Reema Trehan is an experienced Art Director who has worked on some unique campaigns throughout Asia. Now based in California, Reema is looking for new opportunities to keep learning and growing as a creative freelancer. Learn more about how Reema's thoughts...
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do and where do you work?
I am an Art Director. I was born and raised in New Delhi and, after studying at NAFA in Singapore, I decided to stay there and work with McCann Erickson and Mullenlowe. I have been a creative for 10+ years now and i love everything design and visual
What drew you to do the work that you do now?
My path to becoming an Art Director was shaped by my deep-rooted love for visual arts and storytelling. I enjoy stories and making things.
Tell us about some creative work that inspire you? Whose work do you admire?
I love Piyush Pandey's work, I grew up watching his ads and listening to his jingles on radio. He changed how people viewed simple products in India with emotion driven ads. Apart from the ad world i love Paula Scher work in design and typography.
What’s the biggest creative challenge and/or accomplishment in your career to date?
My biggest challenge was to not to create work that suits my portfolio but work that is best for the client and makes audience feel something.
What most excites you about working in your industry?
The industry itself with it's visuals, craft, creative minds...the pressure the thrill to tell a stories in 100 different mediums.
You've had to opportunity to work in a few global cities, such as Singapore and New Delhi. Can you share more about your experiences working with clients and projects from different parts of the world?
I started my career as an art director in New Delhi in an era when the ratio of men to women in an ad agency was not very balanced. In a team of 14 people we only had 5 females when i joined. Regardless i thrived and worked for some really amazing brands like Lay's and Pepsi. The best part was creating work that was emotion led for India in different mediums. I could see people in my own city reacting and admiring the work that i created. Working in Singapore was the complete opposite! I created work for different regions and global platforms. I had the chance to work with some of the best directors and creatives from all over the world in Singapore. Both cities taught me be better and push myself out of my comfort zone to create amazing work.
You had a chance to work on a unique campaign with soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo during the pandemic. Can you tell us more about the role you played in creating that campaign and what some of the challenges were?
The biggest challenge was to shoot remotely - Which translates to making sure the room for error is close to zero since you're not on site to fix it or come up with a solution.
Challenge 2 - It was my first time working on this brand, so i had to start from scratch learning about brand, aesthetics, tone in a very short amount of time.
Challenge 3 - Working mostly with production houses for VFX and final editing remotely. How do you tell an editor to make fire look more hot than flamy (You know what i mean).
Challenge 4 - Shooting in a completely different time zone.
But overall it taught me to be on my toes and i am really proud of the AD we created despite all these hurdles.
Everyone needs time out. What do you do in your spare time to help re-energize your creative side?
I love creating things with hands using different materials (also knows as a diy ninja). I love paper quilling and creating different packaging and shaped using paper. Other than that i love watching movies and just taking a walk to massage the creative side of the brain.
What advice would you give to those who are just starting out in your industry?
Be kind to yourself. Don’t let the pressure of ‘having’ to be creative and productive get to you. It’s ok to not ‘make the most’ out of every campaign.
How can people learn more about your work and/or get in contact with you?
Instagram...I am all over it, I love (over)sharing my life on insta and that's the best place to get in touch with me.
See more of Reema's work on her website - https://www.reematrehan.com/