This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
Is strategy needed if you have a solid creative concept? Short answer: yes.
Exceptionally creative work may win you agency awards, which is amazing for talent retention. But if the work isn’t solving your clients’ immediate or long-term goals, is it actually successful? Having a real appreciation for ‘art for art’s sake’, I value beautiful design in any form, but when it comes to our role as creatives in an agency or studio setting, we have a higher calling.
Our challenge is not only to create something eye-catching, cleverly written, and beautifully art-directed but also to solve a specific problem brought to us by those seeking our expertise. We can’t, and shouldn’t, just apply creativity for the sake of it; our design choices should always suit the desired end goal.
When a client comes to us with a specific problem, we always start with research—hearing their story, getting to know their audiences, learning about their successes, their pain points, and their challenges. It’s often easy to apply a simple solution to a problem, but sometimes, through these discovery sessions, we learn that their issue is not just an easy, surface-level problem.
By taking a deeper dive, identifying where their business fits within the larger market, and researching the competition, we are able to determine any deeper problems and, from there, develop a strategy that can ultimately help solve the real issues at hand.
A strategy should never be developed in a silo. Creative design is only a small part of a larger whole. Develop the strategy together with the key players—digital collaborators and media team members—to ensure execution will run smoothly.
Next steps? Get that beast approved! You’ve spent a lot of energy getting here. Now make sure your strategy is aligns with the clients’ direction before you begin execution. Only then, with the strategy guiding you, like a map, begin the deep dive into solving the problem. This approach encourages designers and art directors to tackle creative projects from a solution-based, problem-solving perspective.
One of the biggest benefits to designers and art directors of working within a set strategy is efficiency. When you develop projects based on customer needs and objectives outlined in a pre-approved strategy, there will be fewer revisions and less time and effort wasted on concepts that don’t align with the greater need. All the moving pieces within a project or campaign are striving towards the same goal, supporting the same desired outcome.
Having a solid platform from which to begin creative work not only allows for easier design decisions but also helps align the work with desired results, making the whole process run smoother. So on your next project, don’t skip the strategy work; it will pay off in the long run.
Maggie joined WS in early 2022 with hands-on experience in graphic design, art direction and brand management, mainly in the entertainment industry.
