Job Roles P4(U24), M2(U24), D2(U24)

Art director 

P4 (U24): Explain the behaviours and attributes required for a specific job role

p4 has been completed as a group, with Caris Forman and Kate Preston 

Professional attributes 
Creativity is an important attribute of a successful art director, this is because a key part of their job role within advertising is producing and coming up with innovative ideas for the visual elements of campaigns. As art directors work with many forms of media (e.g. TV, radio, print), it is important that they are creative enough as to be flexible to work successful on each particular campaign, no matter how different they are.

Another important attribute an art director should posses are leadership skills. As a art director, one would be responsible for working within and leading an art team in order to create the desired outcome. If an art director is not a good leader, deadlines will not be met and projects will not be completed to their full potential.

Communication is another crucial attribute that an art director should have. This is because art directors will have to communicate their ideas/concepts to their colleagues. If this is not done then there will be a lack of understanding within the team about what is happening. Effective communication means that team members will be able to complete tasks to the best of their ability.

Within the role of an art director confidence is a very important attribute to have because an art director will need to be able to take control of there department and make sure everyone is working to the best of there ability. They will need to have the confidence to be able to boss people around and set them tasks as well as being confident enough to stand up in front of everyone and explain clearly what the media product is going to be. This links in with leadership as they will need the confidence to be able to lead the art team to be able to create the product to the best of their ability.

Another attribute is motivation because without this no work will be completed. An art director is the head of department therefore without any motivation to do the work the whole department will suffer meaning the product will either be not completed on time or not completed to the highest standards. Motivation allows the individual to be able to keep on there work and make sure the department is all working hard.

Lastly organisation is another professional attribute this allows the individual to be able to keep up on all there work and be able to meet deadlines. Without organisation the product won't be fully completed and it can cause confusion within the department. An art director will have lots of notes and lose papers including the client brief and the initial ideas therefore they need organisation to be able to create a proper filling system so they don't lose all the important files which if lost will effect the product being made.

Personal attributes 
Being polite is an important personal attribute of an art director. This is because art directors will work within a team of other media professionals. If they are not polite and respectful to one and other, then tension will be created. This would result in professionals not being able to work effectively as a team and deadlines would not be met.

Being a good time keeper is another important attribute of a successful art director. This is as art directors will have many deadlines to meet as well as meetings to attend to. If an art director is not a good time keeper then deadlines may not be met and they may be late to meetings. This would impact the pre production process as projects will not be completed to the of a teams' ability.

Being resilient is also an important attribute which art directors should have. This is due to the fact that things may not go to plan during production and preproduction processes. If things were to go wrong it would be important that the art director would not give up all hope and lose motivation, rather be resilient and try again.

A personal attribute that is important for an art director is independence, they will need to be able to work alone creating the initial ideas and setting tasks for the rest of the team to complete. Without independence an art director will find it hard to to come up with ideas and the production process may be effected by this. They need to be able to go off and complete tasks and set deadlines by themselves to be able to keep up on all the work. 

An art director needs to be very responsible because they are in charge of the whole art team meaning they have a lot of responsibility. It is there role to get everyone working efficiently to the deadlines and its there responsibility to make sure that every individuals work is up to the correct standards. If they are not responsible it means that the department will be a mess and nothing will be completed properly.

Lastly an art director needs to be respectful to everyone around them because if not then issues may arise. As an art director works as part of a team if they are not respectful then they may fall out with people in the group which can effect the planning stages therefore they need to be respectful and allow everyone in the team to voice the opinion and take it on board in order for them to work well in a group and allow the process to run smoothly. Also an art director may have to speak to the client about the ideas they may want meaning they need to be respectful towards them as they are he people in charge.

M2 (U24): Explain how personal behaviours and attributes affect career development opportunities within the media industry

Current opportunities:

Sourced from Indeed.com

Personal attributes and behaviours can have a major impact on how successful individuals are in obtaining and progressing in a job in the media industry. Media professionals such as an art director will need certain attributes and to behaviour in a respectable way in order to be successful in career development opportunities. Art directors who have a reputation of being lazy, rude or disrespectful are unlikely to be hired by clients, let alone be given the opportunity to progress in their role.

Attributes such as not being punctual will effect how successful and art director is, this is because if an art director is constantly late to meetings it can show that they do not respect their colleagues. Media professionals who are qualified to a higher level may take this into consideration when deciding who deserves a promotion or raise. Bad punctuality can also show a lack of work ethic and motivation. Art directors who are not motivated will not end up creating ideas and concepts to the best of their ability. As well as this, if someone is not motivated it is unlikely that they will be given the opportunity to progress in their role.

The attribute of being open minded and willing to listen to other colleagues ideas is also essential for an art director to be successful. Having the willingness to listen to others and be able to work as a team allows for more effective working. Art directors who are open to feedback and other's ideas are more likely to be given the opportunity to progress in their profession. This is because they will be viewed in a positive manner by their colleagues and potentially recommended for the role.

