art-directionlisted

# Art Direction Art direction gives imagery a job in the interface: orient, explain, establish trust, or create a controlled emotional cue. It is not a list of visual adjectives. ## Set the visual job before selecting assets Write a one-line stance: audience, moment, desired response, and what imagery must communicate that copy cannot. Then choose one primary treatment and one fallback. A treatment can be documentary detail, diagrammatic illustration, editorial crop, icon system, or deliberately no image. | Decision | Specify | Reject when | | --- | --- | --- | | Subject | people, object, place, or abstract concept | it repeats the headline without adding evidence | | Point of view | distance, angle, energy, inclusion | it turns a serious task into decoration | | Composition | focal zone, text-safe area, responsive crop | the message disappears at narrow widths | | Surface | palette, texture, line weight, lighting | it conflicts with product semantic states | | Rights | source, license, attribution, expiry | ownership or reuse is unknown | ## Turn the stance into an asset contract For each proposed asset, record its source, allowed use, focal subject, crop anchors for wide and narrow layouts, overlay treatment, and alt decision. If no approved library exists, deliver a search brief or commissioning brief—not fabricated filenames or claimed licenses. - Make the narrow crop independently legible; do not assume a desktop crop merely shrinks. - Reserve readable text space