2. True to Type.
In 22 years of advertising, I met but two Art Directors who have mastered typography.
The first was Collette Austin. The only one of three Art Directors I ever met who could have been an equally powerful writer.
Collette was my coming of age in advertising. In the few months I knew her, I actually got the drift of what advertising was all about.
Listening to her, it dawned on me what it was to possess a 'grasp' of advertising.
She was also my first real introduction to typography.
Collette was (and is) a consummate professional: she has an idea of what a Creative Director should be.) A 'shining example.')
If Collette ever acknowledged a superior, it was her Creative Director at Trikaya: Vikas Gaitonde. I spent hours listening open-mouthed to all the Vikas stories Collette had to tell.
In a stroke of fortune that I will never ever come to terms with, 4 years later, I got to work with Vikas Gaitonde. For a full year.
Imagine working with the teacher of your teacher.
Vikas knows type. He knows the meaning and the possible meanings of type.
And he has a divine sense of proportion.
The first was Collette Austin. The only one of three Art Directors I ever met who could have been an equally powerful writer.
Collette was my coming of age in advertising. In the few months I knew her, I actually got the drift of what advertising was all about.
Listening to her, it dawned on me what it was to possess a 'grasp' of advertising.
She was also my first real introduction to typography.
Collette was (and is) a consummate professional: she has an idea of what a Creative Director should be.) A 'shining example.')
If Collette ever acknowledged a superior, it was her Creative Director at Trikaya: Vikas Gaitonde. I spent hours listening open-mouthed to all the Vikas stories Collette had to tell.
In a stroke of fortune that I will never ever come to terms with, 4 years later, I got to work with Vikas Gaitonde. For a full year.
Imagine working with the teacher of your teacher.
Vikas knows type. He knows the meaning and the possible meanings of type.
And he has a divine sense of proportion.