First Stop

Art directors, designers, creative directors, copywriters, print buyers--pretty much anyone in the creative department is inundated on a daily basis by paper promo mailers from photographers, illustrators and their reps. In the age of digital, it's a pretty antiquated way to reach people. Furthermore, all those trees could probably be put to much better use. CO2 reduction, for one. It's not that we don't love the samples we get--some of them are from the most talented artists in the business. It's just that we don't physically have place to store it all in our offices.

With that in mind, I've been helping a group of guys on a project that aims to chip away at this colossal waste of paper and money. We've created a site called first-stop.org that we hope will 1) be a good tool for creatives to search for photographers and illustrators--a kind of central directory, and 2) at least make photographers and their reps think twice about sending out paper mailers.

If you have time, please check it out. Send us feedback on the site and its functionality. What would be helpful to you? Feel free to sign up and submit work if you're an artist. It's completely free. And please spread the word. Thanks.

-jim

VISIT FIRST-STOP.ORG

Side Projects

Today's post comes from my friend Leslie Buker, an art director in Seattle:

Two years into my advertising career, I keep getting the same feedback about my book – I need to show more art. So, I recently dug out an old camera with a half-shot roll of film inside and headed to a Seattle park to finish it off. When I got the pictures back I was blown away by two things – The first half of the pictures were snapshots from five years ago (five years!) and those I had just taken weren’t snapshots at all – they were actual compositions with a thought behind them.

It was five years ago when I decided to focus on advertising instead of eking out a career as an artist. But as I look through the viewfinder for the first time in a long time, I can’t deny it. I see things in so much more detail now. And as an art director, it has been essential to learn the difference between what looks good and what looks bad.

So, what can I say? Advertising has made me a better photographer. And maybe if I work at it, that’s something I’ll be able to show in my book.

Photoshoots Worth Your While

Typically, writers won’t go on a photoshoot. Not that they can’t. Sometimes the client won’t pay for the whole team to be there. Sometimes the copywriter uses “not my area of expertise” as an excuse for getting out of a full day of shooting packaged goods against green screen. But if it’s a really great photoshoot, wouldn’t you want to be there for it no matter what title’s on your business card?

So for the next assignment you’re given, ask yourself this question:

"Would I want to go on this photoshoot?"

If the answer is no, maybe you need a better ad.

Flipping through the 2000 CA Annual, I found a few photoshoots I would have loved to have been on:

Pictures and Lines

Last week, I had to write headlines for a headline-driven billboard. After an entire day, I had two that were worth anything.

The next day, I had to write headlines for billboards that had pre-approved but fairly interesting visuals. I had about 20 within ten minutes.

This isn’t coincidence.

It’s significantly easier to write headlines to visuals. This is partially because with a visual, something’s already being communicated. Maybe the idea has already been established.

Not every solution will be (or should be) a visual one. But if you’re stuck, try solving it with a picture. Maybe you won’t come away with an all-visual solution. But finding an interesting image to write lines to is better than reverse engineering from a headline.