The Lost Art Of Art Direction

Software has replaced Imagination.

Sure: the Death of Print has had something to do with the sick state of Art Direction. But art directors (and art pretenders) make “print” layouts every day on digital/social platforms. And they are mostly unremarkable, at best. I know, I search widely, with waning hope, every day.

I don’t know who’s teaching art direction/design at ad schools now. All the old “masters” have either retired or died. I haven’t seen any new masters.

“Tech” has become the new “Creativity” of advertising. This seemingly is pushing many of the good art directors/graphic designers away from advertising and to publications or platforms. I can’t blame them. Data is taking over. But advertising is not a science. Never has been. Never will be. It is an art, or at least the creation of ads is an art. More on that at the bottom of this article.

I’ve been meaning to post about this for awhile. I guess I finally got disgusted enough. I’ve collected examples of magnificent art direction from the last 15 years, most from 10+ years ago, mostly to make me feel better. Maybe you’ll enjoy them, too.