My people, there is a big difference between Design and Art direction. I find that a lot of Nigerian designers and art directors, don’t know the difference between these two important aspects of visual communication. We have gravely underutilized the power of Art direction, hence Nigerian stories, especially the ones told by brands, often times lack the experiential factor. They lack true connection.
Art direction brings clarity to work. Art direction combines art and design to evoke cultural and emotional reaction. It conveys specific messages to specific groups of people. Art direction brings the humanity in messages, It allows the message to provoke action. It removes dryness and makes memorable what would have been forgettable visual encounter. Art direction transforms a visual encounter into a visual experience.
As Dan Mall said “how do candles transform a regular meal into a romantic evening? Art direction is about evoking the right emotion, it’s about creating that connection to what you’re seeing and experiencing.’’
Art direction is intent. e.g How does this convey the mood of the brand? Do the colours fit the brand and are they appropriate? Are we on theme? What exactly is the theme? Does the theme evoke the response we desire? How balanced should this composition be? Does it feel like the message?
On the other hand, Design is the technical execution; Does this font have enough weights to be used in this context? Do the colours match? Does the layout make the text appear too long for such a short read? Does the typographic hierarchy work? Is the composition balanced? Is the photo in focus? Is there enough space for the logo to breathe and does it follow the Corporate guidelines for the brand, CMYK or RGB? Are the margins even? Does it look good and mature?… You get the vibe.
Art direction is the motive, the clarified intent. Design is how we present the intent.
Another excerpt from Dan Mall’s article; Art Direction and Design, goes: ‘‘If I tell my wife that I love her, but say it with a frown on my face, she’ll get mixed signals. If I say it nonchalantly while watching TV, she might not fully believe it. But when I say it with a genuine smile and a bouquet of flowers, my meaning is clear. In this example, my love is the art direction, while my smile and the deep red color of the roses are the design. They work hand-in-hand to deliver the point emotionally and physically. Design is perfection in technique; art direction is about the important, yet sometimes intangible emotion that powers the design.’’
Art directors come up with the concept and designers bring ideas, and implement the concept. The designer can do a little bit of art directing and vice versa. However, there should be a clear cut understanding of the primary roles. “Art director” is not just the next post on the promotion chart for senior designers. Art directors don’t have to be good at design, but they must truly and deeply understand it. They must understand it’s implications as well. Art directors must be intuitive and have a great sense of thematic and conceptual thinking. Art directors must be vast, that is know a lot about a lot and a little about a lot more; have an inbuilt visual dictionary; have a wide visual vocabulary; most importantly understand the psychology of visual content, not just from a scholarly stance, but from deep within. Good Art direction can communicate the most complicated messages; evoke complex human reactions with resolved concepts. Good Art direction allows for design magic.
Can there be good art direction and poor design? Can there be bad Art Direction and good Design? Can both be bad? The answer is yes to all of the above. In fact those are the rather frequent scenarios with major Campaigns and Brand Identities in Nigeria.
Can both the Art direction and Design slay? Goals all day, err’day. I mean, if it can’t be felt. It is a waste of time. Good Art direction is the foundation of responsive visual communication. Responsive visual communication is a messiah, point blank. Art direction is different from Design but in sync with it. When one is bad, the other doesn't shine. There is a void for Good art direction in Nigeria and there is room for it to shine. The first step is to know what it is.
