A blog to learn what it takes - insights from behind the scenes
From the category archives:
Do you have a pile of files?
Why should an art director be bothered with file structure, server setups and all this organization stuff? Isn’t this the business of the IT-departments? Well, yes if you are in a big agency and you have an IT-department and even then only for the “physical” part. At the end of the day you and you team have to work with the files every day, not the IT-department, so it’s time to get in charge. Here a few tips. …click here to continue…
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At the end of the month when all the work is done the only thing that counts is the money in your pocket. It may sound drastic, but it’s the truth. You can be proud of your work, be passionate about your design and network with designers all over the work – but without the money you won’t last long. The worst thing I’ve seen are designers with plenty of work but no money on their bank account. How can this happen? I will show you a few examples. …click here to continue…
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This lesson is aimed to small design departments and freelance graphic designers. If you work for an advertising agency you should already have some sort of tracking. You don’t? What are you waiting for.
In this lesson, where I explain the benefits of tracking, is a free to download spreadsheet included to get you started in minutes. …click here to continue…
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Did you ever get upset because your work has been rejected or was not treated with the “respect” it deserved. Does criticism about your graphic design irritate you and you think sometimes that the feedback was not good because “they” didn’t get it. Maybe you are too attached to your projects. Having the right distance helps react better to criticism and to understand if a feedback is valuable or not. Its the “Watching from outside” perspective. This perspective saves a lot of time and nerves. …click here to continue…
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An art director can be like a coach
This approach, to start with the conclusion, works best for small design teams and firms that upgraded their marketing department with an art director. They reached a point where they feel the need to get to the next level – in quality and organization. Most of the times, the art director role is not full time. I mean by saying this, that the art director is not just directing, creating and reviewing, but is also part of the execution. He is not only part of the workflow, but he actually finishes projects himself. This is no limitation, and with time the execution part will become smaller and smaller eventually. This sets the art director on the same level with his team and this is even more true if this role is filled by a designer formerly in the team. This is very important and is one of the main distinctions between the two approaches I’m presenting here. The art director is not above the team, but on the same level and part of the team. So how does it work? …click here to continue…
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Not every advertising agency or design/communication/marketing department of firm need an art director. But when they grow (in size or quality) they create this position sooner or later. At this point they will hire an art director or promote one of the graphic designers already on board. One of the main difference between a graphic designer and an art director is its “leading role”. This leading role extends into leading the graphic designers working with him on the projects. Team-leading and human-resource management is not usually taught in schools and universities – at least not in the design oriented colleges I know. They are sometimes part in post-graduate studies for managers. But how can you establish your leading role as an art director if you have been promoted or you are on your first assignment and have to lead a team? Here some insights from my personal experience. …click here to continue…
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You want something more efficient than brain storming? The results of brain storming are not satisfying? You want alternatives where you can get great results with the least effort. Guerilla fighters are known for having a great impact without huge investments in humans or weaponry. I translated this concept into my guerilla alternatives to brain storming. …click here to continue…
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People getting to work in the creative business often don’t are aware of how many times they must come up with an idea for a project. No matter how big or small a job is there is some creativity involved. Most people think that creativity is some magical thing that creative people have, and others don’t – the ideas come naturally from somewhere inside of their mind. But how can anyone relay on something magical to do business. And how can you avoid having a stall? Here some insights and tips. …click here to continue…
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B
rainstorming is the best known creativity tool, but still is one with the poorest result. Just because everybody uses it, doesn’t mean that anybody is doing it the right way. Even if you look around the web you will find no good source on how to get great results through Brainstorming. So let’s bring down some of the myths in order to use the tool the right way and get better results.
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Sometimes it's hard to get connected with your copywriter
We have seen in the last lesson, that a copywriter is important and necessary to get good copy text and headlines. Working together with a copywriter on the other hand is sometimes harder. Here a few tips on how to get in sync with the copywriter. …click here to continue…
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