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For your eyes only
Shhh. Come here, lean in, let me whisper in your ear, don't tell anyone though, can I trust you?
A day in the life of a (bedraggled) Art Director
Creek, stretch and click. Into the office. Radio 6 on. Takeaway latte placed lovingly on my borrowed desk next to my mouse. It's not one of these posh new apple mice mind, it's an 'old-skool' PC mouse that allows me to scroll properly.
Here we go again, another day in the heady world of Freelance Art Direction beckons. Today I'm near Oxford. What a lovely part of the world. And as it's springtime, the rapeseed is starting to flourish and fields have a golden aura. Ah, beautiful, it's going to be a good day.
So I start with a pad. Those ideas I dreamed up yesterday don't seem as strong since sleeping on them. How can I make them work...I shall ponder. I just let the pencil meander it's way around the page. Ah, that's it, you've got it.
Whoops, I've got a meeting in the ice cold meeting room. Why is that room always cold? The sun never shines in there. Maybe it's haunted.
Meeting done. Ramblings and opinions vented. Everyone seems upbeat. Those ideas seemed to go down well.
Today we're concentrating on selling pharmaceutical implements to doctors. Tomorrow it could be an e-commerce website or a viral film for a brewery.
Thankfully, the industry seems to have had an upturn recently, it's great to see the bookings flying in (for design and art direction anyway), but it can make our (Art Directors and Designers) jobs more difficult. 'Give us something clever' they shout, 'but make it quick'. Pressure. Always pressure. With every piece of work I produce I endeavor to make it engaging, relevant and different but it's no walk in the park, good results are crafted through decent thinking time which, never seems available. When timing, and commercial pressure is added it's neigh on impossible to get the results I seek.
Time to take a deep breath and step outside.
A walk. It always helps clear my head. The feel of the sun on my back, the rain in my hair or the wind in my ears helps blow away the cobwebs and the brief I'm currently digesting makes perfect sense. At last, clarity.
This eureka moment makes me feel like a king. A weight is lifted and I'm finally free to flourish. So back to the office. Sketchpad open, ideas forged in lead.
Macbook switched on, visuals created. Aah, that's the look and feel I craved. Different. The encompassing feeling of achievement is worth the toil.
My yawns signal the end of the working day as an Art Director. Is it that time already? Click, lamp off. Chink. I drop the cups into the office dish washer and I'm gone.
I head home to begin my role as attentive husband and wonder-dad, but that's another blog.
Freelancing is the new black
Oh how times have changed recently. In my 15 years of art directing I would never have coupled being a freelancer with winning awards. Why? Well, more often than not the freelancer is called on to sweep up, fire-fight and support the other creatives in order to hit a tight deadline. Or they are placed on a project that is either unimportant in comparison or it's a brief that the client's struggled to get an idea for. None of this makes it easy to create beautiful work (though we always try). Especially when it's coupled with the nagging frustration that reigns for a jobbing freelancer in worrying where the next job is going to come from, one minute you're rammed to the hilt with work the next, you're twiddling your thumbs wondering if you'll pay your mortgage next month.
Pinteresting
Yummy...
Source: imwatch.it via Matthew on Pinterest
Six Nations of Rugby optimism
It's been a year of Rugby for sports fans, love it or hate it there's been no escape. We've just got over a world cup of disappointment/jubilation/over anticipation depending on which tribe you are and now we're faced with the nail biting prospect of two contrasting rugby nations coming together in a battle royale. The coal miners are travelling to the land of royalty with a spring in their step and a confidence not seen since, well, ever. Wales historically, have crumbled under the favourites tag. But this visit to the impeniterable HQ feels different, Warren Gatland knows that he English are in the early throws of re-building. The foundations are there, but the exerior finesse isn't. All the Celtic nations are urging Wales to take this opportunity and be clinical, and I think they will grasp it with both hands. That said, being a Welsh rugby fan has the emotional and physical drain of a full time job. I should know. Our passion is sometimes our downfall. I think a well known coach once said, 'passion doesn't win you games'. but for me, this time is different, I've got a golden ticket to the game to follow my boyos at HQ for the first time in my life. I wanted to do it properly, so I began my search online to find me a replica Wales shirt in order to do my bit in making Twickenham awash with red. I was horrorfied at what I saw. For an adult Wales home shirt, the official WRU (Welsh Rugby Union) website were asking...wait for it, take a deep breath...£85.00!
Go Create Studios press ad
So we're officially a 'No Bull' agency, so what better than to use a bull to lead the charge on our promotional collateral. Though, lets be honest, his tummy can't be feeling great with all this TV chewing. No wonder he's always angry.
Excited clients anyone
It's such a great feeling when your clients get rather excited about your design work, especially when they get on their social media and broadcast it to the entire world...And yes, she's correct, it is VERY green.
New website
Phew thirsty work. Well, phase ONE of this soft launch of Go Create Studios LTD sparlky new website is done. Big, big thanks to Morven the developer who's a genius with the geeky stuff, thanks to Oomph for the loan of some of the portfolio work, (I've created lots of it for and on behalf of those guys), thanks to our wireless network for not going down on us, but most of all, thanks to my wife for bearing with me when I'm sat late into the eve tapping keys and being 'busy'...
Premature DJ retirement.
So, there I was, minding my own business, contemplating another late night on the 'wheels of steel', in-fact, they're no longer wheels of steel, but more like 'circular discs of rubber', but that's not got the same ring. Anyway, I get a text which reads 'You aren't needed anymore, you can have a rest'. BOMBSHELL. Well, apparently my gig has been nicked by a yonger, far more stylish model, he's got dreadlocks, he's young, he understands technology but most important of all, he's cheaper. Well, despite the slight resentment at being put out for pasture, I felt feeling rather smug. No more late nights! This may seem like a cop out, but I can't tell you how difficult it is to go to bed at 3am to be faced at 6am with two smiling, playful children. As beautiful as they are, the feel of deathly sickness and numb tiredness I get when they stand at the side of my bed just wasn't worth it.
Anti-social media
In-between his angry rants about smoking, bitterness at the talented students and bullish comments at how useless we all were, Mr Davies (my old school maths tutor), would often scream at the top of his very high pitched upper Valleys accented voice, ‘Something you want to share with the class Mr Jones? At which point I would either curl up into a quivering ball, or blurt out a shaken sounding ‘no sir’ and stare blankly back into my textbook, avoiding eye contact at all costs and forming an imaginary shield around my head in order to deflect the impending board rubber assault…Phew…deep breath…and continue...
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