How to Become a Creative Director 2021 - 3 Essential Traits
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
- What does it take to be a creative director? What do all great creative directors have in common? How can you learn the skills and traits needed?
I think there are 3 key things necessary for a CD to succeed in their position; being a visionary, having great communication skills and being a jack of all trades.
Feel free to send me any questions in the comments, or ask me on social media on the links below;
Instagram: / kalok.ho
Twitter.com: / kalokho_
Find out more about my business where I help brands develop their content;
www.eruditepictures.com
#CreativeDirector #Creativity #Business - Навчання та стиль
it was really hard to stick to a careeer to me, mostly because I like most careers. So I chose business administration so I can become a creative director because I like the combination of direction and numbers while I’m being creative. Wish me luck!
Feeling more confident after watching this video! Thank you! ✍🏾🥂
Wonderful. You got this! 💪
I am considering becoming a creative director. I feel more confident too, and less intimidated as well. ❤️
love it man, very underrated content you are doing here!
This is so on point. Thank you for sharing.
Really like your format, and very well spoken. Thank you
Great Insights Buddy! Go ahead we need more videos
Great video. Thanks!
absolutely lovely video! your cadence was perfect and your tone so kind!!! thank you
Thank you, Carlton. That’s very kind and I’m typically told I speak too fast, so this was a nice surprise!
This is really useful thankyou. Especially the bit about leaving the Ego at the door.
Happy to help. I think dropping the ego is probably good practice in all of life :)
Gold! Thank you for this!
Hope it helps you, Naveed. 👊
Thanks for the great video! Straight to the point and great production. Well done
Straight to the point is the goal. Cheers!
"Great ideas aren't born. They are developed."
Interviewing for a Director position (a first for me!) and this video was incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Amazing! So pleased to hear it. Best of luck, mate! Would love to hear how it goes. 💪
Excellent video and explanation.
Thank you, I definitely needed this
Thanks for stopping by! It's my pleasure :)
this is very helpful since I have been having a career crisis lately, thank you so much. Please continue with this kind of content
Glad I could provide some direction and reassurance. I’ve definitely been there too. Keep learning, keep trying things. You got this 💪
I'm an ACD looking to broaden abilities and achieve V skills status. Thank you for this video.
You're welcome, Matthew. Glad it was helpful.
thank you for this amazing video! 🙌🏻
Happy to help. Thank *you* for watching :)
Excellent content. It's also refreshing to see a good video with no dislikes
Shh don't say it so loud, it's gonna jinx it! 😉
this was so helpful.. thank you!!!
Glad to hear it. Thank you, Braelynn!
Love how you so easily wrap it all up and make it easy to understand. Needed the direction as im going for the creative directors interview in 2 days. Looking forward to and will be following your feeds. Thank You for the awesome share.
Happy to have helped in any way. Good luck! Would love to hear how it goes.
Hey Pam may I ask you a few questions in regards to how you got to that point ? Do you have linked in ?
Fabulous video! Thank you! 💖
You're very welcome, Selina. Hope this helps you in some way.
This is an awesome video, I have no idea why it doesn't have more views! Thank you!
Thanks, Lea. Glad you liked it and hope it was helpful for you.
Agreed!
Excellent video...took a lot of notes!
Hope it helps! :)
This video is so underrated
In other industries, what would be a similar/equivalent role to a creative director? Project manager perhaps? I mean in terms of skills required.
Great video!
Wow this is really top notch. Cheers
Cheers! Happy to help.
Good stuff man, I was talking about this issue of specialty and Jack of all trades today. I'm up for the specialty mindset 100%, but when it comes to CD you do need to be some sort of Jack of all trades. Finally a good explanation of why this so, even if it goes against what most creatives think.
100% It's one of those topics that always pops up but I don't think being a specialist or generalist are mutually exclusive. Specialised-generalist is probably the best way to go for anyone in a leadership position IMO. Thanks for watching!
I`ve also been thinking about this for the last few days - I`m strong when it comes to having creative ideas, but not an expert in any of the execution fields, I know just enough technical stuff to be able to delegate but I do feel like a complete imposter having just started working in creative direction nd branding. I`m trying to learn as much as possible as I go, hopefully I gain more confidence soon
Thank you for this! I just applied for a position of a creative director and they replied back and asked me for an interview. 😁
Congrats and best of luck!
