Modern Art Direction
A newsletter about vision, taste, and visual ideas.
NOTICING NOSTALGIA: MAD 004
ISSUE 004 So much good work landing lately. Today I've got the outdoor campaign of the year, another GAP music video masterclass, and a longform video breaking down the storytelling lineage of hooks. But first, one of our MAD contributors goes deep on nostalgia... On Noticing Nostalgia Written by Stefan Szary There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says "Morning boys, how's the water?" And the two young...
Art Direction Craft - Becoming Multilingual
Hey team! One of the most common questions I get is "how do I learn art direction?" It's a tough one. Because unlike learning a software or a specific skill, art direction is more like learning a language. Actually, it's like learning several languages at once. And although I personally attended a fairly affordable undergrad program that taught me how to think like an art director, I didn’t actually take any design classes. I had to learn the craft entirely on my own. So today, I want to...
How Art Directors should Understand Visual Lineage
Hey team, What a month its already been for the world of art direction! The Super Bowl is over and Bad Bunny set a new bar for what a live performance can be. The Grammys celebrated album artwork for the first time. Super exciting. There's only 2 weeks till my next art direction cohort. And I'm feeling inspired to push the world of art direction to new heights! I'm going to break down a powerful concept today about "visual lineage" and associations, But first... March Cohort: Enrollment Now...
Art Direction Trends I Hope You Steal
Hey team! It’s February. Which usually feels like the point where the year starts to move from intention to execution. Things still feel open, but it’s also the moment where it makes sense to buckle down.. One of the easiest ways to do that is by feeding yourself better visual inputs. But don’t just mindlessly scroll through “inspo”. Think of these inputs like ingredients. You’re the visual chef out searching and shopping for something you can actually cook with. You need to save & catalog...
Modern Art Direction in 2026
Hey friend, I'm excited to bring you something really big in the world of art direction. If you're getting this email, its likely you are interested in art direction and the tools art directors use. That's why this newsletter was called "The Toolbox". But that name also felt limiting. I love sharing my favorite tools and bookmarks with you, but I also want to share a lot more. And more focused. So I'm excited to share a glimpse at the next chapter of this newsletter, a chapter dedicated to...
A newsletter about vision, taste, and visual ideas.