GoSeeAWARDS Juror Dirk Meycke, Creative Director for 0039ITALY and AD of SHE’S MERCEDES in a GoSee QUEST on good editorial design, the COCA COLA Capsule collection and creating emotions
We are delighted to welcome Dirk MEYCKE as a member of our GoSeeAWARDS jury. The freelance CD is presently working on creative projects, among others, for SHE’S MERCEDES and the Mercedes-Benz Magazine for Condé Nast Publishing. After studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree, Dirk worked freelance for various agencies. He supported, among others, Brunner Bekker in creating the BOGNER home shopping catalogs and in realizing the brand communication. For Condé Nast, Dirk created advertorials for the magazines GQ, Glamour and Myself. As Creative Director, he works for fashion labels such as 0039Italy and was responsible for the s.Oliver magazine issues S/S 2014 and F/W 2014. For HOTEL BAYERISCHER HOF, he created the annual magazine INSITE. Enough reasons to introduce the creative mastermind on GoSee...
You have worked for many years as an Art Director for fashion productions in the areas of advertising and editorial. How did you become an Art Director, and what is your daily job like? After studying graphic design, I worked at various agencies. Conception and organization were a lot of fun for me from the very beginning besides the artwork of a graphic designer. So I did personal productions with my friends in my spare time... A lot of it was probably garbage back then, but the experience I gained is irreplaceable. The approach has not changed so much since then, except that I have sharpened the standards I set for myself. and I have great people around me who support me in realizing my ideas. Working as a freelancer is very important to me and commuting between my home office and Condé Nast keeps me on my toes in a positive sense.
You were just in Marrakech. Are you allowed to tell what you produced there? In Marrakech, we shot a portrait reportage for She’s Mercedes. I got to develop the magazine visually last year at Condé Nast.
Together with Felizia Kitschler, you run the boutique agency kitschlermeycke in Munich. Can you tell us something about it? Sure. I met Felizia about 12 years ago through my husband. Eight years ago, Felizia wanted to become self-employed as a project manager and consultant after she had worked successfully as an employee of large agencies for years. She is really miraculous when it comes to planning, finance and management, which makes her the perfect sparring partner. But we work on projects independently... it’s actually a bit like The Avengers: strong individual fighters who combine their skills when they need to :-).
What can we expect from you? Flat hierarchies and transparent business. Everything custom-made and full of dedication and fun on the job. We have an international network, and put together teams to fit the requirement profile.
What do you consider good design editorial? I am a great fan of French Numéro and i-D magazine. Where the two intersect describes my taste very well. White space and confident use of typography are important... that and having the guts to try new things.
Are there any new tendencies/trends you can tell us about which you try to pursue in your work? There are always and constantly new trends. This is an integral part of the industry, only that it’s all become much more fast paced and a lot of the trends, therefore, lack substance. The question is always, how much they dictate our work. A very strong trend is that many creative decisions are driven extremely by marketing. Decisions are often based on graphs and analyses, and sometimes even by politics. I find that unfortunate because our job is to create emotions and, by doing so, generate attention. I almost always make gut decisions. My circle of friends is mixed, so I always have a pretty good average of opinions and responses to developments. I take it all in and weave it into my own zeitgeist theory.
Before you became self-employed, you worked for Condé Nast. Why did you become a freelancer. What do you think are the pros and cons? That’s not entirely correct. I have always worked freelance, and eight years now already for Condé Nast. First as a graphic designer for the Creative Solutions department, later as Deputy AD for Mercedes Magazine, since two years as AD for MERCEDES MAGAZINE, and over the past year for SHE'S MERCEDES. A permanent position would be too restrictive. I need constant new professional challenges and change.
You work for big brands such as S.OLIVER and 0039Italy, as well as for designers like Marcel Ostertag. What is the bigger challenge? The bigger challenge is certainly s.Oliver. Alone because of the size of the company and the reach/awareness of the brand. But I also experienced a great adventure with 0039Italy this year. As Creative Director, I was able to develop the Coca-Cola Capsule collection and have learned so much in the process. Aysen Bitzer is not only a fully loaded energy weapon but also a great business woman and friend. It was all also supported by Christiane Arp and her team. Alone the fact that our concept won in Atlanta made me very proud. The result, which we then presented on 29 June at Borchardt in Berlin, again went beyond my wildest dreams...
What is your work like for the Mercedes Magazine SHE’S MERCEDES? Do you have total creative freedom or are there clear rules for the fashion productions? It is and always will be corporate publishing and is thus clearly marketing driven. The trick is to understand the interests of a large company and then to weave them into exciting editorial content. I had creative freedom in developing the visuals of the magazine. Just about everything else is agreed with the client using mood boards and storylines beforehand. The same goes for fashion.
What new productions are you working on right now? I am presently working on the relaunch of a very exciting fashion label. But I can’t tell you any more yet. I have also just produced a fashion editorial for the magazine of Bayerischer Hof with Joachim Baldauf, and I am starting work on the 4th edition of Mercedes Magazine 2016.
What would your own magazine look like: which titles, what cover and content would it have? That is a difficult question and can’t be answered this ad hoc. The market is, of course, extremely saturated. The content would certainly have to do with art, fashion and people portraits... perhaps. focusing on young talents to give them a platform.
Do you have a master plan? Or, what would you like to be doing in five years? In five years, I would be incredibly happy to be able to really promote and support the German fashion industry. Through long years of cooperation with Marcel Ostertag, I know too well, how difficult it is for young talent to start a career. Other countries are way ahead of us there. That has to change!
Here on GoSee, we bring you several of the creative’s projects, and more is available on dirkmeycke.com. Or, meet Dirk at UPDATE16 in Berlin. And if you want to impress Dirk Meycke – then submit your most inspiring fashion spreads, stills or art projects to the GoSeeAWARDS.
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