The document provides a summary of David Bell's presentation on the 7 steps to becoming a great art director. The steps include being a creative sponge, looking everywhere for inspiration, knowing your product inside and out, using different creative techniques like illustration to bring ideas to life, visualizing benefits, selecting shots carefully in photography, avoiding visual cliches, using grids and the rule of thirds in composition, and embracing type and understanding its power. The presentation emphasizes continually learning and improving one's craft.

1. DAVID BELL EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR - MERCERBELL
7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

2. 7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

6. Jorn Utzon

7. Findyourowncreativeprocess

8. Thisisawesome
Thisistricky
Thisisshit
I’mshit
Thismightbeokay
Thisisawesome

25. Be a
creative
sponge
Never stop
feeding your mind

26. Look up for
inspiration

27. And look
down for
inspiration

29. Look
inside for
inspiration

31. Inspiration
is all around you.
Write down all
your ideas.
Sketch, snap
& scan them.

32. Moleskine
smart writing
set
The

33. “Always have
the product on
your desk”
1. KNOW YOUR PRODUCT

34. PTaste PTouch PSmell PSight PSound

35. Crewe's Rolls-Royce Factory By Peter Ollerhead 1950s

37. Ever wondered why
artists have so
many different
brushes?

38. Free your thinking.
If you get stuck,,
swap pens and the
ideas will soon flow.
JARED CLARK

39. ‘Cut-Up’ William S. Burroughs by Brion Gysin

40. www.
creativity-online.com
www.adsoftheworld.com/
www.directnewideas.com

41. 7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

42. T h e b e s t t h i n g I k n o w a b o u t v i s u a l t e c h n i q u e s

43. S i m p l e i s a l w a y s b e s t

44. S i m p l e i s a l w a y s b e s t

56. “A designer knows he/she has achieved perfection
not when there is nothing left to add,
but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

61. Don’t fear white space

65. If the idea has
an unreal twist,
use illustration
to help bring it
to life

70. Reflect
your ideas

74. Is there
an idea in
the logo?

81. Is there
an idea on
the bottle?

84. Visualise
the benefit

85. toughness

86. sharpness

87. strength

88. A quick and easy
way to grab attention

94. Maintain
eye contact

96. Sharbat Gula was the subject of Steve McCurry's ‘Afghan Girl”’

102. Select your shots carefully
Alberto Korda’s ‘Che’ 5 March 1960

103. Alberto Korda
Havana 5 March 1960

104. And crop
with care

105. Alberto Korda - Havana

107. Avoid
visual
cliches

109. The exception

114. The exception

118. The exception

119. 20 more visual cliches to avoid

121. Opposites always
attract attention

122. Helvetica

125. Look beyond your screens
for inspiration

127. 7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

128. Grids
are good

129. Grids
are good
The Golden
Ratio and the
theory of
composition

133. 1505

134. 2016

136. Designing by the
rule of thirds

137. 41% 20%
14%25%
POA

138. Alberto Korda’s original ‘Che’ neg.

139. Alberto Korda’s ‘Che’ 5 March 1960

141. designmodo.com/rule-thirds-grid-outline/e

142. Know when to stop.
Mr. Robert Waters
High School Art Teacher
“If it looks right.
It is right.”

143. “Try another view”
Mr. Robert Waters
High School Art Teacher

144. http://petapixel.com/2016/01/30/10-myths-about-the-rule-of-thirds/

145. 7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

147. Type in
your life

148. Type in
your life

150. Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country.
Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand
calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I
decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and
sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter
combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical,
artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later,
when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we
designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had
never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had
multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the
Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I
would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might
not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect
the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking
backward 10 years later.

151. Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country.
Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand
calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I
decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and
sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter
combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical,
artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later,
when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we
designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had
never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had
multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the
Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I
would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might
not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect
the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking
backward 10 years later.

152. Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country.
Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand
calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I
decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and
sans serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter
combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical,
artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But 10 years later,
when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we
designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had
never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had
multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the
Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I
would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might
not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect
the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking
backward 10 years later.

