On Art Direction

by CREATIVE.VOYAGE

 

Enrollment for the NEXT SESSION WILL OPEN IN AUTUMN 2024

An in-depth study of the modern practice of harbouring curated aesthetics, developing visual cues and providing creative guidance for current and future art directors and creative business owners.

In this intimate online workshop and community, you will gain insights into the strategies, tactics and tools for good art direction and its usage as a tool for levelling up as an independent creator.

Even for many creative professionals, art direction can be a mysterious discipline.

What is art direction and how can it be done well? What does an art director do? How do they bring value to a company? Can art direction be useful if you do not want to be an art director?

If you are a photographer, strategist, storyteller, stylist, designer, or business owner, then art direction may be the missing link to complete your creative skillset.

As self-taught art directors, we found answers to those questions through practical work, research, trial and error, and patience; and we are still at the beginning of our journey.

At the same time, we believe some of the hard-won lessons and practical insights we’ve learned on the job through the last decade can be useful for anybody interested in this field; a curious beginner or a seasoned creative professional.

This online workshop will provide you with not only the mindset necessary to become a successful creative but also tools and industry-tested strategies and tactics you can implement into your creative toolkit.

Whether you want to develop into working as an art director, or you want to be familiarised with the practice, you will find ways to utilise your new skills in your business or other creative efforts.

Besides sharing the foundational skills, we’ll take the time to dive into some advanced strategies to support you in finding your voice and ways of nurturing your inner art director.

We are coming from a crossroads between commercial and boutique art direction that mixes multiple styles and aesthetics, and we will share our experience working with prestigious design and lifestyle brands and publications.

While this workshop will give you insights into art direction and our practices, this program is not designed to form you into an art director without prior knowledge or education. This workshop can be the beginning of that life-long journey or a companion on your current path.

Combining our experiences between fashion, design, interiors, graphics, photography, styling, and production, we hope to bring a modern, sophisticated outlook on art direction to help you inspire, develop and direct your creative projects.

Armin Tehrani & Mario Depicolzuane, On Art Direction Instructors

curriculum

  • Learning about the study of aesthetics and visuals that serves the artistic aspects of a brand, publication, campaign, or any other sort of communication. We will help define what it means to be an art director with your own unique interpretation to focus on the type of creative work you would like to deliver.

  • Why art direction matters, including a look at examples of how an elevated aesthetic can strengthen your message and create memorable visual encounters that can affect the way you make decisions as a consumer.

  • Demonstrating the practical tools and sharing the industry-tested methods to fulfil your creative arsenal of skills. Nowadays, art direction is translated into a whole new era of digital media where brands are constantly pouring out content. We will learn how to create timeless visual campaigns without losing brand integrity.

  • Discover industry secrets and experiences from multi-million dollar brands to more independent yet respected boutique companies. We will reveal different techniques and processes for any scale project you may have in mind.

  • How to determine and develop your look and artistic imprint on any project. Who are you, and why should it matter? We will help guide you on the path of finding your visual signature.

  • Understanding the fundamentals of art direction while building a mindset as a forward-thinking creative. Trends come and go, but good art direction is timeless and can enlighten people 10 minutes or 10 years after being communicated.

  • Curate your work resumé and drive yourself to create new work as well.

  • Seeing yourself as not only an expert on art direction but also as a business. Let’s look beyond your circle and try to make a name that your clients won’t forget.

 

Workshop Overview

3× Group 180-min Live Zoom Workshop Calls

Lectures and Group Discussions

The workshop will take place online through live group Zoom calls. Each of the three sessions will consist of that week’s lecture, followed by a Q&A discussion. If you miss one of the group sessions, no worries, the recording will be shared with you; however, participation is highly recommended to get the most out of this workshop.

Art Direction Exercises & Templates

Doing the Work

This is not an online course, it’s a workshop. Each week you’ll receive new assignments and, if needed, appropriate templates, including mood boards, art direction briefs and more, so it’s easy to get started and explore.

2-month Access to Private Community Group

Online Community Forum

We use the Circle platform to host a private online discussion forum. It’s a place to continue the discussion from the lectures, ask questions between the sessions, share your progress, and connect directly with fellow creatives.

1:1 Consultation Call or Portfolio Review

personalized approach

After the lecture period (during May), each participant will get a 30-minute Zoom call with either Armin Tehrani or Mario Depicolzuane (booked on a first-come, first-served basis as soon as you purchase the workshop). This call can be a 100% personalized consultation, Q&A or portfolio review.

Max. 30 Participants Per Session

intimate creative community

We aim to create an intimate and engaged community of kindred creatives and provide ample support and attention through the workshop. Hence, we are limiting the number of participants in the workshop to only 30 students.

 

Meet Your Instructors

Armin Tehrani

ART DIRECTOR & PHOTOGRAPHER

Armin Tehrani is a photographer and art director from Vancouver, currently based in Copenhagen. He has been heavily involved in creative entrepreneurship by owning a women’s clothing brand, a multi-brand boutique, and a greeting card company. Armin has worked with clients including Norse Projects, Barbour, &Tradition, Priory, Soho House, Monos Travel, The Audo and Kinfolk. He is working as a freelancer while starting up his own creative agency.

