Olivia Petra is a JCU alumna, class of 2021, with a BA in Communications and a minor in Digital Media Arts and Production. After graduating from JCU, she moved to Milan and took a gap year during which she worked as a content creator for a jewelry brand. She then pursued an MA in Art Direction and Copywriting at the Politechnic University of Milan. She currently works as Associate Art Director at Caffeina, a marketing and advertising agency based in Milan, Parma, and Rome.
What does your role as Associate Art Director at Caffeina entail?
I have different clients for whom I do social media and creative campaigns, such as TV commercials or print advertisements. I work on video editing, but also graphic design, illustration, and motion design.
As an art director, I start from the basic creative idea based on the insights gathered at the first briefing with the client. I work closely with a copywriter – we’re like a creative couple. I do all the graphic and visual stuff, and the copywriter does the writing part.
For example, last year we developed a social media campaign for Pomì, the tomato sauce brand. Our goal was to tell the story of the tomato supply chain during harvest season. We created a campaign based on the farmers’ points of view, showcasing the supply chain through the eyes of the people who experience it and contribute to it every day. We visited the fields and production facilities where the tomato pulp is made to film interviews and videos that highlighted their work.
Where does your passion for video production stem from? When did you know that was your source of inspiration?
Growing up, I used to watch a lot of GoPro sports videos on YouTube. I got my first GoPro camera in my first year of high school, and I started taking videos of my summer vacations. During university, I began shooting weddings with a more professional camera. That’s when I realized it could be the right path for me.
At JCU, I took every single video editing class that was offered. I followed many photographers and video makers online. I looked at their CVs and LinkedIn profiles to draw inspiration. Some of them had a background in art direction, and that’s when I realized that that could be an interesting path for me.
Do you have a favorite project you have worked on or that you’re really proud of?
Some of my favorite projects ended up being just pitches for clients – not every idea is developed. Back in March, we pitched some ideas to the makeup brand Deborah Milano. They needed an advertising agency to manage their social media campaigns. We developed the creative aesthetic of the brand from scratch. We started with the brand’s visual identity and tone of voice, and created different sample campaigns for each product. We’re going to start developing their editorial campaign soon. I really liked working on that pitch.
You’re currently working in Milan. Do you think you’ll ever come back to Rome?
For now, I’m staying. Caffeina has an office in Rome, too, but the majority of the creative offices are in Milan. It started as a small agency in Parma, but it’s grown a lot in the past two years. We now have many big clients, such as Lidl, ITA Airways, and Paramount+.
Was there a class or professor at JCU that inspired you or gave you the necessary tools to pursue your career?
Definitely. I usually divide my work into two parts – the creative side and the technical side. For the creative side, I specifically chose JCU because it offered more interdisciplinary classes. I took classes in sustainability, gender, and sociology, even though they weren’t directly related to my major and minor. That’s where I developed my creativity – by questioning things around me and worrying about sustainability, gender relations, sexuality, etc. This is a big part of my job because we develop creative ideas rooted in these social aspects. Professors Antonio Lopez and Kwame Phillips’ classes were particularly inspiring in this regard.
The technical part I learned in Professors Brian Thompson and Chloé Barreau’s classes. That’s where I learned how to use Adobe After Effects, which I ended up using every day for my job. Professor Barreau’s class was especially helpful in the creative part since she taught me how to make and edit promotional videos, like movie trailers. I also developed my editing skills during internships at JCU’s Web Communications Office and So Fare Films.
What advice do you have for students who want to pursue a career like yours?
Take all the editing and video classes you can, even if your university path ends up being longer than expected. All the classes I took at JCU were extremely important for what I’m doing today – all the technical and creative classes, even the writing classes. If you want to follow the path of art direction, my advice is: be good at more than one thing at once. At the beginning, I was more focused on video making, but for art direction, I also needed to know a little bit about photography, editing, color grading, graphic design, illustration, and motion design.
Start from the beginning and develop multiple skills. In creative work, versatility is one of your greatest strengths.
