An Art Director is an important leadership position at any agency. But, here at Idea Kraft, it’s a senior position that’s deeply involved in nearly every aspect of our work – from graphic design to copy and overall creative direction.
So we sat down with Erinn to ask her the burning questions that only an Art Director can answer.
What is the role of the Art Director at Idea Kraft?
At Idea Kraft, the Art Director is broadly responsible for creative development across platforms, collaborating with team members, ensuring quality control, and facilitating the execution of creative vision with freelancers.
Specifically, I work on the overall style and direction of branding projects, generate concepts, and review and critique work. On a daily level, I help with the management of projects by overseeing workflows and budgets to complete projects on time. I also work directly with clients to see projects through from start to finish, and to manage expectations and provide deliverables.
What’s the most helpful thing a client can tell you at the beginning of a project?
For me, the most important thing to know is the client’s vision and expectations. Even if they aren’t able to fully articulate what they’re hoping for, a basic understanding is key to our success. This is why we use tools to facilitate the creative process and help a client put into words their likes and dislikes, key word descriptions and audience definition.
Our design brief is intended to be the launching off point of the process, and a fully filled out brief with thoughtful answers helps us all get on the same page. The client is the expert in their industry, so we rely on them to get us started in the right direction, where our creative and design expertise can flourish. Our mood boards are intended to inspire even more insights and conversations around visual preferences.
How do you balance project goals, stakeholder needs, and design best practices?
Our design process that was previously mentioned really is the secret to success. By following a process, expectations are set and every voice in the conversation is given a chance to be heard. Clients feel comfortable knowing what our next steps will be and how we arrived at the conclusions that we did because we worked through the process together. Strong project management is something that can impact the end result of a project as well. We try to be as transparent as possible with our intentions and are happy to provide education to our clients about design best practices and what makes a project successful.
Can you describe your creative process?
Generally, I like to begin any project with my own research. I need to get a sense of what the client currently is doing, whether it is for brand identity, campaign design, or website design. Knowing the current environment is key for us to collaborate with the client in their design brief. In addition to doing a deep dive into current materials, I spend time checking out competitors and the industry landscape.
From there, I like to move to a notebook to jot down any immediate ideas I may have – whether that is word association, sketches or tagline ideas. This helps to kickstart the creative process. I then like to move into Illustrator or Indesign to begin conceptualizing, font exploration, color combination or possible imagery.
From there, I finalize about three different directions that I run by the team. This allows me to get an outside perspective and take a step back from my own work. From there, concepts are presented and then the refinement begins once a direction is chosen.
Also, lots of cold brew, walks to clear my head and get away from a screen, and loud 90s punk music help too.
How do you manage collaborating with web development and copy?
When working with the other departments in our organization, I like working in our communication tools like Asana and Slack. I use Asana to make sure the team has all the information, then follow up to speak directly with the remote team through chat. The creative team here is awesome, and we all support each other when it comes to producing great work.
I’m constantly sending Josh messages saying, “but what if…” and he graciously tries to accommodate my feedback, while offering his expertise about why something may or may not work. Mary is fantastic about reworking copy when I need it to be shorter or coming up with a starting headline to drive a campaign.
Open communication is key, but I think it’s important to put your ego aside sometimes and let the person whose area of expertise you’re working in help guide the designs. I find the best results happen when the team is willing to collaborate and come to an end result together.
What’s one thing you wish people knew about graphic design?
With tools like Canva and AI software, graphic design has definitely become more accessible to a larger population. I think what separates at-home designers from professional designers is the importance of typography. We are trained to have a keen eye for detail, and when it comes to professional design, the details matter. Typography with the correct leading, kerning, line breaks, size and legibility elevate the design. Graphic design is not all about a pretty logo, but the finer details as well.
What’s your biggest design pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is when logos are manipulated in a way they weren’t intended to be. I know it’s important to some people to have a seasonal theme, which oftentimes means creating timely applications with their logos. But brand guidelines exist for a reason. Love Halloween? Great, so do we! But changing your logo is not the way to express that love. You can always talk to Idea Kraft or your creative partner to enhance your branding, not distort it!
Let us answer your design and branding questions!
Here at Idea Kraft, we’re not just experienced creatives. We’re creative problem solvers who are passionate about elevating brands of all kinds with custom graphic design and web development solutions.
We can help build a brand identity from the ground up or revitalize your current presence, whether it be in person or online. Tell us about your goals and we’ll tell you how we can help you achieve them; schedule a consultation today.
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