Nice video! Concise, to the point
Striving to be! Cheers.
Yes
Loved this video! So insightful!!!
Thanks, Shavonne! Would love to know what your biggest takeaway was?
@@KaLokHo All of it really. I’ve worked in education for most of my career, but I’ve moonlit a lot of creative projects. Last year, in particular, I learned that what I had been doing is some of the same work as a CD.
For instance, I coordinated teams of freelancers and talent to do product shoots for the items I launched. (www.strengthinom.com/shop for example)
Since then, I’ve been interested in making a career pivot into the industry. So the video reassured me that I have what it takes.
@@iam.shavonne Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of the quote that it’s hard to read your own label when you’re inside of the jar. Sometimes having another pair of eyes to tell you is exactly what you need
You got this! All the best the endeavour, looks great.
Thanks great video
Thanks, Tanaka!
Love your video, clears out all the doubts I had and gets to the point, just a quick question, are there any bachelor majors you can suggest? Specifically for people who wanna be the creative directors for music videos?
Thanks, Ankita. I think there are many ways to become a director for music videos. People that I know of have taken different routes, you can take up filmmaking, media, a course around communication, or heck even Physics! The common thing between anyone I know that has directed music videos is that they picked up a camera and just started making music videos. Refine that craft, share your work, refine some more and share. Connect with people you want to create music videos for and keep doing that. Make music videos in the style that you want to do, to attract the people you want to work with. True for all work but particularly in that business, it’s not about who you know, but who knows you. Create. Connect. Share. Share. Share.
@@KaLokHo That was extremely helpful, thank you soooo much!
Very very good Video, would you explain what the difference between CD and AD is please? I would appreciate it!
An Art Director’s focus is on the creative and design aspects of a project. Think the small details, the set, the look, the feel. Lots of execution.
Creative Director’s have a wider vision which take into consideration the business goals too. They help shape the general concept and vision. IT doesn’t mean they lack the eye for details, but generally they manage and lead the team.
Think of it like a film set. A director has the final say on everything and steers the ship with many artists under them, but their art director actually designs the costumes, set details, props etc.
Essentially:
CD = dreams up the picture.
AD = paints the picture.
What specialisation should i take in a fashion college to build skills to become a creative director?? please reply
Thanks for the video. Q: Do you think that a masters in a creative field or business school would be most relevant/ worth while for an aspiring CD?
Almost certainly business in my opinion. A masters in creativity can't teach you how to be 'more creative', or have better technical proficiency in your craft - those things you improve outside of classes by doing more and discovering more, and improving your tastes. The benefit that it might have is connections to other creative peers. On the other hand a business masters degree you’ll learn what makes a business successful, how to run a business, how to market, promote etc. and then you can adapt your already creative mindset and craft around that. Which makes climbing the career ladder far easier. Also having peers in business will more likely land you a CD role, as they know you understand the business objectives but can also speak the language of creativity to a team.
The biggest gap most creatives I know have in leap frogging in their career isn’t their creative ability, they have that in spades and their work is fantastic - but it’s their business acumen. That’s mostly the reason I lean more heavily towards a degree in business.
Do you offer coaching/mentorship to new CDs?
very very helpful and insightful! i plan on double majoring in comp sci and graphic design, then becoming a ux/ui designer... do you think that could set up a path towards being a creative or art director? or should i rethink my majors?
I think what major you take isn’t that important. I studied marketing, but was self-teaching filmmaking during that time, so that was my route to CD. But the more common route is to have some sort of design degree background.
More importantly, like I mentioned in the video, if you can demonstrate that you have an understanding outside of your specific skill (UI/UX in this case) and know a bit about the other creative disciplines that you’d be managing and directing that is a massive benefit. Understanding the needs of a business will take you a long way as a CD too. Hope that helps.
@@KaLokHo Thank you that helps me, especially the last part of being diverse in our skills. I'm hoping to do a degree in business, creative directing, or filmmaking. Nice to know the degree doesn't have to be the end all be all
@@karak2113 The degree is just a tiny portion of it and definitely won't dictate how any of your career goes, thankfully! I know and have coached people who studied accounting that are now video editors, english majors that now direct content, and people with business management degrees doing UX. As long as you stay curious, market yourself, and build those skills you can create whatever career you want. :)
The one question i'm left with, though, is what sort of prerequisite experience must one have in order to find such a position, and a well paying one at that.
