I was in the supermarket with my two year old daughter a couple of days ago. As we walked past the entertainment department she shouted across the store, “Look Daddy, Avatar.” She’d noticed this poster. She really is her father’s daughter! My little anecdote proves how beautifully simple yet memorable the Avatar poster is. If my toddler can connect the Na’vi character to the name of the film then anyone can. A strong visual narrative can make a lasting impression on your audience in a split second. It creates attention. What can we learn from the Avatar poster then?
Be brutal. Too many elements confuse the eye and therefore the brain. Keep pruning until you have just what you need to tell your brand story.
Be unique. If you have a visual equivalent of a blue-faced alien then use it! If you don’t, consider how to use what you have in an unusual way.
Be consistent. If you apply your simple visual formula time and again you create multiple impressions.
I’ll leave you with a bit of blurb by VCCP, one of the country’s most successful agencies, who believe in visual narrative. “Great brands have always understood the importance of visual narrative – this is how Guinness, Rolex, Coke, Levi’s and Apple have earned their iconic status over the decades, and this is how Gap, Nike, O2, Dyson and Samsung are earning theirs now. Somehow, the less they say, the more we seem to know about them.”
I couldn’t agree more.
If you’d like to know more about how I’ve used these principles of art direction for award-winning campaigns in the past please get in touch. Give me, Alan Kittle, a call on 07732 148 280 or email alan@bwrao.com
It’s been a big three months for me. I’ve decided to create my own consultancy and be master of my own destiny. I spent a lot of time and energy looking for a full-time role, but now I feel certain the creative industry still needs time to recover and that senior creatives will be “keeping their heads down” for the time being, meaning opportunities will be remain rare.
Black White And Red All Over
However in this period of recovery there are opportunities for entrepreneurial individuals – agile enough to adapt to market conditions – to make a decent living. Therefore I’ve created Black White And Red All Over. It’s a vehicle for me to work not only as a freelancer but also with my own clients.
Both sides of my client list have been bolstered over the past months, I’m now regularly freelancing in London and Swindon as well as Edinburgh. And I have five clients in and around Edinburgh appreciating my integrated advertising concepts, either flying solo or with members of the creative collective Supergroup.
Supergroup
I hope to be able to showcase some more work over the coming months but to kick it off here’s some work for startup cloud software company, Cloud Logic.
Working with another collective member, Steven Horne of Bleep Studio, we created an integrated campaign including a new identity as well as press advertising, banner displays, stationery and marketing collateral. Here’s what Scott McKenzie had to say, “Alan and Steven at Supergroup quickly grasped what Cloud Logic were looking for in our marketing materials, met some very tight deadlines and still exceeded our expectations with what they produced.”
Take a look at the collective’s site for further information on the members and perhaps we can help you tackle your next project. www.wearesupergroup.com
And Next Quarter?
Well, I want to continue building my freelance client list. Location really is not an issue, in fact one of my London regulars loves the fact that I’m first in and last out every day – completely dedicated to them with no commute or family to get home too (as they’re safely tucked up in Edinburgh). So if you, or your agency client, is in need of a Senior Art/Creative Director please get in touch on 07732 148 280 or by email, alan@bwrao.com.
If the work’s London-based and it’s a team you need, then no problem! My former writing partner, Andrew Sams, has recently moved and is looking for freelance opportunities too. Check out his book at www.andysamscopy.carbonmade.com. Andrew and I worked on very successful campaigns for SSPCA, Visit Scotland, Tesco Personal Finance and many more. Get in touch if you need us.
So there’s all the news that’s fit to be “Red All Over” for now, I wish you all continued success until I hear from you next. Regards, Alan
I’m working on a small pro-bono project for my wife’s colleague who’s in a band (The Manikees) and we’ve just agreed the concept for their new Ep cover, Towers.
I presented an “homage” to Pink Floyd’s Animals cover, I opted for a more subtle reference to an animal so retouched in a Polar Bear (swimming underwater) to the clouds.
The band have bought into my interpretation of industrial “towers” and of the Polar Bear swimming on the clouds above. BUT I need to find a location more relevant to them – they’re Fife-based so Battersea Power Station doesn’t mean anything to them.
So off to Flickr for a look. Wish me luck.
You can have a look at my previous completed work at www.bwrao.com/Book.html
Alan Kittle
Please have a look at my “spot” for Apple’s new Magic Mouse on my Youtube page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=984fl62i53I
Alan Kittle, www.bwrao.com
I love Apple products.
Kind of goes without saying for an Art Director.
The new Magic Mouse is not only beautiful,
it makes your life easier.
So here’s my tribute to it, a 48-sheet style ad.
Hope you like it.
Alan
I’ve built my new site (www.bwrao.com) in iWeb, mostly down to not having the money to pay anyone else to do it. iWeb is indeed easy. With help from Steve Horne at Bleep I’ve managed to build and upload the site quickly and easily. But of course the packages does have it’s drawbacks. But, thanks to another tool I found, iWeb SEO, I can work round these shortcomings. I’ve been able to add Title Tags, Meta Tags and tracking through Google Analytics – though the latter is proving much more difficult to set up than it really should…
…anyway all this work will be in vain if no-one starts to visit the site. So please have a look at www.bwrao.com and get in touch if you have any projects that you think I could help out on. Email me on alan@bwrao.com
Cheers.
Welcome to my site. You can have a look at some of my past integrated campaigns for leading brands. Please get in touch if you think you’d like some for yourself.
