1. The Science of Art
Direction
Mihai Coliban. 13.04.2012

2. Art Direction is NOT
JUST ART

3. Art Direction is NOT
JUST HAVING AN IDEA

4. Art Direction is NOT
COPYWRITING

5. Art Direction is NOT
NICE GRAPHICS

6. Art Direction is NOT
DONE BY ILLUSTRATORS,
CLIENT SERVICE OR
CLIENTS

7. Art Direction is
SCIENCE

8. THE SCIENCE OF ART DIRECTION
01 Why is Art Direction a Science
02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
04 Art Direction is Hard Work. Case study
05 Art Direction in Print/TV/Digital/
Outdoor&Ambient/Events
06 Q&A

9. 01 Why is Art
Direction a
Science

10. 01 Why is Art Direction a Science
ART DIRECTION:
The process of designing a certain flow
of information (a message), using
mostly visual instruments.

11. 01 Why is Art Direction a Science
SCIENCE:
A system designed to acquire and
systematize theoretical and practical
knowledge of surrounding reality.
(one of the many on-line definitions of SCIENCE)

12. 01 Why is Art Direction a Science
ART DIRECTION:
The process of designing a certain flow
of information (a message), using
mainly visual instruments.
It’s enough to start counting the technical terms inside the
definition of ART DIRECTION to logically conclude it’s a
SCIENCE.

13. 01 Why is Art Direction a Science
ART DIRECTION IS SCIENCE
It operates with precise instruments.
It works by rules and knowing them is a
time consuming process.
Even when you break the rules of Art
Direction, you create new rules.

14. 02 Can
Anybody be an
Art Director?

15. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
ART DIRECTOR = SCIENTIST
The same as in SCIENCE, people often
assume that since ART DIRECTION
requires certain knowledge of visual
language which can only be acquired
through specific studies, it can only be
practiced by the INITIATED.

16. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
SO, IT’S ALL ABOUT GOING TO ART
SCHOOL?
Yes – because if not, you don’t have the
instruments
And no – because, the same as in
SCIENCE, knowledge is nothing without
IDEAS = the ability to combine
knowledge in unique, unexpected ways.

17. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
IDEAS
They can come from anywhere
ART DIRECTION
You need specific knowledge to do
it right

18. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
THE IDEAL ART DIRECTOR.
According to the previous theory, the
profile of the ideal art director is:
> Art college graduate
> Miami Ad School (or another school of
advertising) graduate
> Was an intern/worked in network
agencies

19. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
EXAMPLE. ALI ALI
> American college Cairo
> Miami Ad School (Miami, USA)
> Internships in Romania, Germany
> Worked in network agencies in
Germany, Dubai and Cairo
Art Director/Copywriter/Owner at Elephant, Cairo, also a
director, won several Cannes Lions (1st in 2008, at 33), was
a speaker in Cannes 2011.

29. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
EXAMPLE. PAVEL GANIN
> Studies film direction at VGIK
> Graduated Wordshop
> Initially a copywriter
> Worked in Russia – BBDO, Saatchi
Last job in advertising - art director in BBDO Moscow.
Now finishing his education as a director.
A couple of shortlists in Cannes (in 2010), 25 years old.

34. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
OK. WHAT’S THE POINT OF THIS?
It’s not a must to be an artist to become
a great art director.
But there is a certain way of becoming a
great art director.

35. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
OK. WHAT’S THE POINT OF THIS?
The question “who is better – art
directors or copywriters” is absurd
The art director is the way the iMac,
Mac Book, iPhone look and work.
The copywriter is the computer inside.

36. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
GREAT ART
DIRECTORS HAVE
THE BRAINS OF A
SCIENTIST…

37. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
… THE VISUAL SENSE
OF A MULTIMEDIA
GENIUS…

38. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
… THE PRECISION OF
A SURGEON …

39. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
… AND MUST BE
STUBBORN AS A
GOLD DIGGER.

40. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
ART DIRECTING IT’S LIKE WRITING A
SCHOOL BOOK
Precisely ENCODE, using a LIMITED
amount of TOOLS, a huge amount of
SPECIFIC INFORMATION into a piece of
communication which has to be READ
and UNDERSTOOD by a SPECIFIC USER
in just ONE WAY.

41. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
THAT’S WHY SOME OF THE BEST ART
DIRECTORS ARE/HAVE BEEN
COPYWRITERS
Copywriters are used to convert their
thoughts into words, to find logic where
apparently nothing makes sense, to put
a meaning behind every piece of
information they reveal.

42. 02 Can Anybody be an Art Director?
AND THE FUN PART IS THAT…
If you start digging into where
copywriters come from, you’ll discover
past jobs as medical graduate, lawyer,
philosophy teacher, economist,
journalist, linguist …
All analytical minds, who find ideas
through RESEARCH.

48. PLEASE COUNT THE
STORIES IN THE
PREVIOUS VISUAL.
DO YOU WANT TO
BET WHO WROTE
THEM?

49. 03 The
Mechanics of
Art Direction

50. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
WHEN DOES ART DIRECTION APPEAR
IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS.
THE IDEA IS BORN FIRST.
And it doesn’t matter where it comes
from, an art director or a copywriter.
We’re all IDEAS GENERATORS.

51. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
WHEN DOES ART DIRECTION APPEAR
IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS.
THEN COMES EXECUTION.
What should we show, land or sea? A
herd of whales or an Ocean liner?
Maybe a submarine…
The Art Director’s mind started to
work…

53. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
FINALLY!
Idea and execution are clear.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE ART
DIRECTOR TO DO THE MAGIC.

54. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
YES, IT’S THAT SPECIFIC.
It seems to be a very small role, but it’s
in fact huge.

55. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
HUGE

56. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
COLORS
TEXTURES
TYPOGRAPHY

57. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
Structure, Focus
Storytelling
Dynamics, Hierarchy, Rhythm

63. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
Structure, Focus
Storytelling
Dynamics, Hierarchy, Rhythm

75. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
Structure, Focus
Storytelling
Dynamics, Hierarchy, Rhythm

81. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
COLORS
TEXTURES
TYPOGRAPHY

87. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
COLORS
TEXTURES
TYPOGRAPHY

91. 03 The Mechanics of Art Direction
COMPOSITION
COLORS
TEXTURES
TYPOGRAPHY

94. 04 Art Direction
in TV/Digital/
Outdoor &
Ambient/Events

95. 04 Art Direction in TV/Digital/Outdoor
& Ambient/Events
TV

97. 04 Art Direction in TV/Digital/Outdoor
& Ambient/Events
Digital

99. 04 Art Direction in TV/Digital/Outdoor
& Ambient/Events
Outdoor & Ambient

101. 04 Art Direction in TV/Digital/Outdoor
& Ambient/Events
Events

103. 05 Art
Direction is
Hard Work.
Case study

104. And some
conclusions

105. Art Direction evolves
continuously

106. Art Direction is a
popular science

107. As advertising itself
became an interface
between brands and
consumers

108. We are not just Art
Directing anymore

109. We are designing
universal
COMMUNICATION
INTERFACES