Cool Job: Art Director, ABCFamily.com

In college, Melanie Lantin wanted to keep her options open so she studied liberal arts and took lots of design classes. Talk about good timing and great anticipation. When the Dot-com boom came about in the late '90s, her career options exploded. A decade later, she's now the Art Director for ABCFamily.com, the site fans flock to when they want to get exclusives on their favorite ABC Family shows and stars. Lantin spoke with Kidult about the importance of networking and making creative ideas work in a corporate environment.

Tell us about your job?

I oversee the design for ABCFamily.com which covers all interactive media related to the ABC Family network. I’m on the digital media side so I work on anything dealing with the website including interactive campaigns, interactive games and the creative floor.

When did you first know you wanted to be an art director?

I’ve always been the creative type, but going through school I definitely didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. Back then, this will date me, the web wasn’t as big as it is now so interactive design wasn’t even a full-fledged major at UC Irvine where I went to college. Right when I graduated in ’98 the Dot-com boom happened and everything became a website. I graduated at the right time. I decided I wanted a career in interactive design so I began following that path starting out as a junior designer and then working my way up until I  became art director.

What is a typical day for you?

We don’t have typical days. It’s all over the place which is what I like. For example, for the Teen Choice Awards, which aired a few weeks ago, Pretty Little Liars and other ABC Family shows were going to be in attendance, so we did a photo shoot and I went to their fittings. I posted the pictures on the site and asked viewers to guess what dresses they thought the girls would choose to wear to the awards. That’s 1 day that is unlike any other. I do brainstorming for upcoming specials like 25 Days of Christmas which is a huge campaign for the network that we’re working on now. Then, of course, there’s the regular programming.

What opportunities led you to where you are today?

A lot of my opportunities have come from networking. I’m finding out more every day that the interactive industry, while it seems large, is a small network of people. Following the Dot-com boom, I worked with AOL as my 1st job out of college. From there I continued to get jobs through friends. Working for Direct TV got me into television because I got to work with programmers from channels like Disney, HBO and Showtime. Eventually I joined the Disney team, which I love. It’s a matter of keeping good connections. People will remember you when they need new talent.

What's the most challenging part of your job?

Being creative in the corporate world is challenging because the creative tend to want to be free with their designs, ideas and concepts. Here in the corporate world, I have to adhere to their guidelines, marketing initiatives and campaigns. I have to find a balance.

What’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to you at work?

When I was with the parks and resorts online I oversaw DisneyLand.com and WaltDisneyWorld.com. While I was doing a big campaign for the parks I was at Disneyland several times a week. It was pretty exciting because it didn’t feel like work at all!

Do you ever meet the stars whose pages you work on?

When we do photo shoots and the talent is there I meet them on a casual basis. I don’t get to meet a lot of the big stars. They’re more removed from us so we deal with their people.

What advice do you have for teens who want to follow in your footsteps?

Network! I can’t stress that enough. Get out there and meet a lot of people in the industry that you want to get into because you’ll find that it's a small world. Internships are invaluable experiences because you’re put in front of people you normally wouldn’t get to meet like directors and vice presidents. I completely value LinkedIn because you can see immediately how connected everyone is and how large your network can be.