I've seen people from all walks of life become creative directors. From authors, marketers, designers, architects. I don't think there's a linear path. Those people I mentioned usually had lots of interests that they'd pursue in their own time and would create things, publish it, and network with the right people. But that's the real secret sauce to any career you want.
Do Creative Director collaborate with prototypes and R&D?
What are the most effective ways for someone to increase their understanding of business, marketing and strategy?
Great question. There’s a bunch of resources on UA-cam and books of course, but the best approach in my opinion is still to be able to shadow someone actually doing it.
If you’re currently a creative professional working for a company or agency, be more curious and speak to the other departments whenever you can. Ask marketing about the goals, why they are the goals, how they decided on those objectives. Figure out how they think, follow up with what that performed well and it’ll help make your work better. Talk to the strategist, learn about the reason behind decisions.
There’s probably an entire video I could talk on about this topic. If yo have anything specific to your situation perhaps I could do that.
Thanks for the question, Steven.
What is a good degree to get if I want to become a creative director? Is it ok to get something like a mangment or buissnes degree or something more specific?
There’s a lot of paths to being a Creative Director - and it’s about your breadth of work in your portfolio as well. Most CD’s I’ve seen typically come from a creative background like copywriting or design.
However, I have a business degree in marketing. But after graduation I jumped head first into teaching myself filmmaking. And it’s that combination that lead me to the CD route.
I think a management or business background is absolutely fine. I see no reason why that won’t work. In fact it’s a benefit. As I outline in this video it’s fantastic to have management knowledge or marketing/business experience as a CD when you’re juggling stakeholders and business goals.
So as long as you can back up the creative chops to in a portfolio to show you understand that side, I think it sounds like a well rounded ‘V-skill’ path.
What do you call the role of the person who puts the creative props and scenery etc together ?
From my experience, typically a set designer, and some art directors dabble in that too.
hey just wanted to ask, can a person with a undergrad degree in branding and advertising go for CD? and your video is really helpful :-)
Yes of course, a very helpful degree for a CD in my opinion. I answer that type of question in a newer video here actually ua-cam.com/video/BBI0bVTXXSI/v-deo.html
@@KaLokHo I'll definitely check that out. thank you so much!
This is an amazing video. Thank you for this information. I’d love to collaborate with you sometime. Is that something you’d be interested in doing?
You're welcome! What did you have in mind?
I've answered many of the common questions in a new video:
ua-cam.com/video/BBI0bVTXXSI/v-deo.html
This definitely describes me. Im a great communicator, a writer, artist, musician, etc. I do truly love the arts and creating. Im naturally empathetic and have a highly visual mind. Love listening to others and bouncing ideas. Also love business, directing, psychology and marketing. I truly believe this is a career option for me. My only knack is is job consistency and security. Do you have any opinions on how that goes?
This was good. Hard to take notes tho. Speaks sooo fast. Lol thank god for rewind button lol
I've slowed down now, ha. I guess I was so intent on keeping it short I spoke at a million miles an hour!
Can a marketing manager with basic design experience be a creative director? She cannot even give creative direction, but relies instead on us designers to come up with the "first draft". I just wanted to know is this what being a creative director is about? Please enlighten me. Thanks!
I don’t think a good CD needs to have exceptional design skills, but they definitely need a vision, a good eye, and communication. Typically I would say most marketing managers aren’t wired to think in terms of creative direction, but in numbers, efficiency, and goals.
I think sometimes it’s a case of having lack of good career progression in a company. For example, the typical route to CD is graphic designer > art director > creative director. But sometimes a designer doesn’t necessarily have the abilities (or even want to) be a creative director but it’s the only promotion route available at the company, and so they take it.
I don’t know the details but perhaps that’s what is happening here? I understand your frustration in this position, but empathising or better - if you can communicate what you need from a creative direction stand point, it might help her become the director you need. (Help her to help yourself)
Or sometimes you might find, actually you end up having to creatively direct yourself. Which isn’t ideal and isn’t your job to do so, but may be the best option. I have also made a video on my channel about what I look for as a CD. I hope this helps somewhat. Would be keen to hear how you get along. Keep at it 💪
@@KaLokHo Hi Ka-Lok I really appreciate your insights and time to type out this response. But I'm kind of puzzled by what you meant here, how is "having a good eye" not part of "having good design skills"?
