S E A A

At the end of the day, we are all just storytellers. All we can do is hope that what we feel in our hearts resonates in the hearts of others.

Ideas are so transient, so fragile, so easily lost. I believe an art director’s most important role is to protect the integrity of the idea and not let it get diluted by self-conscious execution. People should remember what you said, rather than how you said it.

It doesn’t matter in which medium you’re working. The basic rules remain the same. You have to touch people. You have to trust your instincts. You have to use the “intelligence of the heart”.

I think empathy, curiosity, and intuition are an art director’s greatest gifts. I am not too impressed when someone tells me they are good at Photoshop, or some new-fangled software. Those are technician’s tools. An art director’s tools are ideas. Technology will keep luring us with fancy new inventions and dulling our imaginations. I am more interested in what makes people tick: what excites them, what moves them, what are their dreams and aspirations.

Though I value the computer as a powerful design tool, I despair at its over-use or misuse. There is an intangible emotion, texture, and fluidity in something created by the human hand that even the most sophisticated software is still unable to replicate. I sometimes miss the old days, when perfection wasn’t easy, when you had to work hard to hone your own skills and explore your own imagination.

I have spent almost forty years in advertising- I’m not sure if I’m a writer who loves to art direct or an art director who loves to write. All I know is that I start each project with a sense of adventure and fun.

The most valuable lesson I have learnt is that if you want to be a good communicator, you have to be a good listener. You can’t sit at your desk and wait for inspiration. You have to get out and talk to people.