Working in the creative industry means that we’re lucky enough to do what we love every day and call it a career. Almost all of the time, it’s the best thing ever. However, there are those days when your creative process is laboured by a deadline and you feel as though you’ve exhausted every viable creative avenue. We’ve noticed that these days are worsened by the lack of brainstorming sessions, workshops and opportunities to collaborate while we all work from home.
So, we’ve curated the Creative Crossroad series, which acts as a toolkit for our creative team to stimulate our creative discourse from afar. From design to content, whenever we reach a crossroad in our workflow, we try to consider:
Are you overthinking the idea? Does it need those bells and whistles to be effective? Probably not.
How can you tell this story without saying the words? If there’s a message to be conveyed (and there always should be), how can you create an image of that message within your reader or viewer’s mind?
How can you convey the absolute crux of your message, in the most direct and digestible way? Does this mean looking into exactly who you’re speaking to and understanding their language, or whittling your message down to its most pointed element? Don’t waste your mental airtime on unimportant information.
Turn your idea on its head and see what comes out. Maybe the best way of building an understanding of what something is, is by exploring what it isn’t. what’s the inverse of your current thought process – what would it look like if you reversed it?
Sometimes a reaction is a reaction, good or bad. You know that thought you have that you know is genius but you don’t run with it because you think there might be an element of backlash/it’s too ballsy/you don’t want to cause a stir? RUN. WITH. IT.
Look to the moment you’re in for inspiration. Consider the conversation surrounding your target audience – what are they talking about, what do they care about, and how can you be part of that conversation? What does this exact moment in time mean for your brand? This is the perfect time for something. What is it?
Sometimes it’s tempting to talk too much. Especially if you really, really love words. The truth is, though, that people don’t always want to know everything there is to know about your brand, just by looking at the creative outcomes. Don’t leave your refining process until the end, because this can be where your best ideas come from. Instead, take time to reflect on your ideas throughout the process, so your final outcome is the best it can be.
Find a detail to exploit. Don’t just read the brief – gather as much information as you possibly can about the project, its background, the brand story and discover that gem of insight that nobody else knew. This is where your best ideas reside.
Amy is Marketing Insight Manager at One Agency. She has 2 years experience as a Content Executive, working on content & PR campaigns for a vast pool of clients across many industries.
