another 33 things i know about art direction - david bell

David Bell - Executive Creative Director MercerBell

34. Select your shots carefully.

35. Crop

with care.

36.Treat your shots well.

And they will live on forever.

Over 277,000,000 images

37. Make the most of all your opportunities.

David Ogilvy and I at his beloved Chateau

de Touffou, in the Loire Valley, France.

And keep on making

the most of them.

38. Look beyond your screen for inspiration.

Look up for inspiration.

An old sign still live on Sydney’s busiest shopping mall.

And look down.

3 9 . S i m p l e i s a l w a y s b e s t .

3 9 . S i m p l e i s a l w a y s b e s t .

40.Use visual type.

41.Don’t annoy your Copywriter. (or the reader)

If your poor design reduces readability, then expect the worst to happen.

www.stcsig.org/mgt/d

ocs/readability-kiss.

pdf

42. Show the reader where to begin

with initial caps.

Initial caps look good and they help

show the reader where to begin.

43.(Punctuate your design)

44. Newspapers and

magazines are an Art Director’s playground.

www.adsoftheworld.com/media/

dm/cocacola_fm_magazine_ampl

ifier

45. Simple ideas in real colour.

Be clever with colour to

bring your ideas to life.

46.Illusion in advertising.

47.Always check on

the bottle for ideas.

48.Torture test the product.

49. Opposites always

attract attention.

Helvetica

50. Little, big ideas.

(90mm x 55mm)

51. What you don’t

see is more powerful than what you do.

52. Ever wondered why

artists have so

many different

brushes?

If you get stuck,

then work with a

different pen.

53. Big visual ideas.

54. Small ideas.

55. Hope you are all careful with ©

56. Reflect your ideas.

57. Is there an idea in the logo?

58. Designing by

the rule of thirds.

www.designmodo.com/rule-thirds-grid-ou

tline/

59. Visualise the benefit.

60. A quick way

to grab attention.

flip the pic

61. Maintain eye contact.

Sharbat Gula was the subject of Steve McCurry's "Afghan Girl."

Steve Jobs By Albert Watson

Avoid having the person looking out of the layout.

62. Not everyone sees what you see. Make sure all your visuals are clear.

6 dolphins or 2 people?

DUCK TOYS

BUNNY

TOYS

CHINA RESTAURANT

63. When to let the headline do all the talking.

64. Sex still sells. It just has to be well art directed.

65. The real story behind ‘the blue boat’. How to keep everyone happy

with your Art Direction.

Some  people  just  have  to  make  changes.  

So  give  them    a  blue  boat.    

Sometime  in  the    Mad  Men  era    an  Art  Director    literally  added  a    blue  boat  to  his    layout  just  so  the    client  would  have    something    to  change.      Ever  since,  this  has    been  know  as  giving    the  client    a    ‘blue  boat’.      

66.“When there is nothing

much to say then, art direct

the hell out of it”

www.themonkeys.com.au/#!/w

ork/mixionary-posters/

www.slideshare.net/Reosurfer/33-things

-i-know-about-art-direction

See the first

‘33 things...’

presentation on

slideshare.

David Bell Executive Creative Director - MercerBell