→ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
The artistic director is above all a creative person who shapes the visual aspect of an advertisement, a magazine, a book, or a television program. It is part of the communication strategy of the sales department and based on the choice of media by the media department.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
The missions of artistic director (DA) are oriented around three axes: design, negotiation and technical follow-up. In the field of design, the artistic director produces a visual communication medium in the form of drawings, graphics (layout, volume setting).
The DA can also create advertising messages in written, graphic or audiovisual form. Several projects are developed. A project is concretized either by a model, or by a "rough" (visualization of the essential elements) or by a "story-board" (scenario of a film in the form of BD). The project is presented to the client. The artistic director, in order to convince the client of the effectiveness of the project, must rationalize his approach and find the most powerful arguments.
Finally, the last step, the technical follow-up. During this phase, the artistic director manages a team of graphic designers, photographers, illustrators, film directors, etc. He collaborates in the preparation and production of documents so that they fit well with the perspective of the defined campaign. He chooses the typographic characters of the texts, takes care of the framing of the photographs. He communicates to the model maker all the information necessary for the final execution of the model before printing. The activity is carried out in an office or in a workshop, alone or in a team, at home or in the company: drawing workshop (publishing or press), creative studio, advertising agency. Schedules are often irregular and linked to the imperatives of the order. The activity may entail travel, particularly in the manufacturing workshops. Computer techniques such as desktop publishing (DTP) and computer-aided design (CAD), palette graphics or computer-generated imagery are commonly used.
Imagination, creativity, curiosity of mind, sense of aesthetics and design, gift of observation, intuition, are essential qualities. Technical versatility and artistic gifts come together. Like any creative, the artistic director must stay connected in order to really feel his time, to grasp its evolutions and fashions.
→ MOTION DESIGNER
The role of the Motion Designer is to design and then create graphic productions incorporating video, 3D animation, special effects, sound or even typography. This mixture of media is found more and more, whether for presentation films, in music videos, in advertising messages broadcast on the web or on social networks.
The Motion Designer therefore has the dual role of creative and technician, capable of working on the entire production chain of an animation or an interface.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Motion Designer's mission is to create animated, audiovisual and interactive content. First of all, from the client brief, he starts by creating the moodboards. As its name suggests, this mood board” gives an idea of the universe and the trend that will be used in the graphic animation. For this, the Motion Designer offers several different stagings in order to allow the client to make a choice and retain one. Once this trend board has been created, the Motion Designer develops a storyboard, which allows, thanks to illustrations, to visually represent all the shots that will constitute the video (like the storyboards made for the cinema). These steps are essential to allow the Motion Designer and the team to follow the common thread of the project.
Then comes the production phase : image rendering, editing, color grading… Until encoding. For this, the Motion Designer manages the creation, from adaptations to technical breakdowns, through the design of movements and the implementation of transition effects. If the video contains text, it is then he who will be in charge of using his advanced knowledge of typography to find the one that best matches the tone given to the project. To stage a product, a service or a company in a rewarding way, the Motion Designer must master a good number of software : Photoshop, Illustrator, After effects… but also others such as Premiere pro, 3DS, Encore DVD…
Motion design is a new profession, very demanding due to its expected double skill in graphics and technique because it combines creative talent and versatile know-how (animated image, graphics, sound, video, etc.). You also have to know how to comply with the constraints imposed by your clients, accepting criticism and questioning your work. It takes a creative mind and meaning of the picture”. Very good knowledge of software. Listening, an ability to take a step back (accept criticism), and to work in a team. A great curiosity. Be constantly on the lookout for what is being done and have a good level of English.
→ WEB DESIGNATE
At the crossroads of the functions of artistic director, graphic designer and web integrator, the web designer conceives the graphic design of a website, that is to say its graphic charter. It combines technical know-how and creative skills.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
the web designer designs and creates the visual identity of a website for which he creates all the graphic elements (illustrations, banners, animations, etc.) according to the client's wishes and according to the target audience, marketing requirements and technical constraints. Objective: to attract future users of the site. Under the responsibility of the project manager or artistic director, the designer defines the specifications of the product: ergonomics, navigation mode, tree structure, scripting, visual and sound identity, graphic charter, etc. He also takes care of the design of interfaces dedicated to e-commerce and e-marketing.
The web designer draws (on paper and with a graphic palette), creates models and retouches internet pages, but he is not a simple executor: he has an overall vision of the final product. In collaboration with the client and the project manager, the web designer directly supervises the work of graphic designers, graphic designers and web integrators. Depending on the technical constraints, he often has to arbitrate between the artistic and functional aspects.
Versatile, he must therefore have both artistic and technical skills. He masters various graphic software: Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver… Notions in the handling of integration tools (XML, Javascript) are an asset. The web designer can work in a web agency specializing in corporate communication or advertising, in a multimedia creation studio, in an online publishing house, an SSII (computer engineering service company)…
Innovative, curious, methodical and organized, the web designer knows how to work in a team and often under pressure.
→ MODELER
Mainly in the press and in publishing, but also in an advertising agency, in a packaging
or signage, the designer is responsible for laying out any document intended for publication.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
the model maker is a professional in the layout of all types of documents. He works both on traditional paper media (newspapers, magazines, books, brochures, brochures, posters, etc.) and on digital media (web pages, digital libraries, etc.).
Whatever the medium, the designer's mission is to arrange attractive pages for the reader or the Internet user. By arranging texts and images, he must create a visual impact on the product and make people want to read or linger on the page.
According to a model and a graphic charter often predefined by the artistic director, the model maker positions the images and the texts in the page, chooses the form and the style of the characters, their color and their size. Titles, boxes, balance of the text/illustration ratio, distribution of whites, harmony of colors... Nothing must escape it! Nowadays, the model maker no longer works in pencil to create a “rough” on a sheet of paper. Today, his main working tools are layout and image editing software (InDesign, XPress, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) with which he creates his models directly on the screen.
Versatile, curious and reactive, he must have a great artistic sense and know the techniques of the graphic chain. Working conditions vary. Employed in small structures, the designer is necessarily versatile, both creative and executing. In larger structures, he can work with graphic designers, illustrators...under the supervision of an DA. The designer can also work self-employed as a freelancer.
Good to know: if he works in the press, the designer, called “graphic editor”, holds a press card.