Become an art director

Step into the shoes of an Art Director at an ad agency to get a deeper understanding of the required skills for the role.

• - Art director vs other creative roles
• - Art direction in advertising vs other industries
• - Essential skills and standard tools
• - Creative sources of inspiration

Assignment 1: Creatively locate 1-2 pieces that inspire you and add them to the shared creative inspiration sheet. You can refer to blogs & other artists but try to think laterally and avoid Instagram, Pinterest, and Behance.

From an art director’s perspective, you’ll follow each step involved in developing advertising campaigns while manipulating insights that will turn them from good to great.

• - Ad campaign analysis
• - Types of media channels
• - The creative process from start to finish
• - Case studies: Top ads in different categories

Learn how to decipher “the brief” through firsthand experience. You’ll dive into insights and brand strategies that can be applied to your creative process.

• - Unique selling propositions, target audiences, and brand-defining ideas
• - Asking the right questions
• - Sources of inspiration
• - Cliché vs trend: tropes to avoid

Learn the art of concepting quickly while mastering the differences between cultural insights and ideas.

• - Compare good ideas to great ideas
• - Proof of execution: print, social, TV, film, OOH, activations
• - How to use the concepting techniques
• - Case study: Classic techniques and best-in-class work
• - Workshop: Brainstorm responses to the brief

Assignment 2: Review a new brief for an ad campaign and produce 3-5 ideas. Include them in a slide or in a white paper.

Execute your new concepting skills to generate story-driven ideas. Discover more concepting techniques and learn to combat common drawbacks.

• - Getting out of a rut
• - Crafting a compelling story
• - Award-winning campaigns
• - Case studies: Classic techniques and best-in-class work (continued)

Assignment 3: Continue to revise ideas and craft executions in your campaign. Come up with 1 lead idea and mock up 1-2 print executions you feel strongly about (either on paper or through digital software).

Receiving feedback and creating go hand in hand. Learn how to give, receive, and handle feedback and critiques from various sources.

• - Efficient feedback methods
• - Giving feedback to your team
• - Mentoring other creatives
• - Receiving feedback from your clients
• - Workshop: Break out into groups of 3-4 to pitch lead ideas and give feedback as a group.

Directly use your skills to create presentations designed to sell creative work.

• - Elements of a good deck
• - Coverting your ideas into design
• - Creating brand identities
• - Case studies: examples of VBIs

Assignment 4:
Apply the feedback from last week’s workshop to improve your assets. Assemble a 3-5 slide presentation, a mood board (style guide) to pitch your creative idea to your peers.

Learn how to pitch ideas to leadership and sell creative content to clients

• - Making good ideas great
• - Selling to a client vs selling to your boss
• - Presentation framework
• - Finding your distinctive presentation style
• - Workshop: Break out into groups to practice your pitch. Be prepared to share your deck with others.

Assignment 5: Course Project: 360°Ad Campaign
Continue to craft and shape your lead idea by revising mock-ups, refining copy, and pushing executions to be more creatively engaging. Submit a slide deck with a 360° campaign, including human insights, the idea name and write-up, 1-2 print ads, at least 1 additional execution, and a mood board (style guide).
Alternative option: feel free to build out the campaign for your own case or brief.

Focus on how creative ideas come to life in front of consumers while analyzing campaigns crafted by top performing Art Directors.

• - The importance of craft
• - An art director’s role in the production process
• - Creating a PR hook
• - Case studies: Great PR campaigns

Assignment 6:
Based on the example discussed in class, craft a PR headline for your campaign. (extra credit)

Learn methods to collaborate with other creatives both inside and outside of an agency.

• - The role and function of a creative leader
• - Working with other artists
• - Collaborating with a copywriter
• - Departments in an ad agency

Embrace your own style as an art director in advertising that will be reflected in your portfolio.

• - The Cannes Board format and examples
• - Building a digital portfolio
• - Approaching a portfolio review
• - Common traps that recruiters see through

Assignment #7: Assess your portfolio and pinpoint any areas for improvement. If it’s complete, add your course project to your portfolio.
Submit your portfolio for review and comment on what has been or should be improved. (extra credit)

By the end of this class, you’ll know how to navigate your network, expand it, and use dependable techniques to nail your next interview.

• - Career path options
• - Interview hacks
• - Network navigation
• - Creating a bio for yourself