Creating something is hard work, but, directing what someone else creates is much harder. Below are some tips to help creative directors be more effective at their job.
It doesn’t matter how much the industry changes; if you want to be a successful creative director, there are a few basic habits that you need to inculcate.
So, if you’re someone who is just transitioning into this role, here are a few things that you can learn from those who have come and gone before you.
Set standards
Effective creative directors set the standards for others to follow. They are clear about what they want and what they expect from those working with and for them. This is especially applicable to scenarios where change and improvement may be required.
Be approachable
Effective creative directors are ones that can be approached. They are accessible to the people under them. As a creative director, you will have several professionals working under you and they need to know how your presence impacts them.
So, don’t keep them waiting.
Learn
Effective creative directors put in the effort to learn about the various mediums that they are working with. They need to know about what goes on in the production process. Though you may not be required to acquire detailed knowledge, you are expected to know enough.
Also, knowing about the production process can also help you identify and eliminate issues that are slowing down work.
The best managers aren’t always experts in their field. However, they are people who can leverage what they know towards achieving the primary objective.
Don’t be a control freak
Effective creative directors know when to leave the work to the experts. They understand that their role is only to direct; not micro-manage or interfere with existing methods. This is even truer for the digital age. Thanks to the proliferation of technology, we rely on several tools to produce campaigns.
So, it’s impossible for a creative director to have a know-how of everything. However, what you can depend on is people. Not only do you need to listen to them, you also need them to be committed to what they do and the best way to ensure that is by giving them wiggle room.
Coercion and creativity do not go hand in hand. That might work in a different line of work, but, creativity cannot be coerced.
You need to create room for discussions in order for the creative ideas to come out.
ABOUT ROBERTA –
Roberta is a Professional AND award Winning International Voiceover Actor, as well as an accomplished on-camera actress and spokesperson. She lives in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and is the owner of Roberta Kennedy Voice Talent and RK Productions, Inc.
She voices for companies around the world using her state of the art, broadcast quality studio. She’s hired for commercials, web demos and explainer videos, product infomercials, documentaries, promo/imaging, political ads, e-learning videos, podcasts, guided real estate tours, telephony/IVR projects, high profile corporate presentations, video games and character animation.
Her voice is described as: playful, contemporary, compelling, commanding, inviting, sultry and smooth. A hip edge with sophistication, bold, warm, interesting and engaging are also commonly used adjectives to describe her voice.
Her home studio is equipped with ipDTL, ISDN and phone patch capability with lightning fast turnaround times! A voiceover talent with over 20 years of voiceover acting experience, she offers a full range of voiceover services at highly competitive rates & will work with your budget to help you promote your business to new levels of excellence!
To request a personal quote or audition and/or to review more of her credits & demos, feel free to visit her website: www.robertakennedy.com– or mail her at roberta@robertakennedy.com. You can even give her a call on (408) 313-7202.