7 steps to becoming a great art director

DAVID BELL EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR - MERCERBELL

7 STEPS TO BECOMING A GREAT ART DIRECTOR

2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

Jorn Utzon

Find your own creative process

This is awesome This is tricky This is shit Im shit This might be okay This is awesome

Be a creative sponge

Never stop

feeding your mind

Look up for

inspiration

And look

down for

inspiration

Look inside for inspiration

Inspiration

is all around you.

Write down all your ideas. Sketch, snap

& scan them.

Moleskine smart writing

set

The

Always have

the product on

your desk

1. KNOW YOUR PRODUCT

PTaste PTouch PSmell PSight PSound

Crewe's Rolls-Royce Factory By Peter Ollerhead 1950s

Ever wondered why

artists have so many different brushes?

Free your thinking.

If you get stuck,,

swap pens and the

ideas will soon flow.

JARED CLARK

Cut-Up William S. Burroughs by Brion Gysin

www. creativity-online.com

www.adsoftheworld.com/

www.directnewideas.com

T h e b e s t t h i n g I k n o w a b o u t v i s u a l t e c h n i q u e s

S i m p l e i s a l w a y s b e s t

A designer knows he/she has achieved perfection

not when there is nothing left to add,

but when there is nothing left to take away. Antoine de Saint-Exupry

Dont fear white space

If the idea has

an unreal twist,

use illustration

to help bring it

to life

Reflect your ideas

Is there an idea in the logo?

Is there an idea on the bottle?

Visualise the benefit

toughness

sharpness

strength

A quick and easy way to grab attention

Maintain eye contact

Sharbat Gula was the subject of Steve McCurry's Afghan Girl

Select your shots carefully

Alberto Kordas Che 5 March 1960

Alberto KordaHavana 5 March 1960

And crop with care

Alberto Korda - Havana

Avoid visual cliches

Complete set

The exception

Versatility

The exception

Family

The exception

20 more visual cliches to avoid

Opposites always attract attention

Helvetica

Look beyond your screens

for inspiration

Grids are good

Grids are good

The Golden Ratio and the

theory of composition

Designing by the

rule of thirds

41% 20%

14%25%

POA

Alberto Kordas original Che neg.

Alberto Kordas Che 5 March 1960

designmodo.com/rule-thirds-grid-outline/e

Know when to stop.

Mr. Robert Waters

High School Art Teacher

If it looks right.

It is right.

Try another view

Mr. Robert Waters

High School Art Teacher

http://petapixel.com/2016/01/30/10-myths-about-the-rule-of-thirds/

Type in your life

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didnt have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science cant capture, and I found it fascinating.None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backward 10 years later.

Love. And understand

type

UPPER CASE

lower case


type


type

Be the champion of

the beauty

of type

Ideas in visual type

Type is the main

tool of your trade

Dont annoy your Copywriter (or t

he reader)

If your poor design reduces readability, then expect the worst to happen.

If your poor design reduces readability, then expect the worst to happen.

www.stcsig.org/mgt/docs/readability-kiss.pdf

www.psfk.com/2016/03/mobile-typography-techniques-design-for-smartphones.html

When to let the headline do the talking

www.dafont.com

slideshare.net/Reosurfer

The Art Directors

secret weapon

desire

search

delivery

emotion

Art Directing ideas in living colour

motion

Take

the time

to learn

origami

www.adsoftheworld.com/media/

dm/cocacola_fm_magazine_ampl

ifier

How art direction

can be the idea

GETTING INTO THE CREATIVE DEPARTMENT

1. THE INTERVIEW

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

1. YOUVE FINALLY GOT AN INTERVEIW.LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Begin your book with a great idea. Then end with an even better one.

2. WHAT FORMAT SHOULD MY BOOK BE?

THE PRESENTATION

2. SITE, eMAIL A PDF, LAPTOP OR iPAD? TRY THE PERSONAL TOUCH OF YOUR BOOK.

THE PRESENTATION

Think carefully about how you present your book. You are selling your work, your talents and yourself.

3. HOW BIG SHOULD MY BOOK BE?

EDIT

EDIT

3. BE BRUTAL & EDIT YOUR BOOK

Three great ideas, always beats thirty three average ones.

4. WHAT TYPE OF WORK SHOULD I SHOW?

VARIETY

4. MIX IT UP

VARIETY

Show a broad range of creative work across multiple channels, products and brands.

5. HOW FINISHED SHOULD MY IDEAS BE?

SHOW YOUR CRAFT

5. BE JOB READY

SHOW YOUR CRAFT

Rough visuals scamps or pencils are fine, but have at least one fully written or art directed campaign.

6. WHAT IF I DONT HAVE ENOUGH GOOD WORK?

BUILD ON YOUR BEST

Peggys presenta/on h1ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYxl-DJ9CEs

6. TAKE YOUR BEST IDEA AND PUSH IT THROUGH SOCIAL CHANNELS

BUILD ON YOUR BEST

Turn a good idea, into a great campaign.

BE FLEXIBLE

7. HOW CAN I STAND OUT?

7. BE ORIGINAL AND FRESH

BE FLEXIBLE

There are many different types of agency. Adapt your book for each individual agency.

8. SHOULD I TALK ABOUT MY BLOG?

CREATIVITY

8. SHOW YOUR DEPTH

CREATIVITY

Talk about your creative pursuits outside of advertising.

9. DIFFERENT PEOPLE LIKE DIFFERENT WORK?

LISTEN

9. TAKE ADVICE

LISTEN Listen carefully to all the feedback

and act on the advice that feels right for you.

10. IM TOO NERVIOUS

CDs ARE VERY BUSY PEOPLE

Don in ac/on. h1ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbr3bkny0OQ

10. TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN BRING TO THE DEPATMENT

CDs ARE VERY BUSY PEOPLE

Be prepared, be enthusiastic, be positive and be yourself. Dont be a pest, but do follow-up.

WHAT YOUSHOULD READ

GETTING A JOB

CREATIVITY

CRAFT THE ART DIRECTION BOOK

You will find most of these books here. h1ps://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=crea/ve+adver/sing+&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Acrea/ve+adver/sing+

What you should be reading

A PARTING THOUGHT

Beware of looking for goals: look for a way of life.

A PARTING THOUGHT

Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living within that way of life. Hunter S Thompson

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