THE CREATIVE KITCHEN

Chris Martin's handy guide to tasty art direction... No, not the Coldplay bloke, the art director - check out his website here.

So you're interested in advertising, artwork, design and creativity in general, but don't know how to breathe life into your ideas? Then this is just the guide for you.

The Creative Kitchen by celebrated art director Chris Martin is a recipe book simply bursting with top tips for conjuring up tasty art direction. It came my way via our Studio Manager Pete, who's no slouch himself when it comes to art direction and stumbled across this while prepping for some design seminars he ran.

The Creative Kitchen is by no means a comprehensive guide, spanning as it does just 30 pages, but it's beautifully presented (had to be really, didn't it?) and easily digestible.

For the purposes of this blog I'm going to pick out a few of Chris's golden rules, but if you want to read the guide in full (should only take about 5 minutes) drop me an email and I'll send you the PDF.

So where to begin?

First off, identify what it is that you're designing and define your space. This at least means your first draft sketches will roughly match the proportions of the final design.

It's now time to add some ingredients... Images (illustration/photography), Type, Colours, Animation/Live action, Formats and Material. Keep your target audience in mind and don't just design something YOU like - keep it simple and relevant, and make sure the message is right there front and centre.

Chris also suggests the following...

DO
• Communicate. Ensure every mark (or lack of a mark) is there for a reason. NOT just because it's nice.
• Make sure the poor old consumer can actually read the copy (where there is any, of course).
• Avoid the obvious or clichéd.

DON'T
• Try to be 'all modern' just for the sake of it.
• Try to be too clever or indulgent.
• Over-complicate layouts, image systems or formats.

Now we come to technique... How to put your idea across to the less visionary among us (you know who you are).

Don't rely on your Mac to make your design look special - it's just a tool. A splendid tool, but just a tool. Draw your ideas out first before hopping on the Mac to start cobbling together a first draft that could pass for the final thing with a few tweaks. There's a process to go through before you strike gold, and putting together a swish digital design too soon can make a rod for your own back - especially when the client thinks they're looking at the finished article!

The strength of the idea should more than stand up to whatever snazzy visuals your Mac can produce (as well as the slightly less snazzy visuals you've scribbled on your pad).

The idea is everything, so make sure it's not smothered!

Chris finishes his guide with some tips for not looking like an idiot when the time comes to finesse and execute the design, so I'll sign off with my favourite three...

• Never be afraid to ask questions.
• Never be afraid to change your mind.
• Never let execution cover up a crappy idea.