Madame Kreativ Direktor?

One of the greatest joys in working in the creative industry, for me anyway, is getting to creative direct a project. I have the distinct impression that it isn't a skill you can properly be said to "learn." You can go to art school to learn graphic design (though I've seen enough atrocious design over the years to be able to say with confidence that an art school degree does not an artist make). You can study English, advertising, or communications and call yourself a writer (though again .... technical skills don't translate into Miltonic dexterity with language, and I will die convinced that true writers are born, not made, and no amount of training can make uninspired language sing). But there's something even broader, even more visionary (and thus fulfilling) about developing a cohesive creative approach for a project.

I think it comes back to something we discuss often at C/S: the nexus of writing and design, style and substance, form and function. It's hard enough to pull off brilliant copywriting, or inspired graphic design, or wicked cool interactive. But the challenge is even greater in identifying — and then articulating, and directing to fruition — an entire concept, something that encompasses the entire suite of creative capabilities needed in a project of scope and complexity (precisely the sort of projects we like to do!).

Both Erin and I have had the opportunity to work with, and observe in action, a variety of creative directors over the course of our careers, and in the best ones we were able to witness a certain nuance and artistic sensibility that translated into visionary work. Likewise, we've seen how uninformed creative direction — without strategic understanding of a project, its audiences, or its purposes — can lead to results that are less than impressive. Now that we're in the driver's seat, it's great to apply these observations to projects of our own.

But I think both Erin and I agree that there's a certain intuition in artistic direction that extends beyond best practices or lessons learned. We so appreciate having the sort of amazing clients that let us exercise our creative discretion and direction (are they really so different, after all?) and bring in talented professionals who can transform concept into tangible results. Because beyond the patina of cynical detachment that often seems to accompany the Don Drapers of this world, there is something incredibly satisfying (dare I say beautiful?) about shepherding an idea of your own invention into reality.