Creative Licence

Written By: Ferg on July 27, 2009 Comments

creative

As a young designer, I sometimes stubbornly tried to force my creativity into projects where it was neither asked for nor wanted, even to the point of occasionally arguing with the client. I cringe when I think back, but this is common behaviour for a young ‘creative’ entering the market, and for some, the commercial constraints are too much to bear altogether.

Sometimes, a young & ardent designer, is given a creative brief which fills them with hope and inspiration. however, often the brief is then systematically de-humanised to the point where it becomes as dull as the marketing manager who administered it (it still amazes me that someone can be totally blind to any form of creativity, yet still manage to locate and eradicate any trace of it by pure destructive instinct). This is presumably down to the erroneous belief of some, that creativity is a form of rebellion against anything corporate. While it is true that the two are often incompatible, many clever marketeers understand the value of raw talent and the gift set that generally accompanies it. Understanding how to harness creativity in the right way for marketing is more often than not found at the high end of advertisng, where the arts and media are given collaborative freedom, and the due respect. However, further down the food chain, power struggles and politics can control creative input, as people with no natural creative talent wrestle to justify their creative titles and positions.

One instance of this dynamic that comes to mind, is of the the time when I was just starting out as a designer. I was approached to create a logo for a manufacturing firm whose current logo was no more than a font in a box, and they wanted something modern and eye catching to replace it. The idea of getting a new logo had gone through several committee meetings, and finally the decision had been made to take the plunge, so my services were employed for the task. The brief was full of hope. Countless ideas for the logo were put forward from the committee members, each suggestion braver than the last, and at the height of brainstorming, unicorns were making their way into the brief alongside lightening bolts and giants with fireworks for beards (I think those were my ideas). I worked a few concepts, and was inspired by the more artistically minded of the members, though I did restrain their creative zeal (and my own) for the sake of the brand and the future of the company.

However, contigious with this group of livelies, was another element from within the committee ranks; that of the traditionalists. Exasperated by the creativity of it’s members, this senior deputation seized control of the project, shut down all further committe input & inspiration, and nominated one man to supervise the project. It was a great relief to me, as I no longer had to endure this wild pack of fertile minds fighting one-another and trampling on any firm direction that dared to rear its feeble head (I’ve long since learned that a designer can only serve one master at a time).

My relief was short-lived. The deputised spokesperson for the committee was given full powers of decision, and as he brought his dogma down to bear, all semblance of hope for the project was lost. Determined to demonstrate corporate dominion over creativity at all costs, this fellow proceeded to counter all good advice, and override all professional opinion to the utter detrement of the logo. I started to miss my pack of fertile minds, and remembered the maxim that ‘a whole herd of exuberant children is actually easier to bear than one dullard’ (a maxim I had invented for the purpose).

The endl result? Well, over the course of time, this senior executive managed to manipulate each element of the final concept; methodically eradicating all signs of creativity, and finally the new company logo was born. The lengthy (and costly) process had finally come to an end, and the only difference to the original logo, was the colour and shape of the box. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have made the changes in a couple of minutes for free, but that’s because I was young & stupid then…