Art Director: Ludovic Nortier

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Ludovic Nortier is a Art Director / Photographer with 10 years of experience practicing whats he will ever call a job but more a passion. His skills allow him to work with some of the prestigious advertising agencies in the world and big brands such as Diesel, L’Oréal, Heineken, Disney… He made the decision to leave his comfort zone in Paris in order to move to L.A and discover a total new culture. He is now more than happy to Art Direct and shoot campaigns every day enjoying the perfect californian lifestyle and collaborating with amazing clients. We at OHLALA had a pleasure to catch up with Ludovic:

1. How brave can you be when you are pitching creative concepts in 2018 ?
Pitching creative concepts is my favorite thing to do! I usually truly believe in the ideas I want to sell to my clients so I feel very comfortable talking about them. I will talk to my client with pure honesty because I am convince that my ideas are going to bring him what he expects. I always get very excited about sharing the concepts I came up with. I also have a french accent, which might be helpful to convince my clients (lol)

2. What are some of the edgiest things you have done as Art Director ?
Moving to L.A knowing no one here and within 2 months was probably one of the edgiest things I have done as Art Director! Besides that, coming up with an idea where people would have to interact with their biggest fears just to get real and natural crazy facial expressions was pretty crazy… Funny from my side.

3. How would you compare your work with work of the others in the industry ?
It’s hard for me to compare because I really don’t think that way… I do what I love for living and I think we all have a different path to follow. There is no good or bad and as artists, we all have a different vision about things.
I am more about sharing than comparing. Everything is very subjective, some people will judge your work and will tell you that it’s not good or not creative enough and some other people will tell you that your ideas are amazing and you are very talented. I personally believe in my ideas and I am open to brainstorm with other people but this needs to be constructive and not a competition of who would find the best idea.
It’s all about how to make it better, and an exchange based on “what if…”

4. Paris is where you come from , how much of the experiences you had there influence your work in USA ?
Well, let’s put it this way. I was working in the industry in Paris for almost 10 years and I was lucky enough to grow with “la crème de la crème” working with some of the most prestigious ad agencies in the world being surrounded by amazing and talented people. That’s where my Art Director roots are and I definitely have a european vision art direction wise. Which is a very good thing in the US because it helps me to sell my ideas to the clients. However I had to adapt myself to the american culture in order to create the perfect combination!
It’s like if France and the US had a baby!

5. Art Director is like a conductor, what are some of your favorite team members and creatives ?
I work a lot with Nathalie Prenot (Marketing Director) and Karim Meg (director). I really trust them, they are cool, always in a good mood and I know I will get what I need by working together. Working with the right people is very important, it’s actually the first step. If you are surrounded by a team you can trust, you will build an empire in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. This is my everyday mentality, I would rather work with someone who is maybe a bit less talented but open to create, to learn, to grow together than working with a very talented person who is not nice and have the wrong mindset. Don’t get me wrong, Nathalie and Karim are both! Talented and pleasant to work with.

6. Name your favorite projects so far and why ?
My favorite project just happened a week ago! I was working for Cupshe, a swimwear company. The client gave me carte blanche. He trusted me a 100% and gave me a yes to all my creative ideas. Isn’t it the dream job?!
The job itself was very intense because we had to shoot in about 10 different locations within 2 days so it was like a race but I was so happy with what we got. My team and I came up with the whole concept and I got the chance to Art director and shoot the campaign. What a bless!

7. How does the idea of too much translates in France comparing to USA. What is too Political, Too Sexy, Too Agressive, ….
In the US, I feel like you have to be more careful with the idea of too much. In France, I would say that our ability to use sarcasm as a culture thing allowed me to be more free regarding the concepts I could come up with. I even realize it in my everyday life in LA. I am very sarcastic all the time and trust me, I can definitely tell that people don’t it in general. That’s probably where the “french rudeness” comes from… a misunderstanding (lol) However this is debatable because the Super Bowl’s commercials are amazing and could be considered like too much sometimes but it works. I hadn’t had the chance to work on one of the Super Bowl’s commercials but I will let you know once I will.

8. Tell us more about your next project
I am currently working on a big campaign with a client of mine. Unfortunately I can’t really tell more about it but it’s going to be amazing. We plan to shoot in 7 different countries and we are working on a very unexpected idea for a brand like his brand. This is what I like the most, surprising people by being super creative and that’s also how consumers will remember the brand.

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