My creative process explained

Yes, there have been countless articles articulating the creative process, and they’re all absolutely valid. But I wanted to explain my process in my own words, because I believe every creative approaches a project a little bit differently.

1. Never lose sight of the creative brief

The most basic step, but also the most important. So it bears repeating. Over and over and over again. I must understand the task (not just pretend to understand it). If I don’t understand, I’m not afraid to ask questions. Chances are, other people are wondering the same exact thing but they don’t want to sound dumb by asking.

Once I understand the brief, I will still keep referring to it to make sure I address the issue. It’s surprisingly easy get distracted by shiny things that might look cool but ultimately won’t solve the problem.

2. Know the client (and decision-makers)

Selling 101: Different people care about different things. Bob might care about brand consistency and business impact, while Jane may respond to emotional storytelling and vision. When I know what makes people tick, I can frame my ideas accordingly. I can anticipate questions and objections, allowing me to preempt concerns (“Does this align with our brand standards?”). Remember, these people all have important problems they’re trying to solve. Some of these problems might be keeping them up at night. Hopefully, our ideas can be of service.

The more I know about the decision-makers, the better. Of course, nothing guarantees success, but it’s better than going in blind.

3. The world is full of amazing things. Research it!

People have been doing amazing work for a long time. Some of it came out 2 years ago, some of it 2,000 years ago. Inspiration can come from anywhere! This is the time to whip out my favorite depositories of great curated work. Grab a net and let’s go hunting for things (anything!) that might be relevant to the project.

Go through all the techniques and thought exercises. Review all the brand archetypes. This is the time to dig for buried treasure. Treasure that we can remix and play with. Leave no stone unturned!

4. Come up with ideas, ideas and more ideas

Brainstorm and write down all the ideas. Write them ALL down. Then it’s time to play my favorite game: Keep and Kill. What ideas will live and what ideas will die? It’s best to do this with a trusted partner, but I can also do it by myself. After brainstorm mode, I will go into rest mode (sleep). When I wake up, I take note of what I remember and what I forget. Then simply decide what ideas live and die.

Don’t worry, dead ideas never really die. They just go into cold storage in the back of my mind. Maybe one day they will rise again.

5. Get internal approval

Check in with the team and my Creative Director. Get feedback. Refine. Then hopefully bake out a solid direction and put it in the pitch deck. Make sure the deck leads the client along to our way of thinking. The goal is to get them nodding and excited for our ideas.

6. Sell it (hopefully)

I try to keep in mind that I am simply trying to be of service to the client. I genuinely want to help them, and I believe our ideas can do that. If we can solve their problems, why wouldn’t they approve the idea? Of course, things are not always that simple. There are many stakeholders with different POVs and concerns.

This is also the time to gather feedback, decode it, (genuinely) understand it, and refine.

7. Green light? Go.

Now it’s time to actually make the dang thing. Collaborate with the team to get the logistics down.

Who are we working with? What’s the timeline?

Work backwards from when it needs to be delivered. Schedules aren’t always ideal and are often subject to (spontaneously) change, so I have to make sure to speak up if more help is needed. Gather the troops and make sure everything is getting done right. Stay true to the vision. Every step along the way, there’s a chance the vision can corrode. (Sadly, I think we’ve all been through this death by 1,000 cuts.)

Be proactive and raise a flag if things are not going the way they should. Hopefully, we can all make it to the finish line with the vision intact.

Godspeed 🫡