The Strategy Issue

Art Direction & Strategy

Stop panicking for a second, get some seltzer, and read on.

Enough of the practicalities. The start of the project can be overwhelming as you concurrently grab inspiration, consider the RFP, worry about the timeline, think about what you consider the appropriate mood to be versus what the client seems to like….etc. And what about the creative brief? Does art direction inform it, respond to it, or both? What a nightmare!

Do I start the art directing now?

From the very beginning of research, moodboarding, and sketching, you’re gearing up the art direction process. You’re doing it! Go nuts and find as much inspiration as you can.

Do vaguely keep in mind some realities and constraints that the project has. If you’re working on a website that will be publishing daily breaking news, but are finding yourself saving images of oil paintings, take a step back. Don’t give up on life just yet, but those probably aren’t going to work. However, it can still be productive to look at impractical inspiration. What is it about those that you think would be appropriate for the project? Can you pull some of those elements and use them? Can you commission a more elaborate brand-defining piece and translate the same imagery in a simple way across the rest of the site?

“If you’re working on a website that will be publishing daily breaking news, but are finding yourself saving images of oil paintings, take a step back.”

Things to think about

• Who will this work speak to? Who might it alienate?
• This looks cool, but imagine if there was no accompanying text. What message would this art send?
  • Does that message align with what the brand represents or company mission statement says?
• What problem are we trying to solve?
• How can this be reduced to its most basic elements? Color, hierarchy, mood? That will help you extend this across all elements of the site.
• What is the life of the project after Upstatement’s role is finished? How can this be supported and extended?

All of these will help you build a strategic case for your art direction within the creative brief and larger creative strategy direction (and help point you to a backup direction if you get shot down. There is always another solution, which is good and bad!). So yes, the art direction should be in the creative brief, but that doesn’t mean it can’t evolve later, as long as you’ve broken down the reasoning behind what you like instead of just “this is awesome looking.”

Read on to find out what to do once the project is underway and you’re being bombarded with client feedback.