Kevin Bachman (Visual Communications 1989, Hall of Fame 2002)
JOB TITLE:
VP, Creative Director at New Wave Creative (of New Wave Entertainment)
Burbank, CA
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Works directly with movie studios. “They give us a project (a feature film, a DVD Home Entertainment release, a trade ad), and we come up with the print advertising/design for the product: movie posters, newspaper ads, billboards, bus sides, bus shelters and DVD packaging.”
Oversees and directs his department. “I read the script or watch the movie and come up with creative ideas for the print campaign. Often, I then direct a photo shoot of the movies’ stars and/or body doubles and props. Using the computer, I design the artwork for the project.”
Favorite projects: “Art directing Jenny McCarthy, naked in a bath tub, holding a dead fish, for Dirty Love could be one of my favorite shoots. I've also worked with such beauties as Cameron Diaz (In Her Shoes), Ashley Judd (Kiss the Girls) and Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct). The men have been good to me too. I've been lucky enough to work with Harrison Ford (Clear and Present Danger, Hollywood Homicide) a couple of times, plus Toby Maguire (Spider-Man) and Will Ferrell (Old School, Winter Passing). The list goes on. What I do is fun all day, every minute of everyday.”
THE ROAD TO SUCCESS:
After graduation, moved to Los Angeles and got a job as an assistant to an Art Director at a motion picture advertising company. “I learned as much as I could there, and began to explore a new tool of the trade: the computer. I took what I learned to several more companies throughout the years, gaining experience as I went and climbed the proverbial ladder to success.”
ADVICE FOR STUDENTS:
Work hard, and get started sooner. You will be a better designer and businessperson in the long run.
Freelance, as long as it does not interfere with your school and homework.
You have to start at the bottom. Pay attention and learn. Be eager and willing to work long and hard.
Be prepared to be torn down. Commercial art is just that, commercial. Someone is paying you to create what they think is their vision (even though you are the one to conceptualize and create it). As an artist, you put your heart on a platter and have to be strong when it gets handed back to you. Graphic design is a not a free art form or a means of self-expression. It is a visual translation of someone else’s message.
Never stop drawing…concept is king. The computer won’t solve a campaign, no matter what the project. It is just the tool you use to create your artistic vision. Nothing beats sitting at a meeting with a client, and being able to bust out great thumbnail drawings to illustrate your ideas right there and then.
Be confident, not arrogant.
What else do you want to share about your career or your experience at The Art Institute of Colorado?
“The Art Institute set me up with the knowledge and skills to dive into any design field I wanted. There were some amazing teachers who not only really cared, but inspired.”