What does an art director do?

[kimair]

What would you say is the BIG difference between Adv and working at a Fashion Mag Publication... and I mean like... work wise/environment/clients/perks... cause i mean when you get older work tends to mean life.. and i just don't want my life too be.. well.. too boring.

(( also .. which would you say is the faster paced environment.. b/c magazines (depending on which) usually are monthly.. and adv has a different time constraint depending on media? ))

MUCHO GRACIAS!

xoJ

when you're working at an advertising agency, it's fast paced but in a different way...instead of having one client, you can work on a variety of clients...
you're usually working on pitches for new clients, which can involve all-nighters, working weekends, etc. but you usually get paid more working in advertising...
it can also involve alot of travel, if you're art directing a shoot or working on a commercial...
there aren't alot of perks really, except winning awards...but it's also easier to get ahead and move up if you switch agencies...

working for a magazine is also fast paced, but because you're working to get out an issue each month, and you're also working a few months ahead of schedule (concepting fall stories in the early summer, etc)...
i imagine the perks are the same as others at the magazine, access to parties, freebies, etc., but again, the pay is lower, and the basic design of the magazine is the same every month...
you may just be filling content/images into a template in the beginning...

hope that answers your question...

 

[Ceptuouse]

Creative / Art director

I tried to find a thread similar but could not find...

Anyway, I've been doing a bit of research and I think that I'd like to try and become a creative director, freelance or working for a company. I'm having trouble finding out a lot of info about this job, I've asked friends but people always presume I mean being a creative director at a magazine as an only job...obviously I'd love to work at a magazine, but I'll be realistic and I would like to work for cool brands anyway...

So basically I was looking for any info on this career, and if being a creative director is almost a branch from another career path, and what qualifications you'd need etc.

Also, is it linked to Art Direction? Thats another area of interest for me, could you link the two if you were freelance? Any info would be a great help...

Thanks

 

[Ceptuouse]

Can anyone update me with any info on becoming a Creative / Art Director.
Is Architecture a good degree course to study as it would be an backup alternative career. Thanks.

 

[raerae]

I want to study graphic design to become an art director.. but in all the courses I found for graphic design are classes drawing and painting.. Are there any graphic design courses without these classes?

 

[Doll_Parts]

Nowadays every mag has a Creative director too... that has even more power than the AD... and for that there is certainly no education... but it helps to have to have light narcissistic personality disorder

I'm in!

 

[luckyme]

Education is key because it lays the foundation for the skills you need to incorporate the tools you will use. sorry to disappoint angie but it takes a good solid 4 year degree in Art to reach a BFA which will give a well rounded curriculum for developing the visual eye and understand the theories behind color and design. its fascinating and very demanding if you apply yourself. after school the best way to get a bounce is an internship and from there you will most likely start as an assistant somewhere but it will take years to learn how to apply what you have learned to increase the confidence it takes to run a department. A graphic designer is a fabulous profession that embodies different arenas depending on if you prefer small studios, large agencies, advertising, corporate, medical, defense...i can go on and on. Art Directors and Creative Directors can be the same slot depending on the size of the company. I am a team of one who is responsible for Design, Scheduling, Art Direction and all things Creative.

love every minute of it too!

 

[gian-franco]

i have some questions about becoming AD too.
Firstly, about education - from what was discussed already, I see that AD has to be strong on the technical side - knowingf graphic design, all the programs... but can I be AD from a creative side - generating ideas, maybe drawing with my hand (though I'm not good at painting) or making some collages in order to express my ideas? I dont mean that AD is a technical job, but I hope you understand my question. Well, if you could tell me more precisely what one need to study (I know it's not about studying, but still..) for making this career, it would be great?
Now I'm applying to study MA of media studies - am I on the right path? I'm more into AD in publishing, by the way.
also, I'm interested about the career ojf Julia restoin roitfeld - she has studied design management at parsons and she is know working as an AD. but her studies was more from the business side, I guess? I know she has good connections, but still - she is making (drawing with photoshop???) invitations for various fashion houses and art directing some fashion ads... I'm lost, that is such a mystical job to me.
moreover, I want to intern at baron baron. What do you usually have to study to become an intern there? do you know any people who work/have worked there? besides magnus berger? I'd like to google them, just to have the idea of what people are working in this company...

