The Art of Doing

The Strategic Career: How an Art Director Keeps Ahead of the Curve

Art Director Robert Newman on what it takes to have the boundaryless or Protean career.

Robert Newman’s Pinterest Page. (Click to Enlarge)

Many in the illustration and graphic design community know Robert Newman of Robert Newman Design through his ubiquitous online social media persona Newmanology. If you’re a fan or follower of his, you’ve seen the rapid-fire, eclectic mix of images he posts—his own work, the work of others, iconic images and designs from the past as well as a good dose of pulp on his Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest pages. Earlier this year, Bob, as he is known in his community, suffered a serious accident with a long recovery. Friends and colleagues have rallied to find ways to support Bob and his family through this struggle, including the creation of a gorgeous Newman-esque publication My Favo(u)rite Magazine in which magazine makers from around the world were invited to submit words and images about their favorite magazine.

In an interview from last Fall, we talked to Bob Newman, former design director of Fortune, Vibe, Details, Entertainment Weekly, New York magazine and former creative director of Reader’s Digest and Real Simple about how he embraces new technology, obsesses about social media and even how he has dealt with being fired.

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