Art Buyer Interviews
September 22nd, 2011
I’m happy to present an interview with the manager of art buying at Team One, Lisa Matthews. I met Lisa last January at a Wonderful Machine portfolio review and thought she’d be a perfect person to interview for a little more perspective on the commercial art buying world. Team One handles some impressive accounts including The Ritz Carlton, American Express, Haagen-Daz, Belkin and more, so Lisa is no stranger to large art buying assignments. Not to be outdone by our previous interviews, Lisa went ahead and answered seven questions for us. Enjoy!
- Maria Luci
How did you get your current position at Team One?
While the majority of my college friends were staying up late at night working on their ad campaigns for their advertising classes, I however was focusing on getting my psychology degree. Little did I know years later I too would be working in advertising. My first job in advertising was with Foote, Cone & Belding shortly after I moved to California from Oklahoma. I started off working for the two Executive Creative Directors and years later my soon to be husband suggested I become an art producer. I had no idea what an art producer was but I knew I wanted to stay in a creative role. Fortunately, I was able to spend some time at our New York and Chicago offices where I was able to learn the basis of production. After Foote, Cone & Belding I moved onto The Designory where I started the art buying department and worked on several automotive accounts. A year later I went to Suissa Miller to work on Acura. In 1999 I became the Co-Manager of Art Production at Saatchi & Saatchi overseeing the department for nine years while working on the Toyota account. In April of 2009 I moved over to our sister agency Team One as the Manager of Art Production working on Lexus, Haagen Dazs and Ritz Carlton.
What makes a photo great?
This is an interesting question because it’s so subjective. I have a love for animals so those are always the first pictures I gravitate towards. Ever since I can remember my dad would get the National Geographic Magazines and I would spend hours looking at all the pictures in the book. I would often wonder how someone was able to get those amazing photos of the animals, landscapes and people. Today I am still impressed by those images and love hearing about all the behind the scenes stories it took for the photographer to capture those incredible photos.
What’s the best way to get your attention?
Call me and set up an appointment, or send me a personal email with pictures you think will be a match for the work we do at Team One.
Has your job/role/industry changed in the last few years?
Yes, it’s changed a lot. We went from film to digital to CGI to video. We are always trying to learn about the next best thing and how we need to adapt to meet those changes.
How does Team One source photography?
We find photography through photographer/reps websites, photography/rep portfolio shows, email promos, PDN etc. I believe it’s easier to find photographers now because of websites, facebook and blogs.
What annoys you the most?
Slow or complicated websites are really frustrating. I get up to 50 e-mails a day asking me to take a look at a website, so if it’s not easy to navigate or it takes to long to load, I will move on to the next site.
What’s the most satisfying part of your day?
Meeting new interesting photographers or completing a job that was difficult and it turns out nicely.
July 18th, 2011
Let’s start the week with something we haven’t done in a bit, shall we? I’m happy to share with you an interview with National Geographic Traveler photo editor, Krista Rossow. Krista and I met during a Wonderful Machine portfolio review. Since then, we’ve kept in touch through her periodic photo requests. Last week she was kind enough to answer some of my questions and provide a bit of insight into the world of photo editing. We normally do five questions for an art buyer but Krista was so great, we threw in one more for good measure. Enjoy!
- Maria Luci
What makes a photo great?
As a photo editor at Traveler, for me a great photo is one that combines a sense of place with a unique moment. I’m most drawn to photos that have many layers of interest, for example children playing in the foreground, a gurgling fountain in the mid-ground, and colorful Roman buildings in the background. I think that by having all of these elements coming together in one image, it shows more than what a place looks like, but rather what it feels like.
A strong sense of place is essential for travel imagery. Photo by Yadid Levy/Argentina/Denmark
How did you get your current job?
Before I got my job at National Geographic Traveler I cobbled together a living as a freelance photographer and photo workshop assistant. I spent a year working at the Santa Fe Photo Workshops where I was a course assistant. It was nonstop work and nonstop photography, and in short, one of the best years of my life. That experience allowed me to figure out what I wanted to do with my own photography, and, although I had a background in fine art photography from college, I realized that I was drawn towards photojournalism. I was lucky enough to work with many National Geographic photographers and ended up meeting the person who hired me while I was working at a Traveler photography seminar. Eventually there was an opening at Traveler, and I moved across the country to work at NG.
How does National Geographic Traveler source photography?
NGT assigns freelance photographers for most of our feature stories. We occasionally assign for smaller front-of-book stories, but primarily use stock images for our departments and any round-up style features.
Has finding decent photographers become easier or harder in the digital age?
