ENTERTAIN US

Here are two art director alumni’s websites that represent what I think an art director's website should be. One alumnus is working at AKQA New York. The other graduated recently and has just started the job hunt process.

The first website for Gabe Cheung, art director, http://www.gabrielcheung.com/ has simple, easy, well organized navigation, but more importantly, all his work is great and easy to understand. The dilemma today for grads is how to explain interactive ideas in a simple way that communicates quickly. Go directly to his interactive section and you will see what I mean. JBL and 1-800-Flowers are both great. You don't even have to read the descriptions to understand the ideas - you are entertained; a great presentation. And if you do read the descriptions they are short and sweet. He also has a great balance of print, interactive, design, and video. He shows his versatility as an art director and all the work is smart. Perfection.

The second art director, Michael Wright, also did a great job with his website, http://www.michael-wright.com/. Also note that he is copyrighting his work - very smart thing to do in today’s internet society. Everyone should do this. His website is also easy to navigate and includes some extras if you are really interested in seeing more. He has multiple fully integrated promotional solutions for products and/or companies - we aren't just doing "advertising" anymore. He also has plenty of examples that demonstrate skills without sacrificing good ideas. Check out his Belu Water flash video spot. The work ALWAYS has to be first - the skills second. But when we see the skills demonstrated well, it's simply like watching the puppet show - we are entertained - and thus we know that the puppeteer knows how to pull the strings.

Bottom line, like Nirvana said, "Entertain us." Creative Directors are consumers too - consumers of your book - so entertain them with it! These two guys pulled that off. Kudos!

CIRCUS NEWS: Ihaveanidea.org article

NEWS: recently IHAVEANIDEA did an article on the school. We couldn't have said it better ourselves. Well, we sort of did say it - and they really listened. They said the conversations they had with the students themselves really gave them a feel for the place. And it shows. Thanks to Brendan Watson Y&R art director and academic writer for Ihaveanidea.org for doing a great job! Check out the article. http://ihaveanidea.org/articles/index.php?/archives/439-A-DAY-AT-THE-CIRCUS.html

ALUMNI IN LA

ALUMNI WEBSITE: This week, check out a junior alumnus who has continued working on his book and recently sent me a note that he has updated his site. he's out on the west coast right now and is looking for the right design job to come his way. His nickname at school was "superdave" because he was not only the go-to guy for computer answers, but also because he was always willing to help his fellow design students. http://www.710design.com/

Circus Alumni Website of the week

It's a new goal of mine to post a website a week. Ok, realisically, maybe once a month I'll post graduate work - via listing their url on this blog. Sometimes I may poste newsworthy events. Eventually we are supposed to have our own Circus newsletter posted on our website which can cover news and i'll attach the link to my linkedin page. But, until then - this is the place I'll use for that.


ALUMNI WEBSITE: Check out a junior alumnus who has continued working on his book and recently sent me a note that he has updated his site. He's got a year of experience as an art director under his belt on both traditional and interactive advertising at a great agency. He aslo worked for several years in print and editorial design prior to his education at the Circus so he's no baby. He's a great guy too - one of my favorite people. http://www.toddnolley.com/

I also want to post information on how recent grads and students can be helped financially to travel to various cities for Portfolio Reviews and award ceremonies . It's the recently established student travel fund. You can donate money to the fund but you can also donate sky miles. Contact me, DCWashington@creativecircus.com for more information if you are interested.