 

[BetteT]

I don't know much about it ... but it seems fairly technical to me, along with having a good eye, knowing a lot about advertising and what works in ads and being able to be very organized. Plus, as Luckyme said, above, that in addition to knowing all the computer programs for graphic design, you would probably need a 4 year degree in Fine Arts to learn about color and design, to develop the eye that you would need as an AD.


Here's a job description that I found, although I think it varies a lot, depending on who you are working for:

Source: careers.stateuniversity.com

Definition and Nature of the Work

Art directors oversee the artistic design of advertisements and print materials, as well as the filming of television commercials. They are the decision makers who are responsible for the quality of the finished product. The art director chooses a photographer, an illustrator, models, and any props necessary for an ad. If a print ad comes back from the printer with an imperfection, the art director is responsible for retouching it.​

In advertising, the art director is not only responsible for the "look" of an ad but is also part of a creative team responsible for developing the very concept. An art director and a copywriter (who writes the ads) may decide on an advertising concept together. Then they determine how the ad will look and what it will say.​

To create a "print" ad—one that appears in a magazine or a newspaper or on a billboard—the art director creates a rough layout using a computer. The layout shows where the copy will go, which fonts and colors will be used, and what the picture will look like. At this stage, the layout must be approved by the client. Once a rough layout for an ad is approved, the art director uses all the resources of the agency to produce the finished ad.​

Work begins in a large, open work area known as the bull pen, where the art director supervises a team of artists who work up the rough layout of an ad, refine it, and put it together on the computer. Assistants scale photographs and illustrations to the proper size and decide on the typeface. They run the copy and the photographs through the computer programs to create the pages as they will appear in print.​

 

[Cicciolina]

gian-franco wow lots of questions! First - I think it's pretty important to learn about the software that's part of graphic design - the technicalities. Even if it's a short course in Photoshop or InDesign, that would help a lot. Unfortunately being able to draw is just not enough.

I'm not sure where you're studying, but Media Studies to me always seems something that's more aligned with wanting to become a journalist. But it depends on the course, and it won't do anything to hurt you anyway if you do it.

With Julia Restoin-Roitfeld - as you identified, she's probably not the best person to model her career on because of her contacts. If you talk about having the job of designing invitations, I believe most people who do that would offer other services too - like designing brand logos, design concepts, advertising, etc - have you looked at those companies?

 

[gian-franco]

well, i guess i will finally be forced to start learning using photoshoop - thats one of my NYE resolutions, so I really should do at least one of them!
Thanks for your help. Although, if someone else has something to answer to my questions - you are very welcome!
I'm in fact lost. I was thinking I wanted to become a stylist (for magazines), but afterwards I understood, that (i think) i'm more interested in creating (together with the photogr.) a BEAUTIFUL picture as a piece of art, when the clothing itself. I love fashion and I love clothes. But I'm unsure about everything. I decided that maybe the career of AD would be better for me. But maybe I have the wrong perception of what AD does? idk
so, i'm lost. and i have a bachelor in law (due to watching too much of Allie Mcbeal ) and now I'm thinking about my master studies, smth that would be usefull for my future. And its hard to find something good! USA is too expensive for me, so i decided to chose europe. UK i dont want and as studies in scandinavia are for free, i'm applying there in to the media studies program. but i dont think its so much into journalism, i'm really interested in studying all medias from the broad perspective. I'm hoping that from where maybe i could go for a semester/a year/an internship to NY. I'd make some contacts there and when, after finishing studies, I'd move in there. see - i make exact dreams for everything.
i have some (e.g. 5 years) of experience in publishing - at first working as a journalist, and now i'm working in pr. pr i also like, but i want more to create beautifullll pictures.
thank's for being good listeners! i could talk and talk and talk and talk about my (imagenary) future...
hush, i wish i had God besides me who would tell me: "do this and do that".
by the way, sorry for misstakes, i know i made a lot this time