 We’ve worked, solely, in creative services, for decades. We’ve won lots of competitions—and judged others—for creative output. In our role as Creative Director, we’ve been responsible for such disciplines as graphic design, copywriting, directing, video editing, layouts, logos, jingles... you name it. Some of it may be artistic, but is it—is any of it--art?
That’s the topic of this article. What’s the difference, say, between an Art Director and an Artist? The DNA dilemma More often than not, creative professionals are artistic people. That’s not always the case: some people move laterally from management positions, or get the assignment thrown at them. That’s less than ideal, for reasons that will soon become apparent (if they aren’t already). But that’s more of an outlier scenario; here, we’ll stick with what’s common. To repeat: Creative professionals are artistic people. Which begs the question: What is an artist? You can find lots of definitions online and in various dictionaries, but here’s ours: An artist is someone who is compelled to create. And that’s it. That’s our entire definition. We’ve found it to be quite useful, and accurate, over the years. This definition is noteworthy for what it doesn’t contain. It never mentions “drawing.” Or “taste.” Outrageously, it never even mentions “talent”! “Good” and “bad” art are subjective, anyway. That’s not what makes an artist, an artist. What makes an artist an artist is the fact that they just do it, with no one telling them to. Isn’t that great? No. It’s not. It’s a curse. The artist’s trap If you’re an artist, you’ll know it. You’re drawing things. You’re writing things. You’re sculpting things. Composing tunes. Making things. You’re not thinking about doing them. You’re too busy doing them. You can’t stop. It’s like you’re possessed, by a force greater than yourself—because you are. If you’re not an artist, the above description should scare you. How would you like to be beholden to some innate-yet-alien force that compels you to create stuff, very often when you should be doing other things, such as earning a living? It can be brutal. There’s a reason that “starving artist” is a trope. Who on earth would pay for your suffering, up in your garret, while you compose poetry? The crazy thing is, the business world needs artistic (“creative”) things accomplished. There are billboards to be designed. Taglines to be written. Jingles (although not enough of them these days; see our well-articulated rant) to be composed. And non-creative people can’t do them. Hard as they may try. So the non-creative people need the creative people. It’s not altruism, like a dog needing a family and vice versa. It’s business. At its coldest level, it’s greed. Channeling the energy A businessperson is the antithesis of the artist. This is someone with outstanding self-discipline. Someone who can lead a team, or be a member thereof, with easy agility. This is someone who does what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. Someone who makes deadlines, not excuses. Pardon our French, but holy crap. How on earth could you ever find a “creative professional”? The answer: It’s hard. It really is. There are businesspeople who long to be creative, and there are artists who long to be successful businesspeople (or at least, pay the bills), but the twain rarely meet. You want a perfect blend of creative-yet-buttoned-down. Too often, that “creative professional” will be off-balance. Their creative won’t be creative enough, or their business demeanor won’t be businesslike enough. Nothing beats experience We were fortunate (? debatable) to have some innate creative chops, which we worked to hone over the years. You’re not born an old master; even Mozart had to learn to read music. So you can sharpen your skills. You can become a better writer, a more accurate painter. But that hardly prepares you for the world of business. As we mentioned at the outset, we’ve been at this for decades. What we didn’t mention, but should now be obvious, is that we’ve made our share of professional mistakes. And all of the biggest ones were at the beginning. We either didn’t understand the rules and nuances of the business world, or we were unable to divorce ourselves, emotionally, from our work in order to accept business-driven criticism which would (and here’s the important part) satisfy the client and impact the bottom line. Today, we’ve been at this so long, it’s relatively easy for us to switch hats: To eliminate distractions and get into the zone for pure creative ideation (read our great article on “Self-Hypnosis And Finding The Voice”), or to jump onto a conference call and lead a marketing strategy discussion among business executives. And the instant we lift a pencil, or hit “Save,” we’re able to separate ourselves from the work and look at it dispassionately, as a client would, without taking any suggestions other than professionally. This all leads up to two takeaways for you, whether you’re looking to improve your skill-set as a creative professional, or seeking to engage one who will meet your needs. One: An experienced creative pro will always be better at straddling the artistic and business realms, due to all of the previous skinned knees, now long healed. And two: If you’re younger or earlier in your career, look to the older folks. Don’t just ask how they handle things. Watch. See how they actually switch hats and shift gears. Infer what prior experience informed their current behavior. Then take a good look at yourself, and see where you can profit, quickly, from what took them years to learn. Need creative services, delivered with impeccable professionalism? Call us. We’d be delighted to discuss your needs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |