DESIGN'S IMPACT ON STYLE
As the importance of design receives ever-increasing acknowledgment from the media, its impact can also be seen in the emergence of specialty gift shops marketing "design savvy" products as a sales tool. Design departments in museums have been highlighting the important role of graphic and industrial design for years. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, for example, has had a seminal role in design appreciation and has now mastered the art of merchandising chosen products through its store, catalogs and Web site. All of this attention bodes well for the growing prestige of the designer. It is a direct response to the proven influence design has on business profitability and an affirmation that design has created the look and feel of our world. Apple's design-driven products have created a culture of their own and influenced a host of products utilizing clear plastic and color. Design determines how we perceive what's good, tasteful, and stylish-or not-as the case may be. As noted earlier, corporate America is recognizing that design is good business and big business, and that it drives the marketing efforts for success. Good design sells, and a well-designed package can sell a product. A well-designed retail image will move shoppers and merchandise. An excellent corporate identity program can affect the entire perception of the company, even on Wall Street.

What are the main points the author wants you to know about design?

What examples of well-desinged packaging can you think of, list and tell why?

THE ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR
Connie Wolf and Sylvia Lan/ado, RGA

Connie Wolf:
A good art director has to be a good designer, but this job also requires the ability to think conceptually... a combination of hand skills and brains. An art director should know how to work as a team with a copywriter. The writer should develop visual skills and the designer needs verbal and written skills. It goes without saying that knowledge of the latest computer programs is essential as well as an understanding of integrated Web design, plus print, TV, collateral, promotion, and direct marketing. How do you learn all this, especially when there are so few, if any, entry level jobs in advertising now? I tell young designers just starting out in advertising, "Don't talk too much and keep your eyes and ears wide open!" If you are lucky enough to get good advice and direction from senior people in the business you can pick up a lot. Temperament and personality are particularly important in this business; an art director needs a strong sense of self and the ability to accept rejection of his work.

Sylvia laniado:
An art director needs to be conceptual as well as a good designer. He or she must be able to communicate an idea in an exciting, memorable way and to sell a product. He or she should also be able to write. "The best candidates for these jobs are those people who are confident, articulate, personable, resilient, and flexible-with a certain amount of maturity. You , will constantly be asked to make changes to your work, often your ideas will be rejected; and you'll be competing with other creatives. You will need to keep revising your work until everyone in the process-including the client, of course-is satisfied. One needs a healthy ego to handle the process.

Both Sylvia and Connie recommend going back to school at night, suggesting in New York the School of Visual Arts or Ad House, which as Connie says, "gives students instruction from the best in the business and the opportunity to brainstorm with their contemporaries. Read about the history of the advertising business, learn about the profession you have chosen, study the greats.

What makes a good art director?