Ceramic Tile in Williamsburg
“What do you do?”
“I’m an art director.”
Silence.
“Okay…but…what do you do?”
Sound familiar?
In the introductory “fable” of Art Direction Explained, At Last! by Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne, Brian Collins does a fantastic job illustrating the role of an art director through his menagerie of woodland creatures.
“You are not exactly a writer. You are not exactly a poster-maker. You are not a brand consultant. You are not a web designer. Yet you did all of these things.”
…
“Well, that’s because I am…an art director,” answered the fox.
In the simplest terms, an art director is in charge of visually developing a concept.
She’s responsible for creating and/or keeping the overall look and feel of a project in line with the client or editor’s vision. Art directors work closely with editors, copywriters, photographers, creative directors, filmmakers, and all sorts of advertising and publication executives to make sure that the feel of a campaign, magazine, brochure, movie, website, social media presence, etc. remains consistent and properly communicates the concept of the project.
A lot of people think that art direction and graphic design are the same thing. Here’s a nice article by Dan Mall differentiating the two creative professions.
When it comes to defining the job duties of the person who holds the title of “art director,” I can only generalize. Unlike being a neurosurgeon (RIP Derek Shepherd), being an art director doesn’t always mean the same thing. Some art directors solely direct and delegate the execution of the concept to other creative team members. Some art directors are hands-on – they come up with the concept and work on the other parts of storytelling, photography, graphic design, or copywriting, as well.
However, unlike the path to becoming a neurosurgeon, you can’t really generalize how one becomes an art director.
Much of it is the development of aesthetic intuition and communication honed over time and experience. Tons of different experiences…the path to becoming an art director can differ vastly from one person to the next.
Here’s the condensed version of my map.
My basis of understanding emotions and behaviors started with studying psychology in undergraduate and graduate school. During a college hiatus I started hanging out with artists, musicians, and designers. During my break from college I also started writing fiction and later, when I was really out in the world, I eventually landed on screenwriting and marketing.
This combination led me to a director-level position within the film division of an L.A. based company that helped big Hollywood studios make decisions about editing and marketing their movies. I spent my days (and nights!) immersed in film and advertising, and the emotions that different combinations of imagery and dialogue have the power to elicit. I watched audiences react to movie scenes, I listened to them discuss it in focus groups, and I read tons of responses about how certain parts of the movie made them feel.
Later I left Los Angeles (twice!), moved back to Seattle (for the fourth time!) and started a blog. During this time I was also working a day job at Seattle Children’s Research Institute managing a four-year study about the effects of television on the behavior of preschoolers. I know, right? Go to Hollywood, help them sell their movies to parents. Go to Seattle, help parents understand how to decide what movies their kids shouldn’t see. Let’s call it well-rounded…or atonement.
Even though I’d dabbled in photography off and on during my life, beginning with my first camera, a Polaroid OneStep that I got for Christmas in fifth grade, and have always been attracted to interiors, creating my blog was the catalyst that really pushed me to explore, learn more, and develop my visually creative interests.
Take the psychology, writing, marketing, and film background and add tons of creative skills practice, workshops, hands-on experience in photography, graphic design, and illustration, developing and continuing to develop my visual aesthetic, hits and lots of misses, and “presto”…I’m an art director.
Every art director has a different story that shapes her body of work. Every art director has a distinct point-of-view and visual aesthetic that they bring to the table.
If you want to be a better art director, start by paying attention.
Next…a client case study in art direction.