How are the art directors?
“It’s an industrial production line of imagery.” Six people working in art and creative direction share how they feel about the industry right now.
By Ryan White
Since the pandemic, the fashion industry’s need for video and imagery has grown dramatically. If the main objective for a brand a few years ago was to create a singular, breathtaking campaign each season, today it’s more about “world-building”, i.e. keeping the reach as broad as possible, feeding the algorithms, and pushing the limits of how amorphous a brand’s identity can be. For the people who create the visual matter of these brands, delivering timeless work in a range of formats for different platforms and a global market becomes harder and harder. So, following our chats with photographers and stylists, we asked the art directors to speak (anonymously) about how they’re dealing with this new era of relentless marketing.
Freelance art director
“I don’t think we’re prepared for the current demands of the industry. There are situations and constraints that currently exist that weren’t in place in the past, yet we still judge things through the same lens. Take a fashion campaign. Before, print was limited. Campaigns would mainly run in magazines, advertising and some out-of-home placements. The current demand is very different. It goes from maybe 15 or 20 key campaign images, then 60 or 80 collateral images split into model and still life. Then you have video, which I think is a huge pain point, and you’re doing this nonstop. Before, you were doing two seasons. Now you’re doing small collections, resort, accessories, leather goods… The scope has increased substantially, and yet we still judge it through the same lens. We’re expecting timeless images.
We were trained to think in images, yet the demand now is much higher for moving image and activations, and we’re not well-equipped for that shift. It’s almost like we’re constantly feeding a monster that never stops and is always hungry. Our expectation is still to have these amazing images like those produced in the past, yet how can we produce them so fast? Technology has allowed us to be quicker, but an idea still takes the same amount of time.
I think people are still excited, but the excitement lasts less than it used to. It’s becoming less enjoyable because there are more constraints, more demand for output and more pressure. You finish one project and immediately move on to the next. You’re shooting one campaign, reviewing the last campaign and thinking about the next one. The amount of time available is limited. In a strange way, that constant storm keeps people excited, but at the same time it drains you.