That Girl's Got Issues Like National Geographic
What's the difference between an art director and a designer? The lines seem to get blurrier every day, but let me try to explain to the best of my knowledge right now. Let's say we're working on a new line of Lego roller coasters. Kids get to make all sorts of awesome coasters in several different sets. One twists around and through a jurassic-era volcano (look out for the remote controlled T-Rex chomp), one sends abandoned mine carts leaping over chasms (packed with plenty of collapsable items for spectacular crashes), and one is a spaceship ride through an uncharted planet (featuring a glow-in-the-dark track and gravity-defying loops). They all come standard with sensor-activated passenger screaming noises, and can be connected together to form the ultimate ride.
Designers are the ones who get in there and do the dirty work, but it's fun dirty work. Concept artists have drawn the preliminary sketches for what these pieces could look like. Product designers will decide what existing blocks will be used and what new ones need to be made. Package designers will create the giant yellow boxes that kids will immediately grab. Graphic designers might make the instruction booklet or create the print ad for Nickelodeon Magazine. The Art Director is the person who is responsible for the cohesive vision behind the Lego roller coaster line, so Art Direction is mainly concerned with the initial idea and the advertising side of things. How will this product be perceived by the public? He or she decides to run with the theme that these sets will widen Lego's age appeal - we'll show television, magazine, and billboard ads with renowned architects creating their own imaginative masterpieces using the exact same blocks available to the consumers. The Art Director works with everyone from the photographers to the writers to make sure this message is heard clearly and unifies the three sets.
I've been going through a tough decision lately - by the end of this quarter, I need to decide if I want to be a Designer or Art Director...and it's looking like Art Direction. To me, the ideas are the most exciting part of the creative process. I had fun coming up with those Lego sets, but then when I had to explain how they were made, I started to lose interest and just write crap. Granted, my take on Lego Art Direction is probably way off the mark about how things work in the real world, but you get the basic picture. Art Direction = ideas. Design = art.
Haven't checked Shoot or the Portfolio in a while? By all means, Czech Republic.
Wednesday, February 25 at 8:08 PM
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