I think that with digital photography, it is both easier and harder to find decent photographers because more people consider themselves photographers and are putting their work out there. On one hand, that accessibility is great because that means I might run across a shot on somebody’s website or blog that will work for my story, whereas in the past they probably wouldn’t have been able to get their images out there on the internet as easily. On the other hand, I sometimes feel deluged by photographers’ emails and websites. It is a lot to keep up with.
A crowded market can feel...overwhelming. Photo by Ball & Albanese/New York
What annoys you the most?
I’d have to say one of my biggest pet peeves is getting tons of promo cards and emails promoting content that is way off the mark! I wish photographers would dedicate more time to researching the client that they are reaching out to. If you want to shoot travel for us, then show us that you can shoot travel….and that you understand our style. I feel like a lot of photographers think that shooting travel is easy, so they don’t even bother to put examples in their portfolios or on their websites. I need to KNOW that you can perform, and although your promo with your latest corporate shoot may look really fantastic, that won’t get me to go to your website.
What’s the most satisfying part of your day?
The most satisfying part of my day is when I can get a few hours to actually sit down and edit photos! Some days are spent responding to emails, going to meetings, and putting out fires. I love it when I can really immerse myself in a story and decide how best to illustrate the piece. It is like taking a trip for a few hours! You can imagine that my travel wish list is expansive, and I’m always the person at a cocktail party who talks as if I’ve been to a place when I’ve actually only been through (fabulous) pictures.
February 21st, 2011
We’re happy to bring you an interview with renowned designer DJ Stout, partner at the Austin branch of Pentagram. DJ was generous enough to provide some great insight into the way he works, and the way he uses photography.
Not only have we followed DJ’s design work with great interest, our Austin-based photographer Jay B Sauceda has taken his picture on more than on occasion, as you can see below. Enjoy.
-Asad
You were known for the photography you commissioned and art directed while at Texas Monthly; what role does photography play in your work today?
I still commission photography at Pentagram but not to the extent that I did at Texas Monthly. At Pentagram I do a wide variety of design work including packaging, websites, corporate identity, books, magazines and iPad apps. We use commissioned photography for many of those projects but not always. A lot of the magazines that we work for these days are interested in redesigns that primarily address revisions of the publication’s basic design and architecture. We also weigh in on content and editorial voice. We usually art direct the launch issues of those revamped publications, and in those instances we do end up commissioning photography or illustration, but when our stint is up the art direction returns back to the staff of the magazine.
Texas Monthly was a very unique situation because the magazine was, and still is, devoted to commissioning original photography and illustration every month, and had a decent budget in order to carry that out. When I was there we were proud of the fact that we never used stock photography. Many of the magazines that I consult at Pentagram do not have sufficient art budgets. They usually have very little money available for original photography, so they use a lot of stock imagery. I always advise them to invest in their own publications and I tell them it is the most important thing they can do to improve their image. I can go in and change some typefaces and colors but it is far more effective for them to start featuring fresh original imagery in their pages. The modern magazine reader is saturated with sophisticated imagery all the time. They will notice if a publication has upgraded the quality of its photographs way before they notice if a text font has been changed.
The other role that photography has played in my work these days is in the area of book design. We design a lot of books and a large proportion of them are photography books. Many of the books we design are for photographers that I have worked with over the years. Some of the photographs that are featured in those books is work that I have commissioned at some point, but much of it is work that I did not help to create. The book design process is interesting though, because I can completely change the perception of an image, or a series of photographs, by the way they are presented in a book format.
How does your office and the other offices at Pentagram source photography? Has finding a decent photographer become easier or harder in the digital age?
Sourcing photography has become easier because you can see a photographer’s work immediately and in a fairly high quality way on their websites. I still like to get a simple image on a postcard from photographers though. I think it is one of the few ways for new talent, or old talent for that matter, to keep their latest imagery in front of art directors and designers. I’m extremely busy all the time and I don’t have the luxury of time to surf around the internet just for the hell of it. If a nice image catches my eye in the daily mail I file it away in an “old school” folder that I pull out when I’m contemplating the commissioning of some new photography for a project.
For the redesign of Loyola Marymount University’s website, you created an iPad app. How are the new mobile media changing design in general, and your work in particular?
I like doing the digital media projects, and we’re good at them, but it seems to me that websites, iPads and other new media have become more and more about technology and less and less about actual design.
One of your design slogans is “content is king”; what does that mean?
Content really is everything, whether it is the written editorial content in a magazine or a book, or the content in a photograph or an illustration. If those components of design communication don’t say something, or if they don’t tell a story, then they are not effective and ultimately forgettable.
Austin has a thriving design and photography scene these days; why do you think the region is so successful?
Austin is one of the most open minded tolerant cities I have ever lived in, and I moved to a different place every year when I was growing up. Austin is one big happy family and everyone is welcome. That kind of environment attracts creative minds.
