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  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    CAREER FEAT URE

    Every junior designer dreams of becoming an art director, but what

    do they actually do? Three leadin g art directors explain what the role

    entails and offer tips on how to become one.

    Bra nding the Manchester

    Food and Drink F estival

    /branding/branding-manchester-food-and-drink-festival-2012-11121179)

    How to become an art director>50

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    'Art director' is an impressive job title that a lot of people yearn for, but

    can mean different things in different organisations.

    The job of art director exists in a number of creative fields, including

    advertising, marketing, publishing, film and television, web design, and

    video games.It generally involves managing a team of designers working

    on a creative project, but the degree of responsibility and autonomy canvary.

    We asked three leading art directors to share their thoughts and

    experiences on the role. Read on to find out what they think about what

    the job title means, what it requires in practice, and what qualities

    employers look for in an aspiring art director...

    James Fenton

    Looking for a job in design? Check out our jobs board

    (http://jobs.creativebloq.com/)!

    http://jobs.creativebloq.com/
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    To begin to understand what is expected of an art director, it's first

    worth considering the term as both a role within a team, as well as acreative discipline in itself.

    As an art director you must be a leader, someone who inspires and

    guides the vision of the design team. However, someone who sees

    themselves as the design top dog will inevitably be heading for a

    embarrassing fall. You have to be able to recognise the talent in those

    around you and learn how best to get the best from you. An art director

    who sees themselves in a position of hierarchical authority is simply a

    glorified manager.

    Sure, there are aspects of management in the role. You need to be able

    to critique peoples work, hit deadlines, stay within the budget, and

    sadly on occasion have to discipline people for too many fag breaks or

    simply producing lazy design. But first and foremost you need to inspire,

    guide and mentor those they lead.

    The role of the art director could be compared to that of a chef, fusing

    together ingredients to produce a menu of delightful dishes. All

    designers inject their individual personalities, tastes and style into their

    work. Even working within the constraints of brand guidelines, there is

    plenty of room for creativity and originality. It is the art directors role

    to identify and understand the different flavours each member brings to

    the team, an then carefully infuse them to compliment one another and

    ultimately creating an exciting and balanced sensory experience.

    James Fenton is a designer and art director based in the UK. He is the

    founder of Blimp Creative (http://blimpcreative.co.uk/), a collective of

    professional creatives specialising in digital design and copywriting

    across web and mobile.

    Inspire and mentor>

    Storyteller>

    http://blimpcreative.co.uk/
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    Yet it is vital to understand art direction not simply as a v isual

    experience. The fundamental role of art direction is to direct and guide

    an audience through the information being presented to them.

    An art director must appreciate the written content as much as visual,

    taking on the role of a storyteller, marrying together words and

    imagery, creating structure and order through layout and typography,providing weight and emphasis which conveys message and meaning,

    resulting in the ease of the audiences understanding. You must be a

    mediator between writers and designers, understanding both disciplines

    and working closely with each.

    For me, a good art director has to be open to influence, inspiration and

    the expertise of the people around them, appreciating their talents,

    strengths and weaknesses, whilst maintaining a clear vision of delivering

    a message that speaks directly to the reader, viewer or user.

    There is no single formula for what makes a good art Director: its not a

    discipline taught in design schools, there are no books or guides that

    define the steps to success. Every art director will have forged their own

    path, have their own definition of what their role is and their own

    approach to getting the job done and done well. Sometimes this may be

    learned from their own mentors and passed down in a

    master/apprentice way, whilst others may formulate their process

    utterly independently, through their personal experience, trial and

    error.

    Jenny Theolin

    Open-minded

    >

  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    What is an art director? It sounds like a simple question, but having to

    define somebodys job role in one or two words is surprisingly difficult.

    Designer, art director, creative director - all these titles are necessary to

    create a structure within agency departments, for the clients benefit,

    and for the recruitment process. And to add to the confusion,

    descriptions like 'Web Ninja', 'Pixel Guru' and 'Creative Wizard' infiltrate

    our world as well. But how relevant is all of this to the job we do?

    Jenny Theolin (https://twitter.com/JennyTheolin) has performed a

    series of art director and senior art director roles and is currently

    creative director of Soapbox & Sons

    (http://www.soapboxandsons.com/). A Swede based in London, she

    is also a contributor to the web magazine Typetoken

    (http://www.typetoken.net/) and an avid blogger

    (http://www.jennytheolin.com/).

    http://www.jennytheolin.com/http://www.typetoken.net/http://www.soapboxandsons.com/https://twitter.com/JennyTheolin
  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    In many companies the traditional team structure has evolved into

    paired creative polymaths. Ask any creative team working today, and

    you will see that they share a lot of their work tasks. Copywriters

    scamp, art directors write. I write contributions to blogs, books and

    magazines, so does this make me any less an art director?.

