Breaking In

If you missed it, check out some great work from V Sunil.

WS: What do you look for in a student portfolio? And what impresses you?

VS: I think it would be a cliché, but we look for fresh ideas—new ideas that we have not seen before. Because typically, what happens is that most students are trying to do work they’ve seen before. They’re trying to do work that maybe will impress you. They’re trying to do work like what has won awards. But actually, what we’re looking for is new talent, new ideas, a new kind of craft which we never get to see.

WS: Do you like to see finished work—work that’s been finished on a computer—or are sketches enough?

VS: Actually it depends. Sometimes, for an art director, we’d like to see some kind of craftsmanship, of course based on an idea. But I don’t think the final finishing is that important, if the idea is strong. And from a writer, of course not—it’s just the concept. But as an art director, yes. Because that kind of shows you whether they will actually pull it off. A lot of art directors are very good at ideas, but if they can’t art-direct the page then I don’t know. As an art director, I think there’s a problem. Art directors need to know a lot of technical things because that’s what will make you a very good art director. Like from idea to executing in the most fresh possible way.

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Check out some great work from V Sunil, Executive Creative Director of Wieden+Kennedy Delhi.

Royal Enfield

Motherland Magazine

From W+K Delhi:

Motherland is the first Indian magazine to discard stereotypical “general interest” issues and instead provide an in-depth perspective on the trends, issues and ideas emanating from contemporary Indian subculture. Indian subculture is an intriguing, massive yet largely neglected category that includes everything from unknown rural communities to offbeat urban tribes. Designed to be a collector’s magazine, each issue follows a unique theme around which editorial and visual content is organised. The magazine’s look – reworking traditional Indian design elements – and the range of stories, ensures that the scope of the magazine is both local and global. Drawing from young and established, local and international contributors, Motherland is both a platform for and collaboration between stylish, insightful writers, photographers and illustrators.

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In case you missed it, check out some great work from Toygar Bazarkaya.

WS: What do you look for in a student portfolio? And what impresses you?

TB: What impresses me is when you take on tough problems and solve them. If a student came and showed me great work on Gillette, that would impress me much more than great work on Nike. Great work on a tattoo shop is not as impressive as a washing detergent. They are harder problems to solve. Often times you get hung up on the brand that you love and you get yourself in trouble because you’re not as good as the actual work that is out there. So you do yourself a favor if you take things on that are wrong in advertising, rather than trying to improve on things that are already good.

WS: How important is finish in a student book? Could sketches be enough?

TB: It depends if you are an art director or copywriter. And for art directors it doesn’t change if you’re a student or you’ve been in the business for 20 years. Attention to detail, good art direction, typography, layout is just as important for a student as it is if you’ve been in the business for a long time. I have a strong point of view there. I don’t like art directors who are not art directors. They have great ideas but they shouldn’t call themselves art directors. It’s a craft. And that’s the tough thing: you have to be as good at creating ideas as you have to be in your craft. As hard as it is for copywriters to write an awesome long-copy ad, art directors have to be good at their craft. Not everyone has that skill.

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Toygar Bazarkaya is Executive Creative Director at BBDO, New York.

Smart

Wrigley’s – “Police Officer”

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If you missed it, check out some great work from Ben Walker and Matt Gooden.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

BW: I definitely look for something that’s different. That’s the first thing. It’s amazing how much is very much the same. And what impresses me most is a wide range. Like someone who shows that they’ve got a real voracious appetite for everything to do with communication. Not just banging out a few ads, I think.

MG: Yeah, the thing I look for is a big idea that can travel across everything. And maybe…a bit of insight and understanding of what a brand is or could be. We do these brand books here. I usually end up taking them through those and trying to make them understand and delve into a brand and understand it. Before you start doing communication.

BW: Tone of voice is definitely something I look for. That they’ve got a good grasp of tone of voice so that they can apply that to different brands. That’s quite rare, actually. But most of all I look for someone who’s just a bit enthusiastic and comes in and is listening. Half of the time I prefer seeing books that aren’t very good, but the people are taking it all in and come back a month later with new stuff. I like people who smile and are enthusiastic.

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Ben Walker & Matt Gooden are Executive Creative Directors at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, London.

Honda – “Cog”

Honda – “Everyday”

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In case you missed it, check out some great work from Mark Schruntek.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

MS: I think it’s always going to come down to good ideas. And the biggest challenge is to differentiate a good idea from a great one. Sometimes it’s the smallest details that somebody actually took the time to figure out to get to the best way to really communicate something. A great idea has to have everything: a good strategy and a great execution that really nails it. So you have to have it all.

WS: What do you think about finish? Can sketches be enough?

MS: If you’re an art director, it’s probably wise to finish things. There are a lot of mediocre books out there, and if you have great ideas, those will shine, and people will notice them, but if you can show your craft, you’re going to be much more valuable.

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Mark Schruntek is a freelance Art Director/Creative Director in New York.

Nick@Nite – “Cosby”

MLB on FOX Sports – “Locker Room”

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If you missed it, check out some great work from Craig Allen.

WS: What do you look for in a student book? And what impresses you?

CA: It sounds generic, but I just look for good ads. I’ve heard about people getting hired for all kinds of odd reasons like writing a word on a rock, or baking cookies with notes on them, but all I look for is ads. I think it’s good to add a little personality to a book for sure, but if the book relies on a gimmick, that’s probably not a good sign.

WS: How important is finish? If ideas are the most important thing, can sketches be enough? Do you look at physical books anymore, or is it all websites?

CA: Before I understood advertising I didn’t understand advertising. Two summers before I graduated, I took my book and went to California. My book was 100 percent hand drawn with colored pencil. I was told, “If the idea is great it doesn’t matter.” The recruiters I met with looked at me with an expression that was equal parts confused and embarrassed. They thought it was cute and didn’t take me seriously. I’m not saying I had great ads at the time by any means, in fact I think I was far from it, but I doubt it would have mattered. The sad fact is that you have to have good ideas and present them in a somewhat polished manner so people will take them seriously. I think you can have some ideas in sketch form, but you should also be able to show you know how to use a computer in some capacity.

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Craig Allen is an Art Director at Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

Old Spice

I can’t resist including this one from the Old Spice Response campaign because he’s responding to me on twitter.

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