154. Love.
And
understand
type

155. UPPER CASE
lower case
Love.
And
understand
type

156. Love.
And
understand
type

157. Be the
champion of
the beauty
of type

158. Ideas in visual type

163. Type is the main
tool of your trade

164. Don’t annoy
your Copywriter
(or the reader)

165. If your poor design
reduces readability,
then expect the
worst to happen.
If your poor design
reduces readability,
then expect the
worst to happen.

168. www.stcsig.org/mgt/docs/readability-kiss.pdf

172. www.psfk.com/2016/03/mobile-typography-techniques-design-for-smartphones.html

173. When to let
the headline
do the talking

177. www.dafont.com
slideshare.net/Reosurfer

178. 7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

179. The
Art Director’s
secret weapon

180. desire

182. search

184. delivery

188. emotion

192. Art Directing ideas
in living colour

195. motion

202. 7 STEPSTO BECOMING
AGREATARTDIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

211. Take
the time
to learn
origami

212. www.adsoftheworld.com/media/dm/cocacola_fm_magazine_amplifier

216. How art direction
can be the idea

220. 7 STEPS TO BECOMING
A GREAT ART DIRECTOR
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL

221. GETTINGINTOTHE
CREATIVEDEPARTMENT

222. 1. THE INTERVIEW
FIRST IMPRESSIONS

223. 1. YOU’VE FINALLY GOT AN INTERVEIW.
LEAVE A LASTING IMPRESSION.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Begin your book with a great idea.
Then end with an even better one.

224. 2. WHAT FORMAT SHOULD MY BOOK BE?
THE PRESENTATION

225. 2. SITE, eMAIL A PDF, LAPTOP OR iPAD?
TRY THE PERSONAL TOUCH OF YOUR BOOK.
THE PRESENTATION
Think carefully about how you present your book.
You are selling your work, your talents and yourself.

226. 3. HOW BIG SHOULD MY BOOK BE?
EDIT

227. EDIT
3. BE BRUTAL & EDIT YOUR BOOK
Three great ideas, always beats
thirty three average ones.

228. 4. WHAT TYPE OF WORK SHOULD I SHOW?
VARIETY

229. 4. MIX IT UP
VARIETY
Show a broad range of creative work
across multiple channels, products and brands.

230. 5. HOW FINISHED SHOULD MY IDEAS BE?
SHOW YOUR CRAFT

231. 5. BE JOB READY
SHOW YOUR CRAFT
Rough visuals ‘scamps or pencils’ are fine, but have at
least one fully written or art directed campaign.

232. 6. WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH GOOD WORK?
BUILD ON YOUR BEST
Peggy’s
presenta/on
h1ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYxl-­‐DJ9CEs

233. 6. TAKE YOUR BEST IDEA AND PUSH IT THROUGH SOCIAL CHANNELS
BUILD ON YOUR BEST
Turn a good idea, into a great campaign.

234. BE FLEXIBLE
7. HOW CAN I STAND OUT?

235. 7. BE ORIGINAL AND FRESH
BE FLEXIBLE
There are many different types of agency.
Adapt your book for each individual agency.

236. 8. SHOULD I TALK ABOUT MY BLOG?
CREATIVITY

237. 8. SHOW YOUR DEPTH
CREATIVITY
Talk about your creative pursuits outside of advertising.

238. 9. DIFFERENT PEOPLE LIKE DIFFERENT WORK?
LISTEN

239. 9. TAKE ADVICE
LISTEN
Listen carefully to all the feedback
and act on the advice that feels right for you.

240. 10. I’M TOO NERVIOUS
CDs ARE VERY
BUSY PEOPLE
Don
in
ac/on.
h1ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbr3bkny0OQ

241. 10. TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN BRING TO THE DEPATMENT
CDs ARE VERY
BUSY PEOPLE
Be prepared, be enthusiastic, be positive and be yourself.
Don’t be a pest, but do follow-up.

242. GETTING A JOB
CREATIVITY
CRAFT THE
ART DIRECTION
BOOK
What you should be reading

243. A PARTING THOUGHT

244. Beware of looking for goals:
look for a way of life.
A PARTING THOUGHT
Decide how you want to live and
then see what you can do to make
a living within that way of life.
Hunter S Thompson

245. PART OF THE SAATCHI & SAATCHI GROUP
Visit MercerBell to discover more about customer delight.
2016 ADMA CREATIVE SCHOOL