The ability to treat other with respect and fairness is also very important for an art directer to have. Art directors should provide equality opportunity to their team regardless of ethic background, gender, race etc. Discriminating against people due to protected characteristics is not only illegal but not moral. Art directors who do this, and gain a reputation for this are unlikely to be hired by clients or promoted to a higher professional level.

The current job role I found is for an art director at the company Geometry UK. One of the first things said about this role is that then art director will be working closely with a copywriter. The fact that this is literally the first thing said about the role shows the importance that attributes and behaviours such as being polite, working well within a team, effective communication and motivation ;as these are all skills needed in order to work well with others. The job opportunity I found also put an interestedly high emphasis on personal behaviours and attributes rather than past experience in the media industry. Attributes that Geometry UK are looking for in their applicants includes those such as positivity, honesty, respectful, motivated and innovative. This great emphasis on behaviours rather than experience shows us that this company are looking deeply into the character and mindset of their applicants. Individuals who are applying for this role and are any, rude, unmotivated and pessimistic will likely not get the role; this shows the importance of behaviours and attributes in the media industry.

Behaviours and attributes which an individual working for Geometry UK has will have an impact on their career development opportunities. For example if the current art director was not working well with others and not meeting deadlines, it is unlikely that their employer will recommend them for particular projects or a more authoritative roles. However if an art director working of Geometry UK was showing a positive attitude and passion it is more likely that they will be considered for a more senior role.

When those at Geometry UK are looking give an art director an opportunity to develop their skills; they will be looking for individuals who are respectful, positive and motivated. An art director who has a history of being rude, showing up late and not meeting deadlines will not be considered for this opportunity. Due to this, it is important that those working for Geometry UK are constantly showing that they obtain the required attributes for the role.

Career development opportunities for an art director at Geometry UK includes progressing to become a creative director. This role has far more responsibilities, due to this it is important that an art director is already on top of their current responsibilities and shows that they are capable of taking on a more senior role. An art director who is aiming to progress in their job must show appropriate behaviours and attributes, both to clients as well as colleagues. If they do not do this, and not show appropriate interpersonal skills, it is extremely unlikely that they will be recommend for career development opportunities.

D2 (U24): Explain the importance of etiquette when working on a media production

Etiquette is behaving in a polite and well mannered way towards the others around you. Behaviours in relation to etiquette can vary culturally and hence good etiquette requires consideration of the culture, background and context of those with whom one interacts. Etiquette is important when working within the media industry as lots of work will be within a team and working with those with distinct and different roles. In order to work effectively with others it is important to respect them and be polite and supportive. If individuals are not respecting and behaving in an appropriate way to their coworkers, tension will arise; resulting in them not being able to work as a team in a effective way. In a creative environment an overbearing or rude style of leadership may close down ideas and stifle originality.

The art director delegates projects to in-house designers and artists and must show leadership skills in doing this fairly and recognising individuals' different talents. The art director takes instruction from the client and their brief and needs to show that they are responsive, respectful and reliable in relation to these clients. In addition the art director needs good communication skills both upwards to ensure they understand their client's desired message to consumers, and downwards to coordinate and direct the work of other artistic and design staff.

While working under pressure to meet strict deadlines it is vital that an art director maintains good etiquette in his/her interactions both with those higher and lower in the work hierarchy. Clearly the needs and desires of the commissioning client must be respected and understood. Being punctual, well organised and replying to communications from clients swiftly and politely is vital. Many art directors are self employed and demand for their work will be affected by their reputation as somebody who is pleasant or unpleasant to work with.

Etiquette to those whom the art director line-manages is equally important. A respectful and considerate manager is more likely to inspire those who work for them to go above and beyond their standard role. How managers treat staff also sets a tone for how staff treat each other; groups that listen to and respect one another work more efficiently, with less staff turn-over and loss of productivity due to e.g. stress. A good art director will also support the career development of those in their team, activity reviewing with them their performance against SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) targets. To get the best out of their creative team an art director will know each persons' strengths and relative weaknesses; gaining this honest appraisal is facilitated by good etiquette and respectful working practices.

An art director will work under the guidance of a creative director. This is because a creative director has more responsibilities, this includes providing guidance to an art director. It is important that an art director shows etiquette to the creative director in which they work under. Being polite and well mannered to ones seniors means that an art director is more likely to be provided with the opportunity to develop their skill set.

An art director will lead a team of professionals, this commonly includes; graphic designers and concept artists. It is important that the art director show ettiequte to these professionals so that they are motivated to work and accomplish the best possible end product. If an art director is rude and disrespectful to their team, professionals will be reluctant to produce work for them. This can result in poor quality products being created due to lack of motivation and final deadlines not being met.

Working in the advertising industry can be pressured with tight deadlines, demanding clients, and a high degrees of competition both between individuals and organisations. Under these pressures it is easy for standards of behaviour to slip and for aggression or rudeness to become the norm. Maintaining a code of conduct for good behaviour, that is good etiquette, protects against this erosion of working relationships. As society increasingly recognises the harm caused by bullying, harassment, micro-aggressions and unconscious bias, the importance of good etiquette in the work place has never been clearer.