Art Sims

Creative Director

Los Angeles, California, United StatesExecutive25+ years

Open to New Opportunities

About

Sims got to work quickly. He pursued African-American luminaries in the film and music industries and started work as an art director at EMI, where he stayed for four years, until he was let go. “I had started doing some freelance work,” Sims explains, “and the company didn't like that. I had crossed a line, so they fired me.” Sims says he was very upset, but moved quickly into a job at CBS Television. “I told them upfront that I was starting my own company, and would be doing my own work.” CBS countered by trying to keep Sims so busy he wouldn't have time to do anything else. “I just starting saving all my money and setting up my own office space,” he says. “Finally, it came to an ultimatum with CBS. When I left, my office was already set up. So 11:24 Design Advertising came out of that effort.” “11:24” refers to a particular chapter in the New Testament, Mark chapter 11, verse 24. “When I got to LA, I had strong Christian ethics, and I was searching for something spiritual, a purpose,” explains Sims. “I was intrigued by the spirituality of Earth, Wind and Fire, and I wanted a name that would bring all of this together. I knew there were other ad agencies, but I was trying to be more a creative, more artistic; I was trying to make images people hadn't seen before. I needed a name that would capture all that.” Now that he had his own company, Sims was ready to go. He saw Spike Lee's film She's Gotta Have It and decided he needed to work with Lee. A contact in Lee's office connected Sims at the same time to Steven Spielberg's project The Color Purple. On the influence of race on his work: I love doing work for and about African Americans. I feel I am reshaping history to show our beauty. “When opportunity shows up, either you're ready or you're not. I was ready,” says Sims, who had not done a movie poster before. “I rose to the occasion. I put my most creative thoughts in my mind and came up with the most beautiful images I could come up with. I wasn't taking any prisoners with this one. I was out to show how good I was.”

Brands

Warner Bros.

Hyundai

Lionsgate

Netflix, Inc.

Universal Pictures

Marvel Entertainment