Michael Salu

Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist

Level: Senior
Location: Berlin, Germany
Availability: Locked Pro Plan feature
Professions: -

350 Connections

Projects

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Create new list with The Swarm: Language as a Fiction
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The Swarm: Language as a FictionAn creative and critical essay using natures swarming species as an entry point to discussing both the refractions of lnaguage...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Create new list with Digital Strategy for Granta Magazine
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Digital Strategy for Granta MagazineWe have launched a refreshed digital content strategy, with new website and app for Granta Magazine to reinvigorate the leading...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Create new list with One from the archives: The Sex Issue
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One from the archives: The Sex IssueA classic from the archives. D&AD and Coverjunkie award winner.
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Create new list with One from the archive: Superimposition
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One from the archive: SuperimpositionAn image created for a literary editorial commission a few years ago. Now available (to order) as a limited edition print from...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Spirits stay rising: Art as identityNew artwork inspired The eternal spirit of Shona and enduring strength of the black woman. The Indigo Press. Created for the l...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Create new list with One from the archive: Garden and Spring, mixed physical and digital interactive exhibition for Art Dubai
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One from the archive: Garden and Spring, mixed physical and d...Garden and Spring was a visual identity, exhibition design and interactive webapp created in collaboration with Theo Tillberg f...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
Join our Pro Plan to create your first list
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Create new list with Rebranding literature for digital
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Rebranding literature for digitalAn ongoing digital/physical strategy project for Soft Skull Press (NYC). More to follow...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Create new list with Nocturnes: A Special commission for Piano Day 2016
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Nocturnes: A Special commission for Piano Day 2016Commissioned specially for Piano Day 2016, Nocturnes is a film exploring intimacy and the procreative power of insomnia. Piano...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist
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Create new list with Nils Frahm x Michael Salu
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Nils Frahm x Michael SaluA special commission for Vinyl Me Please “The best damn record club out there” and Nils Frahm for a special limited edition ser...
Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist

Projects credited in

About me

I am an award-winning creative director, writer, art editor/critic and artist. As a creative writer/thinker, as well as experienced, designer, creative director and visual artist, I now combine these skills to produce concepts and thinking spaces for brands really intent on exploring their relationship with their audience on a deeper sociological as well as economical level. My creative studio [SALU.io] produces narrative driven creative work across disciplines. My fiction, non-fiction and art have appeared in a range of publications including Granta.com, Grey Magazine, and the anthology Tales of Two Cities (Penguin Random House). My most recent stories appear in the inaugural edition of Freeman’s, a new literary journal which also features writing from a number of top writers including Haruki Murakami, Dave Eggers and Helen Simpson and online literary journal Catapult.co. Formerly I was the creative director and art editor of Granta Publications during which time I created original features with art and photography, publishing and creating work with of a host of established and new artists including Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin. I created a distinct aesthetic for the publishing house across its magazine and book activities, collecting a number of awards including D&AD and Communication Arts along the way. Previously I art directed and designed a range of titles for the literary division of the Random House Group. Projects outside publishing included creating a brand strategy for Curzon Cinemas and work with artists such as Tricky. I often speak about art, visual culture and literature at many cultural institutions and educational establishments, such as a recent TEDx event (my talk focused on the economy of deception within images), Unseen Photo Fair, The London Literature Festival and The Photographer’s Gallery. Currently I've just finished first full novel & I am writing to films, one of which i'm directing also. I mostly split my time between Berlin & London. https://twitter.com/MichelSALU

Locked Pro Plan feature

Skills

Concepts
Ability to Adapt any Creative Project and Branding Solution
5+ Years art Directing
Creative Writing
5+ Years Project Management
Typography
Filmmaking
Narratives
Brand Storytelling
Creative Storytelling

People I’ve worked with

View all

Amelia Abraham
- Journalist
Imani Robinson
- Writer, Researcher, Curator
Cecilie Harris
- Editor and Content Manager
- Boys by Girls Magazine, Cisco Systems, Self-employed
Kai Isaiah Jamal
- Writer & Spoken Word Poet

Companies I’ve worked with

View all

Innocent
- Retail
SALU
- Design
Penguin Random House UK
- Publishing
ODD
- Marketing & PR

Work history

Currently

Creative Art Director

Freemans Journal

Jan 2015

New York, United States
Freelance
Ongoing art direction for the new literary biannual 'Freemans'.

