A day in the life.....

Over the years many people have asked me what I do for a living. When I tell them “I’m an Art Director” they looked confused. Well here is the explanation. As an art director, or AD, I wear many hats (inside joke with Chris Cap and Scott Truffa). An AD usually runs a team that includes a photographer, typographer, designer and writer. But my experience as an AD with my last two jobs are totally different. I have been all of the above. You see, with smaller companies and smaller budgets, there’s no time or money for a big team. My job is four smaller jobs packed in
to one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I love my job. It gives me a lot of freedom that other might not have. But you asked so I’m telling you.

The office I work in is not so much an office but more like an apartment. Oh yeah, I word as a AD for Scuderia O2. It’s a small advertising firm on the west side of NYC. The office is pretty much a wide open apartment. It’s a great space and gives off some great vibes. Pool table, bar, 60” flat screen and a fridge always stocked with beer. But with the pros come the cons. The only bad part about the office is the acoustics. You can hear everyone’s phone conversations. That and I work with some really really loud people.

So I’m forced to wear headphones just to focus. Sometimes that’s not enough to even hear the voices in my head. But otherwise, it’s pretty rad.

So since a lot of my friends have asked what my day is like, I figured I’d give you a run down. An upcoming blog will illustrate what my creative process is like. But that neither here nor there,
So lets go:

8:00-8:30 Arrive at the office

8:45 Eat breakfast
Check Email
Check Internet
tsn.ca
nhl.com
cyclingnews.com
velonews.com
wwtdd.com
Twitter
Facebook

9:30 Status Meeting_going over all jobs going
out that day.

10:00 DOIN WURK SON!
Headphones On
Design: emails, direct mail packages, websites
Mechanical Changes: Copy and layout
changes

11:00 Job Briefing_Account briefs Creative
on new projects

11:15 Creative Brainstorm (depending on
how much account talks and babels)

11:30 Private Brainstorm
-Internet Inspection
-Magazine Inspiration

12:00 Concept Layout_ Usually layout about
2-3 concepts depending
on job size.

1:00 Lunch_Usually run down to
Barnes & Noble for some more inspiration.
It’s like creative therapy.

2:00 Another project briefing

2:15-2:30 Creative Brainstorm

2:30 –3:30 Concepting
Mechanical/Layout changes

3:30 COFFEE SUCKAS!

3:45-6:00 Concepting, Designing and
layout/mechanical changes

6:00 Peace

So there you have it, a typical day for me. Now, briefs and deadlines change and with that my schedule changes. But it pretty much stays the same. The biggest thing is mapping out my day. If I'm able to break up my day I’m able to get a lot more done and keep part of my sanity.

Thanks for reading.
Let’s Go Rangers.
Francis