How is art-direction different from creative-direction?

Art direction briefs specific creative deliverables: a photo shoot, an illustration set, a video, a campaign. Creative-direction sets project-wide aesthetic direction across many downstream skills and produces the structured four-axis brief that art direction consumes. Use creative-direction for the overall register the brand takes; use art direction to brief a particular deliverable against that register.

What does a creative brief cover?

Five layers. The story (premise, emotional through-line, the role of the brand, the takeaway). The look (the visual treatment with references, tuned to photography, illustration, or video). The execution (production specs, required and optional shots, prop and wardrobe lists, color and asset specs, constraints). The variants (how the creative adapts across distribution contexts). The standards (the quality bar with examples of acceptable and unacceptable work, technical specs, and revision rounds budgeted).

Why plan variants up front?

Because most creative needs to live in multiple places: a web hero, a mobile hero, social square and vertical, an email banner, display ad sizes, and print. Planning the variant set up front prevents the common failure of discovering at delivery that the photographer composed for 16:9 only and there is no usable square crop. For each variant, note how the composition adapts, what gets cropped or repositioned, and what assets are required.

Why is 'what to avoid' direction necessary?

Vendors interpret broadly. Without explicit out-of-bounds direction, they fill the gaps with their own judgment, which may not match the brand. Tell them what is forbidden: specific cliches, treatments, and regulatory limits. And never use direct competitor work as a reference, or you will get something that looks like the competitor.

Why not skip the early reviews?

Because every revision late in the process costs several times what the same correction costs at the treatment stage. Review at the treatment stage, at the halfway mark, and at final. Skipping the early reviews lets problems compound until they are expensive to fix. Concentrating creative authority also helps: six stakeholders all giving creative feedback produces incoherent work.

What inputs does art-direction need?

An approved brand identity (the visual system, voice, and imagery direction), the deliverable being made, the audience for this specific work, the goal (awareness, conversion, education, emotional connection), the budget and timeline, and the distribution context. Art direction applies and extends the identity rather than defining it, so if the identity is not set, run brand-identity first.

Skill · Art direction

Art direction.

Direct creative work that extends the brand into a deliverable.

Direction for the creative work that extends an approved brand into specific deliverables: photography, illustration, video, motion, campaigns, environmental design. A brief covers five layers, each clear before it leaves your hands: the story, the look, the execution, the variants, and the standards.

This skill applies and extends the visual identity rather than defining it. It assumes the brand identity is approved and consumes the structured aesthetic brief that creative-direction produces.

Audience: brand and marketing teams briefing photographers, illustrators, and videographers, directing in-house creative, or evaluating creative deliverables for brand fit.

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The framework

Five layers, each clear before the brief ships.

A creative brief covers five layers. A weak first layer produces work that is pretty but says nothing, so the story comes before the look.

01The story: the premise in one sentence, the emotional through-line, the role of the brand in it, and the takeaway the audience walks away with.
02The look: the visual treatment, with subject, lighting, palette, and three to five references, tuned to photography, illustration, or video.
03The execution: production-level specs, required and optional shots, prop and wardrobe lists, color and asset specs, and the constraints.
04The variants: how the creative scales across distribution (web hero, mobile, social square and vertical, email, display, print), planned up front.
05The standards: the quality bar, with specific examples of approved and not-approved work, technical specs, and the number of revision rounds budgeted.

Where this skill fits

Extend the identity; do not redefine it.

Art direction applies and extends an approved brand identity into specific deliverables. It does not define the identity. When the project-wide aesthetic is not yet set, that is the job of creative-direction, and its structured four-axis brief is the input this skill consumes.

A weak premise produces work that is pretty but says nothing, so the brief spends its first layer on the story before any visual direction. Reference imagery is where briefs quietly go wrong: never use direct competitor work as a reference, or the result comes back looking like the competitor.

Fine is the enemy of distinctive. Creative that is merely acceptable will not move the audience any more than it moved the people who signed off on it. Concentrate creative authority rather than letting six stakeholders give feedback, plan the variants up front, and review at the treatment stage, because a revision late in production costs several times what the same fix costs early.

Reference files

Three brief templates for different production types.

references/creative-brief-template.md
A generic art-direction brief template covering any production type: photo, illustration, video, animation, or mixed.
references/photo-shoot-brief.md
A detailed brief template for photography commissions, down to subject, lighting, locations, wardrobe, and props.
references/illustration-brief.md
A brief template for illustration commissions, including style, color use, line treatment, and the 'like X but not like Y' reference framing.

Browse all reference files on GitHub

Bridges to other skills

What sets direction, and what builds it.

Art direction sits below project-wide aesthetic direction and beside the skills that build the brand into product and copy.

Project-wide direction
creative-direction
Sets the aesthetic direction across multiple downstream skills and produces the structured four-axis brief this skill consumes. Run it when the question is the overall register, not a single deliverable.
The identity itself
brand-identity
Defining the visual identity from scratch happens here. Art direction extends a finished identity rather than creating one.
Day-to-day UI
design-standards
Handles the day-to-day component and page design. Art direction briefs campaign and editorial creative, not the button standard.
The words
content-and-copy
Writes the copy that runs with the creative work. The brief directs the visuals; the copy is a separate craft.
The component library
design-system
Building a formal component library is a different job. Art direction produces campaign deliverables, not a token and component system.

Open source under MIT

Read the SKILL.md on GitHub.

The skill source lives in the rampstackco/claude-skills repository alongside dozens of other skills covering the full lifecycle of brand and product work. This page is a structured overview; the SKILL.md is the source. MIT licensed.

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Frequently asked questions.

How is art-direction different from creative-direction?: Art direction briefs specific creative deliverables: a photo shoot, an illustration set, a video, a campaign. Creative-direction sets project-wide aesthetic direction across many downstream skills and produces the structured four-axis brief that art direction consumes. Use creative-direction for the overall register the brand takes; use art direction to brief a particular deliverable against that register.
What does a creative brief cover?: Five layers. The story (premise, emotional through-line, the role of the brand, the takeaway). The look (the visual treatment with references, tuned to photography, illustration, or video). The execution (production specs, required and optional shots, prop and wardrobe lists, color and asset specs, constraints). The variants (how the creative adapts across distribution contexts). The standards (the quality bar with examples of acceptable and unacceptable work, technical specs, and revision rounds budgeted).
Why plan variants up front?: Because most creative needs to live in multiple places: a web hero, a mobile hero, social square and vertical, an email banner, display ad sizes, and print. Planning the variant set up front prevents the common failure of discovering at delivery that the photographer composed for 16:9 only and there is no usable square crop. For each variant, note how the composition adapts, what gets cropped or repositioned, and what assets are required.
Why is 'what to avoid' direction necessary?: Vendors interpret broadly. Without explicit out-of-bounds direction, they fill the gaps with their own judgment, which may not match the brand. Tell them what is forbidden: specific cliches, treatments, and regulatory limits. And never use direct competitor work as a reference, or you will get something that looks like the competitor.
Why not skip the early reviews?: Because every revision late in the process costs several times what the same correction costs at the treatment stage. Review at the treatment stage, at the halfway mark, and at final. Skipping the early reviews lets problems compound until they are expensive to fix. Concentrating creative authority also helps: six stakeholders all giving creative feedback produces incoherent work.
What inputs does art-direction need?: An approved brand identity (the visual system, voice, and imagery direction), the deliverable being made, the audience for this specific work, the goal (awareness, conversion, education, emotional connection), the budget and timeline, and the distribution context. Art direction applies and extends the identity rather than defining it, so if the identity is not set, run brand-identity first.