January 2016 – Art Director, designer and creative thinker

My head drops in shame every time I get an email from my wife, every time I look at the life choice my wife has made, every time I think of every other classy font she could have composed her email to me in. Of all the fonts in the world why did she have to choose Comic Sans. As a designer I have to explain this evil choice to her time and time again and the shame it brings me. She might as well root for the Steelers or the the “team up north” while she is at it.

I have spent my career carefully selecting fonts from the thousands that exist for a logo, a brochure, a sign, a campaign and I have seen so many classy, clean, elegant fonts….why Comic Sans. My wife likes to tease me and even push my buttons which is one of the little things I love about her, but when is it too much. She has sat behind me as I pull late night design sessions in the home office and said “you know…Comic Sans would look awesome there”…you can only imagine my pain.

I joke when I say this but it really does highlight the importance of a great font and clicking through all of the fonts in your toolbox to find that one or two that make a good design great. Deciding whether a serif or sans serif font work best and at what size you set your headline, sub head and paragraph copy. Do you adjust the kerning a little or give it a little air? What color choices help sell the font with your design? All choices and decisions I make or enforce as a brand guideline is developed or enforced.

When I started designing almost 20 years ago I thought about marker rendering, airbrush technique, paints, colors, etc… and thought that was what art and design were. I take as much joy and get the same creative spark when I am working the process of font selection and I certainly understand and appreciate its importance.

As far as my wife goes…I am still waiting for a crack in that Comic Sans defense. The next time we renew our vows I might need to sneak a font selection vow in there. How can my best friend, mother of my four kids and life partner choose Comic Sans…I guess no one is perfect.

Over my nearly 20 years as a designer I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of environments and fields. I have worked in agencies, corporate, health care, eLearning, and have worked the B2B and B2C market. Do I have a preference or see a difference…NO.

No matter the field, no matter the environment I have always brought an “agency” approach to each and have thought no matter the project and no matter the goal my job as a designer, art director or freelance consultant is to provide a cost effective and creative approach to get the most out of my part of the project. I bring that “agency” approach as a way to organize my creative thoughts (which can get hectic and may need fine tuning) and most importantly hold other members of the team (Sales, Underwriting, Subject Matter Experts, Project Managers, etc…) responsible for their roles and budgets.

In the corporate/In-House world it is hard to get a Sales department to think in terms of my hourly cost and how the edits and revisions caused by their content errors, delays, etc…add up. When I work with a well-organized project manger we emphasize the importance of accurate content up front and use that to brainstorm the best ways to deliver a piece of collateral, product package, website, etc…that is going to deliver the “agency” feel from an In-House designer and deliver more customers, more members or most importantly, more revenue.

My skills and my role are just as important as any in the group, organization or agency. The best companies in the world have the best marketing and branding (i.e. Apple, Starbucks, Target). These companies have embraced the need and ability for smart, creative, organized designers with an understanding of business.

When you add up all of the roles, skills, and responsibilities of a designer or Art Director a good one can get an agency deliver a cost effective campaign that an In-House agency can run with or an In-House designer can deliver a creative brochure that would make an agency sit back and take notice.

I think I have shown that in my career and look forward showing any potential client, potential agency that would hire me or company looking to get the deal of the century by bringing me and my “agency” approach in the fold.