Let's start with print ads and headlines. True, copywriters get paid to write headlines, but that doesn't mean that art directors should act like mutes. So, if you can write, terrific. Art directors who can write are sometimes more employable than those who can't. If you can't write crisp dramatic headlines, or if you've never really tried, don't worry about it. Art directors aren't expected to write pearls of wisdom. Just do the best you can to verbalize your ideas. You'll probably be surprised at how well you can write headlines when you put your mind to it.
You can even try your hand at writing some body copy if you want. Granted, you'll never get a job as an art director because you can write copy; but if I were looking for an art director and had narrowed my choices down to two people - one who could write a little and one who didn't even try-the extra effort it takes to write might be enough to influence me to hire that person.
I know it certainly wouldn't hurt his chances.
If you decide to take a crack at writing copy, just remember to keep it short and to the point. Concentrate on saying exactly what you want, as clearly as you can, in as few words as possible.
The same thing goes for taglines. Taglines are the phrases or sentences at the bottom of ads and at the end of TV and radio commercials. They sum up the point that particular ad, commercial, or campaign is making. Not all advertising has a tagline. If you decide you want one in any of your ads, keep it simple.
INDICATING HEADLINES AND TAGLINES
Like everything else an art director indicates, these should be indicated simply. There's no reason to try to indicate specific type faces. (In your first six months on the job, you'll learn more about type than you would in six years of school, anyway.) Going to all the trouble of hand lettering "Bodoni Extra Bold" is just more work than it's worth; you'll never get a job as an art director because you can put serifs on letters. So spend that time and energy working on concepts. It'll pay off in higher earnings.
Indicate your headlines and tags with single strokes: nothing fancy, just neat, clean, and easy to read. There's no reason to worry about all the headlines in your book looking the same. If you are concerned about this, you can give each headline a few characteristics of its own by simply using pens or markers of different widths. They'll all still be single stroked, but each one will have a different "feel" to it.
Obviously, the same goes for tags.
There's another big advantage to indicating headlines and tags this way: you'll save time, which means you'll have more time to work on concepts.
Just for the record, an art director should never use press-type: it doesn't show whether or not you have hand skills; letter and word spacing is difficult for beginners to judge; and after press type begins to chip and peel, which it inevitably does sooner or later, it looks sloppy.
No matter which way you decide to do your storyboards, though, remember, keep them simple, neat, clean, and easy to understand. You're trying to indicate what a commercial will look and sound like. If you cram too much into a storyboard, you won't do anything but confuse things.
The only other thing an art director has to know is how to indicate who says what in commercials. But since writers and producers have to know the same thing, let's wait until they catch up to you, then you'll all hear about it at once.
There are other things you can put into your book besides print ads and commercials. Anything that you can do which shows you have good hand skills should go in your book. The more skills you have to offer an employer, the more that employer is likely to be interested in you.
If you can do mechanicals, include a mechanical or two. If he likes your work and needs someone to do mechanicals, he might even sit you down at a board right then and there and tell you to do one so he can see how you work. If you've done any drawings or illustrations, bring them along. Even though being able to draw well isn't a prerequisite for an art director, it does impress people if you can draw well.
Have you done any photography that you like? Put it in your book. If you can do calligraphy or anything else in addition to advertising concepts, put them in your portfolio. Just be sure you put it all in the back of your book so it won't be looked at until after your advertising has been seen. If an art director is what you want to be, an art director is how your portfolio should present you. It should not make you look like a mechanical artist, an illustrator, a photographer, a calligrapher, or a designer.
Now that you know what your portfolio should consist of, you'll probably want to know how to assemble your pieces and what you can use to carry them in. You could jump ahead a few pages to that section, but you'd be cheating yourself out of learning what copywriters and producers go through to put their portfolios together, and those are the people you're going to work with.
So do yourself a favor. Try to get a feel for what they do. Read the next few pages. Don't skip them.
