Is there an eternal struggle between marketing and creative for control of the known universe? What are the issues that cause friction and does “team vision” leave creatives out of the “team” when “design-by-committee” comes into play?

The power struggle isn’t a struggle when one part of the team willingly gives up their power. There are ways of retaining control without being branded as “difficult” or “inflexible.” The process of crossing department lines is a major stumbling block in modern business and it at least doubles workforce efforts at a time when streamlined initiatives need definite and swift action for positive ROI.

This article explores situations and responses to address those comments that neuter creatives at every turn and restore balance to the workflow and innovation to the end product.

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I have extreme branding. As with much of my design and conceptualization work, I created a brand that was a character and has a universe around it. My sick little world took off so fast I couldn’t make up the story line quickly enough and it started to read like the last two seasons of LOST.

Sitting one night and Googling myself…online…using the keyboard. It just won’t sound right no matter what. I was dismayed to see I was on the 27th page behind more accomplished actors, doctors, war heroes and other n’er-do-wells pushing my graphic design career to the sub-basement. People use Google to see a bit more about you and I was showing them I didn’t exist.

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I’m often asked, “how do you come up with creative ideas?”. I usually answer, “It’s a process”. It’s true, understanding how ideas are cultivated and developed into great creative executions is why I also say, ”Creativity isn’t a talent, it’s an obligation”.

It’s this obligation that most people never learn to respect and incorporate into their creative personal and professional lives. Every great artist, designer or director of creativity uses some sort of process, bringing successful appreciation or effective results to what they create. But how much time did they spend getting there? Or, did they use the same methods every time to achieve their goals?

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A recent New York Times article explores how scientists are trying to track creativity in the human brain. In the article, Rex Jung says “Creativity is kind of like pornography — you know it when you see it,” I liked that statement but wonder if it really is that simple in the real world. I believe the definition of what constitutes creativity, like pornography, is determined by the individual exposed to it. It seems as graphic designers, the way we promote and define creativity to our clients has changed.

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Your logo is not something you change over night. If it does change, there needs to be some pretty strong rationale behind it — like the organization is repositioning itself in the marketplace and is launching new innovations to back up the change. So, my point is, a logo is something that should be well thought through and reflective of your organization’s brand essence.

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I needed my appendix removed so while being wheeled into surgery, I told the doctor I only budgeted $200 for the operation but if I liked his work, I had other organs he could remove down the line at a higher fee. I asked if he wouldn’t mind if I had a few people look over his work and make some suggestions on how he performed the operation. One of them was my 10 year-old son because he was a whiz at the game “Operation.” When I came to, I was in the gutter wearing nothing but a hospital gown and my appendix still rupturing.

I see nothing wrong with what I said as my work as a designer seems to be open to such negotiations and “design by committee.” Clients almost always have a child who does creative finger painting and therefore are used as barometers of good design. A recent client, while sitting at a bar had my logo design redrawn by an alcoholic college student on a cocktail napkin and he showed me it in a fit of inebriated excitement. After an hour of my showing him why pencil sketches wouldn’t translate to size, color and readability, he still didn’t understand why the drunken scrawls wouldn’t work.

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The thing about brand design is that it brings with it a communication imperative. We are a creative brand agency providing brand strategy and design to clients across almost every conceivable market. Our methodology is built-upon the belief that the role of brand is to serve the business. It then follows that the role of design is to deliver the promise of the brand. Many designers see this approach as unnecessarily restrictive, we we see it as not just completely necessary, but also the launching pad for unrestricted design with purpose.

The primary demand we place on our brand identity design is that the solution must communicate both the brand proposition and the brand personality to the market — something a solution of style alone can never achieve. Whilst the defined brand personality drives the style dimension of the design, the conceptual message provides the cues for communicating the brand proposition.

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We blame clients too often. We blame them for not having an understanding of what we do as designers. We blame them for not meeting deadlines, and for being upset with additional charges. We blame them when a project doesn’t come together as we had hoped, and we blame them for not providing a clear budget. I am guilty of each of these thoughts from time to time but the reality is the client is my responsibility and sometimes I forget that.

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For me, logo design is an exercise in minimalism, balance, and abstract forms. It is something that doesn’t lend itself to discussion but rather to exploration and experimentation on paper by one individual or a number of designers working individually and then coming together.

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What clients rarely ask when selecting a studio is “Who designed this particular piece, and will they be working on my project?” It is seldom discussed, but portfolios can contain work by designers no longer with the studio, or who will not be working on every identity project. Is there any value in seeing work you like by a designer who will not be directly involved in your project? What can clients and designers do?

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