Karl Fountaine

Ad campaigns, rebrands, and website designs are complex beasts, requiring strategy and intense collaboration. Where the creative director typically thinks through the early phase of a project and develops the concept, an art director executes that strategy, concept or idea.

My background is design and illustration. I used to work as an illustrator for Walt Disney and then I worked for agencies. I spent 16 years running my own design business, during which time I got to create work for some very clever entrepreneurs and marketing professionals. It also gave me a deep understanding of the challenges that small business owners face. I found it very rewarding to help those businesses build their brands, and get their customers talking through a well-crafted advertising campaign, some beautifully designed point of sale and print, or high impact trade booths.

The sheer variety in my role is what gets me up in the morning. Whilst tourism marketing has been my core focus over the previous 20+ years, I love the fact that on any given day I could be working on something like an FMCG site in the morning, and a Holiday Park ad campaign in the afternoon, usually with a number of unforeseen curly bits thrown in the middle. A sense of humour helps, no two days are the same, and I’m always learning - that’s the thrill of it!

I’m proud of the wealth of work I’ve created. I still love the tactile satisfaction of a printed piece, and I’ve likely crafted more print campaigns and brochures than you’ve had hot pies. Christchurch Airport, Kiwicare, The Hermitage at Aoraki Mount Cook, and TOP 10 Holiday Parks are all brands I’ve immensely enjoyed working with, not to mention the creation of countless RTO campaigns, logos, and digital work. The thrill of working at TimeZoneOne is we get to apply our experience to some fantastic global brands.

I hold dear to the quote “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page”, and as a result I’ve made a point of travelling with my family to as many countries as I could afford. And it’s great seeing how other countries market tourism. My favourite has to be Sri Lanka, simply due to the diversity of wildlife on offer combined with the beautiful locals we met. I’ve also been fortunate enough to spend time in Dubai, Thailand, USA, The Caribbean, Europe, and of course a great many locations closer to home in Australia.

Generally, my spare time in New Zealand involves having a fishing rod in my hand. For almost my entire life I have been fly fishing the South Island, it’s been a real excuse to get myself into some absolutely incredible, jaw dropping scenic locations. I call fly fishing an art form, from the creation of my own flies, to the visual poetry of a perfectly executed cast, to the release of these beautiful creatures back into the wild waters they’ve come from. If you’re wanting to chat about your business over a day fly-fishing, I’ll happily entertain you!