“Sometimes you have to go with your gut and ignore the consumer research and all that clinical stuff. If you don’t have the passion, the client will know it.”

An advertising career is either something you dream about as a kid or you happen upon as an adult and are drawn to it, much like a moth to a flame.

For Bryan Ward, a 1984 graduate in Visual Communications, his first inclination was to become a comic book illustrator or filmmaker, not the owner of an ad agency. While he attended The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he worked with a friend who owned a gaming company. A seven-year stint in Philadelphia gave him experience at both a design and advertising firm. At the agency, he acted as account executive and creative director on the Marvel Comics/Fleer Entertainment account — an ironic twist, given his love of storytelling and the good versus evil that’s played out in the pages of comic books.

It took a move back to Pittsburgh and 9/11 to get him thinking about his career and what made him happy. We caught up with him at his Pittsburgh agency, Giant Ideas, in which he serves as President and Executive Creative Director.

Why did you begin your agency in Pittsburgh?

Friends of mine were starting their own company called Animal and I helped them develop their identity. One day during the summer we were in their office and I said, “What’s going in this office?” and they said “Nothing right now.” I asked, “What would you think if a certain person worked out of here for awhile?” They thought that it was a great idea and I began doing design work for them, as a kind of trade.

And then September 11 happened. I went home and told my wife, “I’m doing it. You know, life is too short. It’s time to go off and do something on my own.” So, two months later, I started Giant Ideas. It’s been almost three years and probably this year, we’ll be the fourth largest agency in town, with 32 employees and over 46 clients. We’re growing like crazy.

You have a different approach to the agency business.

This is what Giant Ideas is all about — just being honest with clients, working to help their business succeed. We’ve done a lot of really different things that aren’t necessarily agency-type activities. We have a lot of clients that a normal agency would say no to, but these clients have problems that they need help with and there are opportunities there. I love pro bono work. We’re a business helping businesses.

You’re also here for good solid, creative thinking.

Yeah, absolutely. We’re not a company that will get in the way of that. There’s so much administration and hierarchy that gets in the way of creative development and I want the creative to run the shop. There is hierarchy, but it’s a very weak one. There is some control because you just can’t let things run amok because that doesn’t work either.

How do you approach the creative process?

It’s really quite simple. It’s really problem solving. You do diligent, hard work. Learn as much as you can about the client. And if you don’t have passion, you might as well just give it up because then it’s just a clinical exercise and that’s not advertising or design. Sometimes you have to go with your gut and ignore the consumer research and all that clinical stuff. If you don’t have the passion, the client will know it.

How did going to school at The Art Institute prepare you for where you are now?

My education opened the door to what could be done. More than anything, what The Art Institute did for me was to open my eyes to the possibilities. It was like a whole world opened up in front of me.

Your advice for students considering art education in general and The Art Institute in particular?

School is the last chance you will ever have to be free and you should take every opportunity to exploit that as much as possible. It’s the most awesome experience you will ever have. Art school is really paradise for an artist because you’re exposed to so many influences. Your mind should be open to everything. Art isn’t about learning about art. Art is about going to theater. Art is reading great novels. Art is about traveling to foreign lands. Art is about life and that’s the most important thing.