For designers at Upstatement, art direction is just one part of what we do. But, like, what does that even mean? Is it choosing and commissioning artwork, video, and data visualizations? How does it fit within our branding capability? What about the business end of it, like contracts and rights management? And the process of cataloging and sharing talent?
Spoiler alert: it’s all of the above. We all intuitively art direct ourselves and our teammates (yes, that’s right, you’re probably already an art director!), but it gets trickier when we need to collaborate with outside artists and vendors. Don’t worry—that’s what the bulk of this guide is about.
What does an art director do?
It’s basically being a curator: choosing different artists, styles, typefaces, and colors that will support an overarching theme and a unified final design.
Ok…so just picking out pretty colors and sending emails?
Honestly…yes, kind of. But there are some important things to keep in mind. Let’s review some of the logistical procedures and thought processes. So far, this guide heavily focuses on the practice of commissioning work, but we’ll keep expanding it to address higher-level strategy. If you’re already a total pro, you can skip right to the good stuff: our extensive, always-growing resource list, featuring directories of artists, vendors, foundries, contract builders, and more! Feel free to submit questions or your own nuggets of hard-earned wisdom in the #art-direction Slack channel!