I contacted several magazine art directors
and advertising agencies to gather research, books can be outdated and only
offer so much insight. To understand the profession fully I must talk to those
with experience in it. Out of the about 23 people I contacted, I only received replies from two people.
Charlotte Heal
The first reply I received was from Charlotte Heal, she has worked freelance but recently created work for LOVE magazine. She is also the art director for Lula Magazine.
What does it take to
become an art director/editor?
Clear focus and direction, good communication skills and grasp
of the overview
Do you think that
experience or education is most vital to becoming an art director/editor?
Both, education provides the foundation, experience builds upon
it
What inspires your work?
A variety of things, I'm very drawn to Japanese craft, the
everyday, the details; I love grids but also adore intuition.
I am pretty contrary so take inspiration from a variety of
things
What does your job
entail?
Concepts and ideas, then a sense of how to go about doing that,
with imagery its working out who is best to hire, a knowledge of who's out
doing what and what I can ask from them, what retouching is necessary if
necessary and why, marking up, production.
What did you study?
I studied graphic design BA and communication art and design
MA.
Did you achieve your
current role from working your way up?
No, I think I achieved current role through experience but via
luck also. It wasn't working my way up in logical sense - more like working way
up by being thrown in at the deep end and swimming!
_____________________________________
Chris Williams
The second person I heard from was Chris
Williams, art director at ASOS magazine who has worked in the industry for over
11 years.
How does one become an
art director/editor?
There are lots of different ways to become an Art Director – it’s
not just a case of following one route. I know Art Directors who didn't even
study design or graphics at college. I suppose it’s about having an eye for
design, a creative mind and the ability to convert that to the page. Personally
it helped me to have some kind of formal training so that I could develop the
way I approached design and tackling a brief – whether it be research processes
or what of generating ideas. I've also had colleagues who had no formal
training and gained their experience in a much more vocational way.
What does it take to
become an art director/editor and how did you first discover this is what you
wanted to do?
As with any role in the creative industry it takes a certain
amount of time, hard work and experience to get to the role. The more
experience you get in the industry and the more contacts you make the better
position you are in to be approached for work. It takes a passion for design –
not just the graphic design and layout of a page but the photography and ideas
behind it – all the visual elements of design… the bigger picture. I suppose
Art Direction on a magazine is about being able to take a step back and look at
it as a whole project and understand how all the different components work together
to create once experience.
Do you think that
experience or education is most vital to becoming an art director/editor?
I think it’s a combination of both. I think education can give
you a really good foundation to base things on but experience is ultimately
going to count when you're trying to get out into the industry.
What inspires your
work?
Anything and everything! A lot of what we do at ASOS is related
to the clothing collections and trends each season. They have a great influence
on the way we interpret the design of the magazine. This can lead us down all
sorts of paths – whether it be looking back to the past or trying to
reinterpret something in a new way. We also have to bear in mind the reader and
how our decisions are going to affect their experience of the magazine. It’s
good to look at what your contemporaries are up to but it’s just as relevant to
find inspiration in areas that are totally unrelated to design & fashion
What does your job
entail?
I need to oversee the style, structure and quality standards for
the visual appearance of the magazine. I have to set the house style for each
season in conjunction with our Head of Art. I make sure each issue meets the
deadline on time and is sent off to the printers. I collaborate with various
editorial members like the picture department and deputy editor on features and
photo shoots, manage my deputy and liaise with the repro house.
What did you study?
Graphic Design at Brighton University
How much interaction
is required between the editor and the art director/editor?
Continual interaction! We work as a team and a lot of my design
decisions are based on what the Editor requires for a feature or how they see a
feature best working for the reader. Similarly the Editor will ask me questions
about how I best see a layout working and they may tailor the concept to fit
the design – its very much a collaboration.
Did you achieve your
current role from working your way up?
I've been working in the design
industry since 2001 and have had numerous roles at various magazines and
publishers. I started as work experience that lead to my first job then carried
on from there. I've had periods where I've been a freelance designer but am
currently enjoying the challenge that a full time role offers.
Analysis
Although I only had two responses I found
this part of my research the most exciting and informative. Books and the
internet can only tell you so much, to truly understand the industry you want
to move in to you must hear from those who are in to currently.
From my replies I can see that in answer to
my initial question about experience vs. education, education is pretty much
fundamental in moving in to art direction. Both Chris and Charlotte have
degrees under their belts and haven’t just achieved their position through who
they know, as they both implied this does come in handy but is not as important
as a good education.
I have also learnt about the roles and
responsibilities of an art director, moreover I learnt that being an art
director isn’t just about the layout of the page but also working with
photographers and illustrators etc.
I was particularly happy to hear back from Charlotte as I am a massive fan of Lula magazine and their layouts.
Photo Credits
http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=lula15
http://art8amby.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/gisele-bundchen-for-love-magazine-issue-4/
http://emma557.blogspot.co.uk/2011_01_01_archive.html
epub02.publitas.com
http://awake-smile.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/coco-sumner-covers-asos-magazine.html#.UTkjQaVH9SU
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