Creative direction is when I stop thinking of ideas, stop drafting headlines and scribbling pictures and start inspiring others to
simply ‘let go and think’. It’s when I spend as much time with the account teams as I do with my own teams. It’s where I keep the concepts
on track, as far as the marketing objectives are concerned, and on time and budget for the agency.
Creative direction is where I nudge
and steer, focus and hone the work of others. It’s not a role for everyone but for a person like me, who loves to train and inspire
others; it’s the most frustratingly brilliant part of my job.
I've talked through brand defining concepts and complex integrated campaigns, all across Europe. It’s a part of the job I love and I never forget that the most important presentation of any idea is the first one. The one that inspires and enthuses the rest of the team to get behind the thinking and share it with the clients.
So I embraced strategy and planning. I learned how to understand product and audience dynamics and how they worked together. I studied
the ‘who, what, where and when’ of marketing and most of all sweated until I could turn a client’s marketing brief into a workable
creative brief. That’s how I still work. Why?
Because it gives me the space to be really creative with the challenge, and then the space
to challenge that creativity until it’s a lovely big idea. The kind that not only wins awards, but most importantly wins customers.
Because as I learned years ago, ‘ready, aim, fire’ really does work best.
In that time I've studied html and CSS, moved into Java and XML, and finally, Dart and Flutter. I'm also conversant with Firebase as a
backend solution and am currently studying Swift, MondoDB and SQLLite. Why? Well, because I have a passion for App development and I
insist those apps are platform agnostic, backed up with scalable data solutions and come with a "best in class" user security integration.
What does that mean for you? It means that when I'm working on a digital project with my ‘creative hat’ on, I know how to make sure that
what's offered works. And if I'm working on a project with my ‘digital hat’ on, I know how to make it beautiful to look at as well
as to use.
Over the years, I've been privileged to work with some true heavyweights; both brands and individuals - in some amazing agencies. I've managed to pick up some skills, some awards and some lasting friendships. If you're interested to see where I've worked and what clients I've worked with, just hit the button below.
SITE DESIGN AND BUILD BY MEL COLTON
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