Life’s a Moodboard — Meet Flipp’s Art Director, Andra Latiu
Meet Andra Latiu — Flipp’s very own art director on the Brand Design team. From art directing Flipp’s TV commercials to completely revamping our social channels, Andra’s passion for creativity has played a tremendous role in the growth and evolution of the Flipp brand. We asked Andra a few questions about her role and her views on working as part of an in-house creative team.
Can you tell us about your role as an in-house Art Director here at Flipp? What led you to take this career path?
Sure! What I do is determine and guide the overall look & feel of a campaign. I work with our in-house copywriter, Irene, to come up with winning concepts for ads or seasonal campaigns. From there, I put together multiple visual territories (flushed out theme, colour palette, moodboard, references, specific design & photography/videography guidelines, etc.) and pitch the territories to our Creative Director. Once the final territory is approved for the campaign, I work very closely with our designers and producers (photographers, cinematographer) and oversee the campaign.
What led me down this career path was my program at York University called Creative Advertising. I fell in love with the classes, and realized I enjoyed ideating and bringing a campaign or advertisement to life. I was so excited to go to class every week, and ecstatic to be working on projects that were practice campaigns. Those were the best school projects I have ever done (other than grade school art class, of course).
What’s the value of having an internal Art Director as opposed to outsourcing creative work?
I think a lot of time is saved when a company has an internal art director compared to outsourcing one from an agency. There is less back and forth, and more facetime with the creative team.
I think as an in-house art director, I’m given the opportunity to embrace our brand and immerse myself in it, which is another positive versus agency AD’s. Internal AD’s get to focus on one account instead of spreading their attention across multiple accounts that vary greatly from each other.
Lastly, I think driving innovation is key for art directors working in an in-house team. It’s very inspiring to know that we are our own creators, having more flexibility to work on new ideas and bringing them to life. We are our own agency. We put new rules into practice and customize our own way of working. This is truly different compared to other companies where I have art directed, simply because innovation is so vastly promoted here.
As someone who works in a growing tech company, have you seen your role shift over the years? How has your role changed now that the team is growing?
It’s kind of funny; when I started here over two years ago, there was no art director role. I was hired as a designer, despite being an art director at my previous job. The role of AD had not been realized yet, and the Brand Design team was actually just a handful of graphic designers.
Once we got our first Creative Director (shortly after I had started), he restructured the team to create our own in-house creative “agency”. I think my role has changed immensely from when I first started; I am extremely thankful for that because my role keeps me engaged, inspired, and constantly dreaming up new ideas to bring to life with the help of everyone on my team.
Flipp has a very strong coaching culture. What impact do you think coaching has had on your growth?
I think the coaching culture at Flipp has truly helped me to realize my own talents, as well as start working on my weaknesses. It’s remarkable to have someone who really wants you to grow — professionally and externally outside of work — and is there to help you every step of the way.
I don’t think I would be where I am today if it weren’t for my coach. There were times that I didn’t believe in my abilities to complete certain projects, and my coach pushed me through and made sure that I was striving to do my best throughout it all. The level of commitment to his team is something I greatly appreciate about my coach; and one day, hopefully, will try my best to emulate.
What aspect of art direction do you like the most?
Creating moodboards is my favourite part of art direction. There is just something so amazing about curating the pieces of an inspirational board to convey the exact feeling and meaning that you are going for.
A lot can be understood about the creative direction of a brand when glancing at a moodboard. You learn the personality and voice in mere seconds, just by looking at carefully selected imagery, textures and colours to create this whole concept that has come to life.
I get very excited when I know I have a blank canvas to start creating a moodboard. I actually make moodboards for everyday mundane things outside of work; I make moodboards for vacations, for example, and even when I move apartments and have an interior design vision for a new place! Is this ridiculous to most? Sure, but it’s beyond exciting for me to set the tone for the rest of the project — whatever that may be.
Where do you find inspiration? Do you have a daily ritual?
I do! I actually go on my favourite website, Trendland.com, every single morning as I’m catching up on emails and going over my meetings calendar for the day. Trendland is a beautifully curated digital magazine that covers many topics in the art world.
It features daily creative projects around travel, photography, design, video, interior decor, and fine art to name just a few. It truly spurs my creativity, and it makes me feel so passionate and excited to see creative artists expressing themselves through their own form of art, whatever that may be.
I am also inspired by my team every single day. Everyone is so talented in their creative role, and it makes my day whenever I get to see their skills and knowledge being applied to awesome projects. Collaborating with them every day truly inspires me to not only be a better creative, but also a better team member.
What would you say are a few must-have skills for an Art Director? Can you share some advice for other aspiring Art Directors?
Art directors (from my experience) have to know exactly what they want. They must give specific guidelines and describe their ideas meticulously in order for everyone on the team to do their jobs properly. If the art direction is sub-par, the project will not be executed properly, and the team (photographers, cinematographers, designers,) will be guessing which visual direction the project should be progressing in.
The AD has to set the tone from the beginning; they have to be the visionary (ironically enough, this is the persona that I got upon taking the Adobe Create’s “My Creative Type” quiz). My advice for anyone aspiring to be an Art Director? Keep an open mind. Get inspired easily. Explore new ideas. Never stop daydreaming. The other stuff comes with time, experience, and a coach who believes in your potential.
Where do you see yourself in the future? Is there something you would like to learn more about?
I see myself managing a larger, thriving creative team one day. I have a lot to learn, and a lot to accomplish before that happens, but striving to be a creative director for a brand I really care about drives me to absorb everything I possibly can about managing people and my industry.
Something that I feel even more passionately about than art, photography, and design is people. I am so fascinated and inspired by people, and I want to do my best to learn everything I can about team dynamics, empathy, and managing truly talented people with a passion for creativity.
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Interested in joining the Flipp team? Check out our careers page for all the positions we’re currently hiring for.