    Working across branding, design and advertising, I've experienced most

    types of agencies, from huge conglomerates like Interbrand, to the

    smaller and friendlier creative agencies, like muirhoward, where I am

    currently spending my days cooking up all sorts of creative concoctions.

    Here I generate and develop ideas for ads and campaigns, work

    alongside the creative director to ensure that creative strategy is

    innovative, motivating and right for the client; I also inspire, encourage

    and mentor junior teams, brief Photographers, Illustrators, Artworkers

    and Retouchers - and present to clients.

    For me, the main difference between working as a graphic designer and

    as an art director is that I work more with people than computers. And

    since I prefer to see the creative industry as a peoples industry, this

    collaboration and co-working is key to creating exciting new work.

    What are the worst things about being an AD? I would say the worst bit

    is to not have the ability to execute my ideas myself and to trust others

    to meet my ridiculously sky-high standards. However, if you are

    working in the right place and collaborating with the right people, this

    should be the least of your worries.

    The best things? Being surrounded by great people and amazing talent,

    regardless of the day-to-day ups and downs, difficult clients and/or a

    stinking brief.

    Ed Robinson

    Creative concoctions>

    People skills>

  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    One of the main roles of an art director is usually to art-direct photo

    shoots. I thought I'd share my experience in this area, then offer some

    tips and pointers for your own career in art direction.

    At a very early age I was lucky enough to be invited to photo shoots

    arranged by my grandmother, Joan Sisley, a prominent v isual

    consultant. And at age 12 I found myself on my first shoot covering the

    Lake District music contest.

    Of course, at this stage, I was purely assisting but my eyes were opened

    to a far more creative world than I expected. Not one shot was of an

    orchestra in a music hall - no, Joan had set up a pianist in a graveyard, a

    Photographer, art director and picture editor Ed Robinson is founder

    of visual consultancy OneRedEye Visual Communications

    (http://www.oneredeye.com/).

    Early shoots>

    http://www.oneredeye.com/
  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    cellist in a toilet cubicle and a string quartet on a rowing boat. Naturally,

    from that moment I was intrigued and wanted an in on every shoot

    coming up.

    From there followed a few years of assisting, listening, learning about

    composition, direction, preparation, creative thinking and slowly

    discovered I had a talent for conceiving and art directing shoots, at that

    time, for corporate stories that had a more advertising aesthetic but

    intended for media worldwide.

    Nowadays, I'm also a creative director, photographer and a

    director/cameraman - all due to the transferable skills accrued and

    developed art directing shoots.

    My first fully fledged independent art direction was for a British Gas

    sponsored campaign called Stepping Out that intended to educate the

    older generation about staying active.

    It was then that all my training and early experience paid off as the

    plans to include a large number of OAPs making circles of footsteps

    around the centerpiece, Honor Blackman aka, Pussy Galore, hit a

    stumbling block when most of them were not that interested in listening

    to a young art director but more interested in meeting the film star in

    the middle.

    I made a key decision to change the creative and picked one chap with a

    great face and straw hat, picked a couple of large stones and had Honor

    and him stepping out to each other on the beach. A simple solution that

    earned the respect of the photographer, client and Honor. This leads me

    to identifying the roles of an art director.

    Career path>

    My first campaign>

    Pointers for shoots>

  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    In my experience, different shoots demand different forms and levels of

    art direction but here are a few pointers.

    5 tips for becoming an art director

    Here are Jenny Theolin (https://twitter.com/JennyTheolin)'s tips foranyone who wants to become an art director...

    A book that is controversial, that scares, intrigues and has balls. As a

    graduate and/or junior, you will probably not have as much real work,

    so fill it with whatever is inside your head. Make it memorable. 90% of

    the books I see are instantly forgettable I would much rather see your

    take on Magrittes flying penises, than another bloody Guiness ad.

    You are the new generation, get to grips with whats been done, evolve it

    and do it better! Come up with wild ideas and have them fuck each other

    to spawn mutant idea babies wholl take over the world. Why? Because a

    great idea is one that scares the living pants off of you.

    Pre planning. Work with the client, photographer and crew to decide on

    the best creative approach that fits with the brief and meets budgetary

    requirements.

    1.

    Production. If a producer is not part of the team then the art directorcan take on the planning of people, locations and props that fit the

    creative.

    2.

    Work closely with the photographer and share ideas to best implement

    creative. Collaboration and mutual respect is key

    3.

    Always keep an eye on what the end product is and, whilst allowing the

    photographer to create, keep the shoot on brief.

    4.

    Form a good rapport with the team and any subjects. Be diplomatic but

    direct as necessary to achieve end goals.

    5.

    Be flexible as things rarely go exactly to plan.6.

