art-direction

Files (5)

• SKILL.md
• _claude-frontmatter-extras.yaml · references/
• creative-brief-template.md · references/
• illustration-brief.md · references/
• photo-shoot-brief.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# Art Direction

Direct creative work that extends the brand into specific deliverables. Photography, illustration, video, motion, campaigns, environmental design.

This skill assumes brand identity is approved (`brand-identity` complete). Art direction is about applying and extending it, not defining it.

---

## When to use

- Briefing photographers, illustrators, videographers
- Developing campaign creative concepts
- Directing in-house creative teams
- Writing creative direction documents for vendors
- Evaluating creative deliverables for brand fit
- Adapting brand visual identity to a new format or context

## When NOT to use

- Setting project-wide aesthetic direction across multiple downstream skills (use `creative-direction` instead). This skill briefs specific creative deliverables; `creative-direction` produces the structured aesthetic brief that this skill consumes.
- Defining brand visual identity from scratch (use `brand-identity`)
- Day-to-day component design (use `design-standards`)
- Writing copy for creative work (use `content-and-copy` or `landing-page-copy`)
- Building a design system (use `design-system`)

---

## Required inputs

- The deliverable (photo shoot, illustration set, video, campaign)
- The brand identity (visual system, voice, imagery direction)
- The audience for this specific work
- The goal (brand awareness, conversion, education, emotional connection)
- Budget and timeline
- Distribution context (where it will be seen)

---

## The framework: 5 layers

A creative brief covers five layers. Each must be clear before the brief leaves your hands.

### 1. The story

What this creative work is fundamentally about.

- **The premise.** The core idea in one sentence.
- **The emotional through-line.** What the audience feels.
- **The role of the brand.** How the brand shows up in the story.
- **The takeaway.** What the audience walks away with.

A weak premise produces work that's pretty but says nothing. Spend time here.

### 2. The look

The visual treatment.

**For photography:**
- Subject and composition (close-up, environmental, candid, posed)
- Lighting (natural, studio, dramatic, soft)
- Color palette (true color, treated, monochrome)
- Locations (specific or general direction)
- Wardrobe and props
- Mood references (the photo brief template sets how many)

**For illustration:**
- Style (flat, dimensional, hand-drawn, geometric, abstract)
- Color use (full palette, restricted, brand-only)
- Line treatment
- Composition style
- Detail level
- Reference artists or works, with explicit "we want like X but NOT like Y" (the illustration brief template sets how many)

**For video / motion:**
- Pacing (slow, medium, fast cuts)
- Camera movement (static, handheld, sweeping)
- Color grading
- Transitions and effects
- Audio direction (music, voiceover, ambient)
- Reference work (3 to 5 examples; no template covers motion, so this count is the one to use)

### 3. The execution

Production-level direction.

**Specifications:**
- Deliverable formats and sizes (web hero, social square, print full-page)
- Required shots or frames
- Optional shots if budget allows
- Wardrobe and prop list (for live action)
- Color and asset specs (RGB, CMYK, hex codes for matching)

**Constraints:**
- Things to avoid (specific cliches, forbidden treatments, regulatory)
- Brand-system requirements (logo placement, color use, type rules)

### 4. The variants

How this creative scales across distribution.

Most creative needs to live in multiple places. Plan the variants up front.

**Common variant set for a campaign:**
- Hero web image (16:9 or wider)
- Mobile web hero (4:5 or 1:1)
- Social square (1:1)
- Social vertical (9:16)
- Email banner (3:1 typical)
- Display ad sizes (300x250, 728x90, etc.)
- Print sizes if applicable

For each variant, note: how the composition adapts, what gets cropped or repositioned, what assets are required.

### 5. The standards

The quality bar.

**Technical:**
- Resolution and format requirements

From rampstackco/claude-skills, MIT.

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