Expert: Sean Trapani - 3/4/2010

Question
Hi, my name is Julianne, I happened to stumble upon this site as I was doing some research on the different fields of advertising, and it looks like you give some great in depth advice.  I have talked to academic advisors and what not but I would love to get some feedback from someone who has experience in the highly competitive world of advertising.  Anyway I am having trouble figuring out what route to take in advertising.  My interest in advertising started when I joined the yearbook staff in high school.  I fell in love with putting together the layouts, collecting all the photos and information, thinking of ideas and the perfect words to catch everyone attention.  I knew I would love doing something like this on a daily basis for a career so I immediately went to advertising.  I soon then thought graphic designs would offer more in regards to creativity, so right now I am taking classes for graphic design.  As I talk to more and more people though I get a lot of comments about how graphic designs is all computers.  I can handle some computers, but I am a very hands on person and now I am wondering if graphic designs would have as much opportunities to offer me as I thought.  I have thought maybe doing a major and a minor in graphic designs and advertising? I really don't know though. I would ultimately like to have some sort of job that incorporates all my creative skills.  I am only in my first year of college but I'm really trying to figure out what I should be focussing on to lead me in the right path.  Sorry this is so long but I was hoping you would have some advice or pointers for me! Thank you!
Julianne

Answer
Hi, Julianne

You are following a passion, which already puts you ahead of the game. Many of your peers study advertising by default or vague interest. But it's where you want to be, and that's great.

Everything you've described that you love about the process ("layouts...photos...information [which is called "copy" btw]...ideas [for generating attention]...are all in the world of an advertising art director or copywriter. It sounds like you're more interested in the visual side of things, which would be the art director path. However, it's important to realize that a graphic designer and an advertising art director are different things.

An art director (in advertising) is someone who understands how to communicate a selling proposition through visual communication. It's sales. The copywriter, who generally teams up with an art director, does the same thing, but through an emphasis on verbal communication.

Art directors must then, naturally, have a foundation of graphic design theory and the tools to implement their theory. In our field, that's on the computer. You can develop rough ideas with a pencil, but you have to bring them to life in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop as a bare minimum. There are many other tools you will need to learn on the computer, too.

If you love developing "ideas that catch attention," you may find bliss in either the graphic design or art director path. One is more of a sales person (art director), who creates advertising. One is more of pure visual communicator (graphic designer), who creates logos, letter heads and posters. But both require you to master design-related software.

Just remember, though. The music doesn't come from a guitar. It comes from the musician. Find the music you want to play first. Worry about the instrument second.