In class, I'd drawn a chart similar to this on the board:
If we start to question every link in this chain, then we have an opportunity to increase our speed from idea to artifact as teams without sacrificing essential qualities of our practice. Or, to think about it another way: we need to be who we are as people through the process, and preserve that through any method that we consider taking on as a group. Genuine creative sparks should fly, not those of frustration.
In these next few posts, I'm going to talk about the first link in the chain: getting to a great idea through collaborative brainstorming. Please forgive me if this seems on the surface to be a bit rudimentary. There will be plenty of nuance we'll be exploring in class and in our take-home exercises that will require the structure I'm outlining here.
Let's start by unpacking how creative ideation occurs in an agency setting, and how to jump into what seems like boiling water with a confident dive -- or a cannonball...
I put together another doodle to show the usual process a collaborative brainstorm would take. Probably looks familiar to you, as you've lived through it a few gazillion times. And when we're working solo, it's usually a lot messier than this tidy little flow chart:
Throw in a few more people, like an art director, a copywriter, your creative director, a project manager, and suddenly you're just one of the voices in the room. And you're probably going to have to mold how you ideate to their process, not yours. Here's what it's probably going to look like for you.
#1 in the chain: Project Inputs
When initiating a project, you're probably going to get all of this detail to consider before brainstorming begins:
- A creative brief that includes a key insight to hit, the client's stated business problem, and a description of the audience that you're trying to reach. If there isn't a signed brief in front of you, you shouldn't be doing design work (unless you're ordered to start, damn the torpedos).
- A clear list of the competitive landscape for your project, so you know what ground has already been covered by competing interests.
- A definition of the project scope, meaning you need to know how much time you have, how much money is available for production if you need to hire an outside vendor for printing or whatnot, and what people are at your disposal through your firm/agency to get the job done. This helps to put clear boundaries around the litmus test you put your ideas against before them move into design execution. If you don't have a clear indication of budget before you present ideas, that's a real red flag.
What you may not have to consider from your account/project manager, but absolutely need before you start ideating, is the following:
- An emotional validation of the key insight, including what emotional drivers you feel will help motivate the target audience independent of rational argument. This can be derived from audience research, if you're lucky enough to get some from your peers. You might need to go out into the world and try to observe some situations in order to glean this kind of insight. This can be more valuable than much of your creative brief. (We'll have a few exercises through the class that will help to hone this skill.)
- Ideally, you will read and absorb all of this material before entering a group brainstorm, and if you've got a luxury of time, you'll have started to sketch out some ideas through you personal process, which you can bring to that first meeting. But don't expect to show up, present your ideas, and be all done. They are only seeds that will help kickstart a more in-depth journey through the group.
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