Currently

Director

SALU

Jul 2013

Berlin, Germany
Freelance
My multi-disciplinary studio. I work with a broader network of top talent to produce a variety of different creative work for creative clients.

2015

Director

ASX

Jan 2015 - Nov 2015

London, United Kingdom
Freelance
Director and contributing editor and writer for the photography magazine American Suburb X.

2013

Creative Director

Granta Publications

Jan 2010 - Jul 2013

London, United Kingdom
Full Time
Creative director and art editor for all the activities of Granta Publications including two book publishing imprints and Granta Magazine. Responsible for developing the brand of Granta both on and offline. Picked up numerous awards and brought in countless artists and designers for collaborations including the likes of The Chapman Brothers and Sir Paul Smith. Creative Direction Commissioning Editor for print & online (art and photography) Creative brand and digital strategy Contributing writer Designer Illustrator Granta Magazine - Artistic Direction http://www.granta.com/Online-Only/The-Art-of-Horror - Commissioning Editor of art and photography http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/september/granta-112-pakistan - Writer http://www.granta.com/Contributors/Michael-Salu http://blog.eyemagazine.com/?p=579 http://www.granta.com/Online-Only/Remembering-Tim-Hetherington Essay for issue 11 of Under the Influence magazine. Article on 'Taste' for issue 19 of Varoom Magazine - Digital and creative strategy - Viral and promotional solutions www.nothingbutamovie.com http://www.thisisnotapurse.com http://www.granta.com/Online-Only/Aftermath Granta & Portobello Books - Creative direction of all titles and digital marketing. Granta Publications - Brand development and implementation Creative collaborators and published artists include: Sir Paul Smith The Chapman Brothers Yinka Shonibare Nadav Kander The Royal College of Art Central St Martins The Photographer's Gallery Adam Broomberg Mishka Henner Ghariokwu Lemi Ian Teh The Archive of Modern Conflict A.L. Kennedy John Burnside James Jean Paradise Row The Zabludowicz Collection Magnum Photos Panos Pictures Brad Feuerhelm Kris Hofmann Catherine Anyango FUEL Publishing Pocko Big Active YCN The British Council Crane TV Owen Freeman Institute for Eyes Theo Tillberg Jocabola Monocle Melvin Galapon Meri Media La Boca Tom Darracott

2010

Senior Designer

Penguin Random House UK

Jul 2005 - Jan 2010

London, United Kingdom
Full Time
Design and art direction for the literary division of Random House publishing group. http://causticcovercritic.blogspot.com/2010/02/to-convey-idea-concisely-with-as-little.html Imprints: Vintage Classics Vintage books Jonathan Cape Chatto & Windus Harvill Secker Pimlico Bodley Head Square Peg Authors include: Kurt Vonnegut Margaret Atwood Christopher Isherwood Italo Calvino Fyodor Dostoevsky Sigmund Freud Marcel Proust Bruce Chatwin Patricia Highsmith Xiaolu Guo Arthur Conan Doyle Chuck Palahniuk Ian Mckewan Raymond Carver

Awards

2012

Book design

D&AD

Art direction award for Londoners, by Craig Taylor.

2011

Newspaper & Magazine Design

D&AD

D&AD 'in book' award for the Granta 'Sex' issue.

2011

Best cover of the Year

British Book Design & Production Awards

Winner of the Best Cover of the Year at The British Book Design awards 2011 for Art direction. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shtenygart (UK Edition). Design by La Boco

2011

Award of Excellence

School of Communication Arts

Communication Arts Award of Excellence. Art Direction for the Vintage Classics edition of Paddy Clarke Ha ha ha. Illustration by Rod Hunt.

2011

Site of the Day

FWA

Site of the Day accolade for the online graphic novel 'Nothing but a Movie' http://www.salu.io/work-1#/bolano/

Michael Salu

Creative director, creative consultant, writer and artist

About me

Skills

Innocent

SALU

Penguin Random House UK

ODD

Work history

Currently

Creative Art Director

Currently

Director

2015

Director

2013

Creative Director

2010

Senior Designer

Awards

2012

Book design

2011

Newspaper & Magazine Design

2011

Best cover of the Year

2011

Award of Excellence

2011

Site of the Day