ten questions with Bryan Chackel

Bryan graduated from the UO J-School in 2004 and currently works as art director at Wexley School for Girls.

1. How did you become interested in advertising?

I've always been interested in art and journalism, or the combination of the two. I started out in the fine arts program at UO, then architecture. I knew I was interested in art and the function of art, but wasn't terribly sold on either of those programs. I ended up in the journalism school and taking some of the basic advertising intro classes and seeing an opportunity to try and create a type of art that really, truly influences people.

It's really a struggle to try and make something that functions on a business strategy level as well as an artful level. I can't say that I have even come close to accomplishing that yet, but it is something I like to strive for in work. It also means staying atop new trends and techniques, not just in advertising and media, but art, culture and this crazy little game we all play, called...life.

2. How do you describe your job to people who are unfamiliar with the advertising industry? What misconceptions do they have?

The hardest part of describing my job is getting past the name of the company I work for. Once they understand that it is an advertising agency, then I have to describe that we are the farthest thing from an advertising agency. Typically the conversation rarely makes it to branded content and events, which are whole conversations of explanations in themselves.

As for describing the particulars of my individual job, I usual explain it as working with a writer to come up with the ideas/strategy of an advertising campaign. Once the idea is set, I direct the design/function of the campaign, either doing it myself or working with an outside talent (director, illustrator, developer, etc.)

3. I’m curious, tell me about the story behind how you got your job at Wexley?

After I graduated I moved back home to beautiful Sacramento-ish. Actually, I first went on a week-long cruise to the Caribbean. This was an imperative step into my professional career because it really quite literally launched my passion for debauchery that would ultimately lead me right to the front door of the Wexley School for Girls.

After the cruise I moved back into my parent’s house and over the course of the next year, proceeded to "network" myself throughout the entire bar scene of El Dorado County. It was quite a task, I know, but well worth the effort. Periodically, between the drinking, going to shows, reconnecting with friends, drinking, and eating McGriddles, I would work on my book.

Actually, moving home provided a whole new inspiration for me and my work. In school, I was always focused on doing "HUGE" meaning that I always wanted to try and make the next deep meaningful advertising geniusness....like Apple's 1984, but for 2004.

After I moved home, I discovered that it was more about doing things that I enjoy that make ME laugh. I didn't care a whole lot about what others though...of course, keeping a strategy and a concept, but all and all, not giving a fuck. I mean, this was my book, not real work. I just had to let the "advertising" part of me go and it was all really clear, and fun.

So I sporadically worked on an entirely new book, one that clearly represented me and my train of though and life. I also worked at Starbucks too. That sucked. So after a year passed and I was a little wiser and a lotta fatter, I started shopping myself around.

I hit up a couple interviews at agencies in San Francisco, but nothing really impressive, and obviously they felt the same way since I'm not working at AKQA right now. I happened to be perusing an old issue of CMYK, looking for some other people I might be able to contact and remembered that this particular issue was judged by Cal McAllister and Ian Cohen, founders of Wexley.

The reason I remembered them, was that in every issue of CMYK, they provide a short bio of all the judges, accompanied by a typical "serious creative" headshot. Something usually a little egocentric and less creative. Well, these guys drew themselves instead. And I use the term "drew" very loosely. Chicken scratch comes to mind.

From there, I knew that I wanted to work with them because I felt like I would share the same mindset as them on advertising. So I emailed up, got in touch with a writer here. And really it was a combination of timing, luck and good looks, because their art director at the time had just left and they were in need.

I sent my book up, came up for an info interview and offered to work for free. So I started a three month, unpaid internship, while holding a second job at Starbucks, before finally being hired on fulltime. Simply amazing.

4. What is your role as an art director at Wexley?

My role as an art director at Wexley consists of many things and it fluctuates daily. Technically, I work with a writer or sometimes another art director to come up with the concepts/strategy of a campaign. Pretty straight forward.

I also do a lot of design work here (ugggh) self-promotional things, sites to get us more work. Lately I've been recording a lot of songs for self-promotional stuff. I probably enjoy that the most. I also sometimes have to play office assistant and make business cards and letterheads, as well as be the IT guy occasionally.

Also, I've been janitor as well. Probably janitor the most of all. We all were many many hats here. That's just the nature of being at a small, dysfunctional shop. It's totally polar. When it's good, it's great and when it's bad, it's shitty. It tests you for sure.

5. Whose work do you admire?

Anomaly, StrawberryFrog, Mother are all amazing places that we admire here at Wexley. I personally like Fallon, 72 and Sunny and KesselsKramer. It's all progressive and mostly non-advertising, branded content...the future of advertising.

I admire Delilah, of the Delilah radio program. I admire pretty much anything on pinktentacle.com. I admire the gents at koernerunion.com. I admire anything by Islands, as well as music in general. I admire Chiat\Day New York's Skittles spots tremendously. I admire the Boys & Girls Club. I admire a lot of things.

6. What qualities do you feel a successful art director should have?

The biggest quality an art director can have...in my opinion...is the ability to write. Seriously. As well as to have an appetite, figuratively and literally.

7. What is the best book about advertising you have ever read?

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan. You may have read this one. This book is the best "advertising" I've read. Especially for the time that it was introduced to me (in school) It is written so well and is really, really funny. It opened the door to me as to what advertising is and what it could be with the right thought process.

I've also found a ton of inspiration and insight in non-advertising books...probably more than advertising books. Runs the gamut, but lately I've been into some heavy science and theory readings. Here's a short list:

• In Me Own Words: The Autobiography of Bigfoot
• Siddhartha (when I’m feeling beside myself)
• Seed: Science is Culture (a quarterly magazine)
• A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines
• Andy Kaufman Revealed!(all about pushing limits, personal and social)
• The Drama (a quarterly design/art mag)
• Bad Robot (an Asian culture and art mag)

8. What advice would you give to someone seeking a job as an art director?

It is very hard. You are entering one of the most competitive career paths that I can think of. You have to want it and you have to really be willing to make yourself available and able because there's always another person with your skills that will do it for less.

Keeping the right positive attitude is also key. If you lose that willingness and eagerness to work, it will not only kill your spirit, but it will also be apparent. I've seen it with some contacts I've made recently that are slowly giving up on what they want for what they can settle with, which is hard for me to see.

Above all, make sure that you have fun with your portfolio, as well as your interviews, because these are the people you might be working with and in the end, they want to know that you are someone that they will enjoy being around. If you can check that box, it will compensate for a lot of shortcomings you might have elsewhere. Be you and rock yourself.

9. What are some of those things you know now, that you wished you knew before you graduated from the UO?

    a. You really do start getting fatter as you get older. It sucks.
    b. Gators would win two back-to-back NCAA championships. (I would've sliced my own face off back then so I wouldn't have to watch it)
    c. School is the ideal ad world. It is not much like that outside of the classroom. For example, there is this old school tendency thought with art direction and copy writing. For some reason, I've seen that sometimes copywriters are labeled as the idea maker and the art director as the designer of that idea, which doesn't illustrate the team effort in concepting and is very frustrating as a creative and hinders the creative process.

10. What was the best advice anyone has ever given you?

The best advice someone has ever given me was about a girl. He said, "Be like Apollo 11, not Apollo 13. Land it, and take 'em home." It works on so many levels.

Thanks Bryan!