R Interactive Tel Aviv, Israel. In 2010, Shalmor Avnon Amichay was acquired by WPP’s Y&R. Gideon Amichay led the agency to be the market leader in creativity and innovation, and one of the 3 biggest agencies in Israel since 1998. Won Israel’s best agency award – 7 times. Served as the President of the Direct Jury at the 2012 Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. Gideon created a TED talk at TEDx Jerusalem this coming November (2012) Gideon lives and works in TLV. Currently looking for challenging business problems and impossible briefs whatever the medium. More: Won 19 Cannes Lions the highest number of Lions, in the Israel advertising history. 2nd Media Agency of the Year, Cannes Lions 2008. 2nd PR Agency of the Year, Cannes Lions 2011. Won Grand LIA (2009) at the London International awards, and 7 more LIA Awards. Won 9 Clio awards for Innovation, Content & Contact and more Won Israel Effie Platinum Award, Grand Effie and more than other 20 Effie Awards (8 Gold). Won a special award from the United Nations (UN) (2010). Speaker: Cannes Lions , DLD Tel Aviv, New York Festival, Eurobest, IDC TED Inspired Innovation Forum IDC Herzliya, AJC Access 20/20 Washington D.C., SVA NY, Berlin School of Creative Leadership, Miami Ad School, Tel Aviv University and more. Lecturer: Tel Aviv MBA Business School, Jerusalem Hebrew University MBA Business School, Bezalel Art & Design Academy, SVA/MFA Design New York (Designer as Author + Entrepreneur Department), Pratt Institute New York, (Arts and Cultural Management Advertising and Promotion), and more. Worked for International brands: Mercedes Benz, Smart, Hyundai, Orange, American Express, Heinz, Toshiba, Yellow Pages, Stella Artois, Nestea, Strauss, Danone, Actimel, Teva, Colgate Palmolive, Elmex, Vax, KitchenAid, Getty Images, Aids Task Force, The Atzum Task Force on Human Trafficking, and many more. Berlin School of Creative Leadership Executive MBA, Leadership, Business, Creative 2006 – 2008. Bezalel Academy of Art and Design BA (HONORS), Design Advertising 1986 – 1990. Books: https://nononononoyes.com/hebrew-books "לא, לא, לא, לא, לא, לא, לא, כן"​ (Israel 2011) "נו, נו, נו, נו, נו, נו, נו, יס"​ (Israel 2016) "אלף בית של גימל" (Israel 2021) "No, No, No, No, No, Yes" (USA 2014) Available on Amazon (Hard cover & Kindle) at McNally Jackson (SoHo, New York) The book is about innovation & creativity and targeted at all creative minds.
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