I did ask her if she has any vision or creative direction for the latest marketing campaign we are putting out, and her reply has always been "start from scratch, something completely new".
Its more like they need us graphic designers to come up with something before they will know what they want or don't want, and that's really frustrating for us designers, because there are only two of us supporting the graphic design needs of a whole startup of 60. And spending time concepting without any direction just adds on to our list of headaches. Haha.
@@sarah.ashley. Perhaps a better analogy of what I meant might be, Simon Cowell can’t sing and doesn’t have music production skills, but he has an ear and eye for what works. Or Steve Jobs can’t design himself, but he intuitively knows what is good.
I totally understand the frustration, though! It does sound like a lack of vision to me. I hate hearing ‘I’ll know when I see it’ type of briefs, it’s such a waste of time. In those situations I try and show several references of other peoples work to try and at least gauge what the boundaries are, instead of shooting in the dark coming up with drafts.
And sounds like maybe you’ll fill that Creative Director role in time 😉
@@KaLokHo Oh I see, thanks your advice and helping me understand! I really appreciate it.
As graphic designers, how do we work towards achieving that kind of "eye for design" or sensibilities like, for e.g., Simon Cowell and Steve Jobs have?
It seems to me life experience would definitely widen one's horizons. However are there more concrete things we could do daily to work towards that goal (outside of the design work we are already doing for our companies)?
@@sarah.ashley. That's a great question. For me, I think what's important is to have an insatiable curiosity - towards everything.
We as creatives can get really caught up in our own work, the companies we work for, the industry we are in, that I think sometimes we don't look outside of what we like often enough.
I think it's important to steal inspiration and ideas from everywhere. The more different these things you look at, the better.
How does this connect to design and creativity? If creativity is connecting two dots together to make something new to solve a problem, then the more varied the dots, the more unique combinations you can make.
And finally, I think it's important to understand why things work, not just how they work or what it looks like. As designers we can get lost in the latter. But typically our work is for commercial uses or solving a problem, and not art. Understanding the larger why, helps our work become more effective. Which makes us more valuable too.
I think curiosity and constantly asking 'why' is the key to having a better design eye.
That was a very long answer, but hopefully it make some sense!
Great presentation. May I offer a few blunt observations:
Your photo featured on this channel at the time of making this comment, does not match your personal energy or presentation style and here is why...
My initial impression of those photos are of a demure yet stylish, slightly feminine gay man (sorry, not meant as a slam) but - the reality when meeting you on video as my first time watching any of your content was not what I expected. This is a good thing! Instead - you are masculine energy, well-spoken/articulate, well informed and composed, none of which matched the same energy the first impressions of the photo. No one asked me, I get that fact but - if I were in charge of your public persona and business image, I would reshoot photos that convey your authentic energy, personality and presentation style. You hiring? 😉😇
Your comment gave me a good chuckle! I appreciate the candour. I had not thought of it that way before and it’s good feedback to hear.
I’m not currently hiring, but if I were you’ve got your foot in the door.
For anyone reading, this isn't a bad way to pitch - offer insights, then your proposal.
@@KaLokHo 😉 I appreciate the reply and see you accepted my comments in the spirit intended. Better to have my foot in the door than my foot in my mouth however - both, provide invaluable lessons. Looking forward to us connecting sometime.
Can i be a cd in fashion??.. how do i start?
I'm sure you can! - But I don't have experience in the fashion industry unfortunately. This video is more for the creative services, marketing and advertising industry.
Can you become a creative director with a B.Arch Architecture degree?
Sure, why not? My degree was in marketing. But my path to creative director was through self-taught filmmaking at first, before getting into the industry that way. I don't think any degree is necessarily relevant as long as you can find the right experience. Good thing your architecture degree is already relatively creative! Build expertise outside of your degree too, learn the skills I mentioned in the video and you'll be on your way.
Thank you for the advice :)
@@channelan242 Good luck!
Can a graphic designer become creative director?
Yup. Most CD's I know seem to start out as graphic designers or copywriters.
@@KaLokHo thank you 💜
Why does a british accent just exude competence in a creative director role?
🤣 I wish that remained true in England too.
Interesting video, even if you speak toooo fast 😅
You're right, I must have been in a rush to get somewhere when I was filming! I appreciate the feedback, will take it slower 😃