The Writer’s Coin

I’ve already mentioned (briefly) my struggles with art direction, but I wanted to go a little more in-depth about it.

I am pretty good with Photoshop, better than your average person, that’s for sure. But I can’t hold a candle to some of these polished ads I’m seeing in other people’s books. Stuff put together by people whose job it is to do this in real life. Mine looks like a five-year-old did it compared to them.

And so far I’ve had no luck finding someone to help me with it. Some designers want more input, others want to work on their own stuff, others just don’t want to. So I’m stuck. I keep hearing that the idea is what matters. But really, is that enough if it doesn’t look that great?Putting my ideas (I’ve usually drawn them out on scratch paper beforehand) into Quark or Photoshop is painful because it never looks anything like the idea I have in my head. What to do about this?

I have a friend who has a friend who is a graphics person at a NY agency. He sent him his ideas and one day later (!) he sent him some fine looking ads that my friend just dropped right into his portfolio. I wish it were that easy for me.

For the rest of us (and for those of you that actually look at books), can the idea really trump everything else if it’s good enough? I mean, will a CD overlook that I’m not a Photoshop whiz if the idea is good enough. After all, I’m trying to get in as a copywriter…

Tags: art direction, getting a job in advertising