    01. Put together a killer portfolio>

    02. Be selfish, but dont be an arsehole>

    https://twitter.com/JennyTheolin
  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    Hound your heroes and ask to meet them. Many love to talk about

    themselves, so ask to meet them for advice, to pick their brains and to

    see their work! However, dont be surprised if your icons actually turn

    out to be old, grumpy farts. If you do meet them, make it your priority

    to provoke them by demonstrating that you could be better than they

    ever were within the right environment and with the right people of

    course. Trust me, they want to be challenged.

    Keep the momentum up and dont get stuck in a bubble. Creative

    exploration is one of the benefits of this industry, so get out there and do

    different things differently.

    Get your voice heard and speak up, but not by blowing hot air youll

    most definitely get caught out.

    What employers are looking forHere, Ed Robinson (http://www.oneredeye.com/) lists the four main

    qualities he would look for when employing a new art director...

    Art directing the corporate and brand shoots that I have over the yearsit is always a people based role so character and personality are a big

    deciding factor when considering an art director.

    03. Make friends show interest in people

    and their work>

    04. Stay on top of blogs and trend-reports>

    05. Make yourself noticed - in a good way>

    01. Personable character>

    http://www.oneredeye.com/
  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    Ability to create from briefs that, on the surface, dont appear to be that

    creative themselves.

    Prior knowledge of what is achievable with equipment photographers

    and post producers use is a must.

    Show a good portfolio (http://www.creativebloq.com/create-perfect-

    design-portfolio-111153) of work that represents the style of art

    direction you employ and want to strive for.

    Liked this? Read these!

    02. Creativity>

    03. Knowledge>

    04. Presentation>

    Master art direction with a conceptual brief(http://www.creativebloq.com/art-direction/alien-art-direction-

    conceptual-brief-812634)

    How to get a career in graphic design: 12 pro tips

    (http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/get-career-graphic-

    design-1012931)

    How to become a junior designer

    (http://www.creativebloq.com/career/become-junior-designer-

    7133617)

    How to be a creative director

    (http://www.creativebloq.com/career/how-become-creative-director-

    11121363)

    What design job titles really mean

    (http://www.creativebloq.com/career/what-design-job-titles-mean-

    11410424)

    The pro's guide to design internships

    (http://www.creativebloq.com/career/internship-2131903)

    http://www.creativebloq.com/career/internship-2131903http://www.creativebloq.com/career/what-design-job-titles-mean-11410424http://www.creativebloq.com/career/how-become-creative-director-11121363http://www.creativebloq.com/career/become-junior-designer-7133617http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/get-career-graphic-design-1012931http://www.creativebloq.com/art-direction/alien-art-direction-conceptual-brief-812634http://www.creativebloq.com/create-perfect-design-portfolio-111153
  • 7/27/2019 How to Become an Art Director _ Career _ Creative Bloq

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    Did our experts' experience of working as an art director mesh with

    yours? Please share your views in the comments below!

    Tags: Career (/tag/career), Graphic design (/tag/graphic-design),

    Art direction (/tag/art-direction), Computer Arts (/tag/computer-arts),

    Feature (/tag/feature)

    BEST FROM AROUND THE WEB

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    4 COMMENTS

    (/users/aake)

    aake

    November 07, 2012 at13:38

    wow! Thanks for a great article! Really useful information, that

    doesn't get said out loud too often!

    www.akjormanainen.com (http://www.akjormanainen.com)

    Report abuse (/future/report/comment/546?destination=node%2F1180)

    /users/mobileconvert)

    mobileconvert

    April 15, 2013 at 1 0:04

    One great post! Mobile marketing truly is the future! Making a

    mobile-friendly website is a huge way to garner incoming traffic

    from mobile devices. http://mobi.7kp.com/

    (http://mobi.7kp.com/)

    Report abuse (/future/report/comment/1757?destination=node%2F1180)

    /users/marcell)

    marcellSeptember 26, 2013 at22:52

    Wow this helped me greatly. It nearly described my whole life. It

    also leaves room for perfection at its best and with time to grow i

    believe i can use this informational to seduce my own creativity

    into something far greater and better.Thanks a million

    Report abuse (/future/report/comment/3870?destination=node%2F1180)

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    kharmon24

    November 06, 2013 at16:13

    ** Another great hint that shouldn't be overlooked is that initial

    killer portfolio. The Creative Circus in Atlanta is a portfolio school

    that not only trains creatives & helps them build amazing books,

    but has such a connection with the industry that recruiters treat

    it like their staffing firm. It's a terrible Catch 22 when an agency

    says "Get some experience" but you can't get experience without

    getting hired to begin with. A book that will not only get you

    noticed by recruiters, but hired is extremely hard to put together

    & portfolio schools are worth looking into if you have the eternal

    creative itch.

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