 

Mario Depicolzuane

Founder of Studio8585 & Creative.Voyage

Mario Depicolzuane is a Europe-based art director and graphic designer from Croatia. Previously, he worked for a design agency Bunch and as a lead designer and art director for Kinfolk and Ouur Media. His clients include Kinfolk, Audo Copenhagen, Design Hotels, SPACE10, Harvard GSD, La Cabra, and The Poster Club. Currently, he leads a design consultancy Studio8585. Also, he is the host of the Creative Voyage Podcast.

 
 

Selected Work by Armin Tehrani & Mario Depicolzuane

FAQ

  • Professionals in any creative field and anyone open to creative exploration and fostering unique visual environments.

    Prior mastery of other creative disciplines is an advantage but not a prerequisite.

    However, don’t worry if you are not a seasoned creative. This workshop is conceptualized as a step by step process that will give you insights into art direction, no matter your skill level.

    We welcome creators with diverse approaches, experiences, ages, genders, cultural and racial backgrounds, and interests.

  • No. This is predominantly a live online workshop that will happen during specific times. If you can’t attend one, we will record the sessions, but participation is the main point. Almost half of the sessions will involve discussion and answering participants’ questions.

  • Three Live Group Zoom Sessions consisting of lectures and Q&A discussions.

    Final 1:1 Consultation Call, 30-minutes, either with Armin or Mario (15 spots per instructor, first-come, first-served basis).

    Workshop Exercises.

    Complete recordings of the three sessions.

    2-month access to the private community group hosted on Circle.

  • A computer with a decent internet connection and presentation program (InDesign, Keynote, Google Slides...).

    A notebook for sketching and writing.

    Account for three hours of uninterrupted, free time per week for the live Zoom lectures, 90–120 minutes per week for the exercises, and 30 minutes for the 1:1 consulting call.

  • Yes, but instead of using our website, the workshop can be purchased based on a custom invoice and paid via wire transfer payment.

    If you are interested in a custom business/VAT invoice, please send complete participant and company details (including VAT-ID if applicable) to hello@creative.voyage, and we’ll get back to you shortly.

  • Yes. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Our mission with this workshop is to provide you with a lot of value and support. If you go through the complete workshop and feel like you didn’t get your money’s worth, we’ll issue a full refund immediately, no questions asked.

  • Within 48 hours of signing up, you’ll receive a welcome email with the details for the upcoming session, instructions for joining our community and instructions for booking the 1:1 call.

  • If you have any questions, email us at hello@creative.voyage

Experience From Our Alumni

Our creative workshops have been attended by over 200 individuals from 5 continents and 25+ countries, including full-time employees (agency and in-house), freelancers, creative business owners, entrepreneurs and students.

Participants are working in diverse fields, including design (product, graphic, digital…), photography, creative/art direction, architecture, marketing, interiors, research, UX/UI, production, content creation, art, and more.

The common thread is that all our students are looking to grow, learn, collaborate and create.

100% completion & satisfaction rate.

As a young person in the early years of my career, I was really excited to get an inside look at what it means to be an Art Director. Creatively, it helped grow my confidence in my own artistic vision and personal aesthetic. Practically, the workshop tools Armin and Mario shared with us have enormously helped in my current job and my own personal projects.

Jacqueline M. (Canada), Project Consultant

The workshop has helped me dive deep into who I am, embrace my cultural influences to have a unique perspective when creating work, and taught me to have visual intelligence. I was really inspired after the workshop, and my mindset on projects has changed. I am much more aware of how art direction can influence the outcome of a project.

Monde M. (South Africa), Designer

Mario and Armin gave a great foundation about art direction that was clear and refined. They also went in-depth on how this skill set is applied in different creative fields. They were open about their own work experiences, which encouraged me to try new things and experiment. The 1:1 call at the end of the course helped apply it directly to my work.

Ruthie M. (USA), Graphic Designer

Whatever field you are in, if you are looking for guidance from experts, a community of other inspiring creatives, impressive case studies, honest feedback and perhaps a nudge to get going on your ideas, the classes and creative space will be more than worth your time. I have a newfound sense of clarity on my personal creative goals and ways to achieve them.

Preslea J. (Canada), Writer

This workshop helped me understand art direction and allowed me to transition into that role in my current job. I also look at things with a different eye, in the sense that everything I see is now a stored reference. I was working on my first book design as I began this course, and my eye has really evolved thanks to this course. I approached the project with a more holistic view.

Alizée B. (Netherlands), Design & Creative Direction

Mario and Armin are professionals, well-spoken and super friendly, with relevant experience and top clients in their portfolio. In the workshop, they successfully synthesized their diverse knowledge into a comprehensive and actionable course. The workshop helped me understand multiple layers of art direction and how each can be utilized to fulfil creative and business goals.

Marko C. (Sweden), Designer & Art Director

NEXT SESSION: AUTUMN 2024

ON ART DIRECTION WORKSHOP

  • An intimate online workshop and community

  • insights into the industry-tested strategies, tactics and tools for good art direction

  • levelling up your creative work, and yourself, as a creator or a business owner

  • 3× Group 180-min Live Session

  • 30-min 1:1 final consultation call

  • max. 30 participants

CONTACT

hello@creative.voyage