Q&A: Being An Art Director During A Pandemic

Today's Question and Answer session is focused around the current state of the world and its effect on working as an art director in the advertising industry. We cover burn out, how the work environment has changed, and the current job market during this whole pandemic thing. Wear a mask and be safe my ad friends.

[@pallavi2491]

Also, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It must be super tough staying creative in a confined space now that you are required to work from home, but I am glad to see that you find your tricks and tips to deal with them, and also shared them with us. 🙌🏻

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Always. Transparency! :)

[@pallavi2491]

Hi, I recently read a lil article about how ad agencies or advertising in general, will be affected by the whole covid situation, slowly declining. I am not currently part of that industry so I don't know the depth of it, but I doubt that would happen, right? You just adapt into a better, more suitable form? Maybe print advertising is slowly losing its charm as everything moves online, but we still have so much to explore in advertising, design and branding online, right? These articles mess up with my indecisive brain. 😁

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Yea, like many industries, it will have to adapt and might look a little different. Agencies will have to shift to stay relevant and be able to provide their clients with new value. I believe that they will stick around.

[@pallavi2491]

@@OpenDoorCreative true true. That's very reassuring. Change is the only constant and many industries evolve with the changes, but such articles that state such discouraging facts like it is the biggest truth in the world is often very discouraging for aspiring creatives. I hope they think before curating them. Thank you for always sharing your knowledge with us. 🙆

[@OpenDoorCreative]

@@pallavi2491 thanks for always having meaningful chats. It’s a great discussion point.

[@manvirvlogs]

I’m planning on starting a portfolio program to become an art director. I’m highly interested in fine arts and i am actually good at it. I’m not very sure if art direction is something i want to do but i think that’s how my artistic skills can pay me. Please guide me with this. Also i wanted to know, can an art director start their own business or is it necessary to work for clients through companies you work for?

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Hey Manvir! Yes, art direction is definitely a way to use art to make money. The biggest shift for you is going to be translating your fine art background to strategically sell product. It can’t just be pretty. It’s got to be smart. You don’t have to work as an agency. Freelance is definitely an option where you create your own client pool to do work for. Watch this video for more info: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4vUfmRned2Irdk

[@changedwards21]

@@OpenDoorCreative 100% Agree. I think it also might be valuable to explore different areas of fine arts. Animation, 2D Graphics, 3D Graphics, Motion Picture, Copywriting etc.. There is so much to explore. You might find the creation process down one of the paths is more to your liking. What you think Kevin?

[@OpenDoorCreative]

@@changedwards21 great add on. Yes, taste testing different mediums, styles, and programs is important. As an art director, you’ll want to be able to dabble in many of them to add more skills to your toolbox.