The concept of the creative process is a pretty cloudy one. Shops guard their “process” carefully, larger shops acting aloof and technical, and the smaller shops tend to try and look bouncy and approachable to counteract the larger shops. The client is either being force fed or trapped in endless game of ping-pong. I’m not saying that either approach doesn’t work, on the contrary, both do work.
The creative process is not engineering. Engineers tell you exact methods to achieve a certain goal. The creative process is more like hunting than engineering. The solution needs to be enticed, and drawn out. Now that must instill confidence – making the whole deal sound like a fluke. But a good engineer is a good engineer and a good hunter is a good hunter.
I bring all this up because we were designing a brochure concept for a client and came up with some good ideas. Mediocre really, if I’m honest.
Then, in meeting the client, we worked though the mediocrity, and found the route tot eh real solution. We still did have to take it back and do the creative, but I believe that the client was the catalyst to finding the answer.
So if you are a creative, think of your client and all they know about their projects. If you are a client, think about all you know about your projects. We need it.