Shaping creativity: the role of Creative Directors

They asked our own Creative Director, Maikel Botterman, what creativity means to him, how we build a culture of innovation at ODB, how we deal with rejected ideas and concepts and more. So Maikel, the stage is yours!

1. How do you foster a culture of innovation and creativity within your team?

‍An important question we ask ourselves at ON A DAILY BASIS is: "are we still having fun?". The aspect of playing, being silly, creating nonsense helps stimulate our creativity. I believe in a balance of taking yourself and your work very seriously, but at the same time not taking it too seriously.

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2. How do you handle a creative proposal/idea that you truly believe is great, but gets rejected by a client? How do you pivot to address the client's concerns while staying true to your vision?

‍We always try to work with clients from a perspective of collaboration, bouncing ideas back and forth until we arrive at a concept we want to develop. In this process you can get a good feeling for the boundaries of how far you can push your creativity. Of course there are moments when you throw all caution overboard and try something completely unexpected. This can either hit the jackpot and the client loves it, or they like it but find it too risky. In that case you end up in a kind of tightrope walk, where you try to find the balance of not watering down the concept too much so it doesn't lose its soul, while still addressing the client's concerns. In this process we usually come together with the client, talk about what their concerns are and how we can address them through small design adjustments. In the worst case that we can't figure it out and the tightrope walk fails, we always still have our "Golden Trash Can"; a great collection of ideas, concepts or designs that sadly will never see the light of day, but continue to inspire us for future projects.

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3. How do you create a cohesive vision for a multi-platform campaign that spans different channels, like all the different social media platforms, print and experiential activations?

‍All the work we make is based on a strategic foundation, which translates into the core essence of a story you're trying to tell. Once you have that story, it's all about looking at which audience you're trying to tell it to, where you can find them, and what the best way is to tell the story for those specific channels. From one social media platform to another, TV or out of home, the way to convey a story is often completely different. What's important is that you change the way you tell the story, only the format, not the story itself.

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4. How do you balance creativity and practical feasibility in a project? For example budget constraints, technical constraints, etc.‍

Anyone can come up with the most extravagant ideas and visions for a project, but finding practical solutions to bring those ideas to life is what creativity is really about. Personally, I always enjoy this challenge, but the constraint I struggle with most is time. We've all had the experience of a client wanting you to come up with something new, but it should have been done yesterday. The challenge can be fun, but I always find that when you have the time to work in separate sprints, so the work can rest and settle, better ideas bubble up from your subconscious. So I always try to find the space to let that process of settling happen for me and my team.

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5. It seems like the term "Creative Director" has become a bit of a buzzword lately. Everyone is a Creative Director these days. But what sets a real Creative Director apart?

‍I don't think there's anything wrong with lots of people being a Creative Director, it just means there are lots of people bringing their ideas to life. Whether you work alone or in a big company, everyone can have their own definition of what being a Creative Director means to them. For me personally, it means leading my team in an open and equal environment, but being central to protecting the vision and steering our creativity in the right direction. I'm really a people person, so for me being a Creative Director is about collaborating with talented people, making sure they feel free to create and innovate, and working together towards the goals we've set for our work.

Read the full article here.

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