Factor 3: Applied Creativity

Necessity and Invention

  The technical resources available to most agency artworkers or art directors are extensive and growing. Image libraries abound while the image manipulation packages and programs available are the stuff of science fiction. That said, no amount of ‘gloss’ will rescue a weak creative concept and by the same token, you need a seasoned studio practitioner to get the best from new technologies to enhance and do justice to that ‘bang on’ creative idea.

But for most account handlers at least, the technical skills of the artworker remain a mystery. Whether it’s lack of interest or lack of involvement, the main concern of an account man is that there’s a ‘knock ‘em dead’ piece of creative in the bag all ready to sell. Or perhaps the sheer proliferation of innovations is simply too much for agency suits to absorb and appreciate. It’s a means to an end.

The consistent thought that guides and drives these technical breakthroughs is the recognition of a perceived commercial agency need. Today, creative concepts even at pitch level look good enough to print, reflecting in every detail what the art director demands while the client can approve an idea in the knowledge that the finished article will look near- identical. No creative interpretation required here, thank you.

Gone, it would seem, are the days of ‘scamps’ (can art directors even draw? Do they need to?). But there was a time, a more innocent time (post moon landing but pre Mac or Aids) when they did, and the art college graduate employed by an agency then was called a commercial illustrator or graphic artist and the ability to hand render – usually with Magic Markers – was de rigeur.  In that era, an innovation of less technical nature none the less was warmly embraced.



Come then, if you will, back to 1979 when bursting onto adland came the Fairburn System of Visual References. Concentrating on the male human form, this System provided a wealth of poses (running, throwing, putting on a jacket, talking on the phone etc) with each pose photographed in synch by eight cameras positioned around the model to capture the different perspectives and proportions.  Printed as A3 books, it may all sound a bit basic by today’s standards but as a result, our 1970s graphic artists had a ready resource to help make that illustration or storyboard as lifelike as possible. It went down a storm; the idea was developed and hand poses, the female form and finally children were added. Sales in UK and abroad soared and even today the dwindling copies of the various sets can be found online.



It would be crass to compare the Fairburn System to, say, Photoshop but the one similarity they do share is that the motivation behind their inception is all about doing as much as possible to exploit, communicate and realise the potential of the core creative idea. Some things don’t change.



Should you ever see a copy of the original Fairburn System or even less likely, look closely enough at the ‘model’ on pages 168 and 169, you’ll recognise a much younger version of yours truly.  My late father, Ted Fairburn, originated the System to help him in his job. Graduating from Bradford Art College in the 50s, he became a graphic artist in a London ad agency. He could really draw.

Find out more about Fairburn Figures.