by Miriam Hara | Aug 5, 2015 | Advertising, Communications, Creative, Latest
Peer to peer recognition is the most flattering of flattery. There is no greater compliment than those uttered by peers.
Being creative is not owned. Although not all people will agree with this, I believe it’s a talent that is given to each an everyone of us, although it is exercised in different ways. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#CreativeRespect”]I believe that problem solving is at the core of any creative process to find a solution.[/inlinetweet] That being said, a scientist, mathematician, physician, musician, artist, painter, writer and the list goes on, are all creative. The difference is the outside perception of what is deemed to be understandability creative.
In my world, all forms of communication interest me. Being naturally curious and in business, it is both my nature and business to view intently all ads, blogs, campaigns, contests, programs that I come across. I must say, with the advent of the internet, the exposure to creative talent, ideas, concepts, designs and campaigns is astounding. There are so many creative people in the world! More and more often, there are times, [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#CreativeRespect”]upon viewing a design, ad or video, I say, “Wow…I wish I’d thought of that!”[/inlinetweet] Not in envy, but in real humble respect for the thought process that resulted in such a concept.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#CreativeRespect”]What does it take to earn peer to peer respect in the creative world of advertising?[/inlinetweet]
When viewing this list, please think of ‘creative’ as a concept, a campaign, a TV spot, billboard, digital campaign, video, an ad…
- The creative must respect the brand: delivering on its promise and persona.
- The creative must uplift the brand on its shoulders, so to speak…elevating it rather than over-shadowing it.
- The creative must be emotive so that the brand emotionally connects with its intended target.
- The creative must deliver the message whether it’s rejuvenating a brand, inciting trial, or simply building awareness.
- The creative must be simple.
Here are a few examples of what I really think are powerful creatives that capture all of the above:
[inlinetweet prefix=”#CreativeRespect #SharedWisdom” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Do you have awesome creative that you would like to share with me? I would love to see! [/inlinetweet]#CreativeRespect #SharedWisdom
by Miriam Hara | Jul 5, 2013 | Advertising, Creative, Latest
What does a career in advertising really mean?
Advertising has always held some mystic for many creative and marketing types wannabes. Many people on the outside looking in think of the world of advertising as being the ultimate career in creativity. I’ll let you in on secret… in many cases, depending on what your creative type happens to be, it’s true! Advertising is the most creative aspect in marketing communications… even more so than public relations (PR) and brand marketing. Add to that, the very popular TV series of Mad Men to this caché… well, then you may very well have a rose coloured view of this career choice.
Those of us in the the field have a different and more realistic definition of advertising and what it means to be “working in” this crazy, hectic, exciting field. Through my 25 years of running a marketing creative agency, I have been fortunate to meet many interesting people and I have come to the realization that we all have certain traits and characteristics in common.
See if you too belong to the wonderful industry of advertising… can you can identify with any one of these character traits?
1) You love being around creative and the creative process: You don’t have to draw or write…You can easily be an advertising account executive.Just as long as you are part of “creating” something.
2) Passion rules the day: You love your job. In fact you can’t wait to get out of bed and to greet the day! You love the challenge of newness that every marketing mandate brings…and working out the issues. You love that what you do can potentially reach millions of people.
3) You’re an adrenaline junkie: Not death defying tricks here… only true and pure rush. Rush to meet impossible deadlines put out by most if not all advertisers…. and to ultimately excel in your creativity and performance while meeting those said impossible deadlines.
4) You think ‘What if”…constantly! Never mind about inside or outside the box. You’re a natural problem solver that always looks at the marketing brief differently. Innovation is your mind’s middle name whether it’s comes to coining a phrase or conceptualizing a storyboard or ad… you simply strive on creating breakthrough creative.
5) Work…. what’s that?: Not exactly like Character Trait #3, more like an extension. You actually have fun at what you do? In fact it’s like a calling. You think about projects, ideas and products all the time. Grocery shopping isn’t just about filling up the pantry. Rather it becomes a store-check to see what’s new and innovative in products or POP or contest promotions. If you do a lot of TV advertising, you can’t see a movie without acknowledging the camera angles,the lighting, the propping. It’s about you driving your car, noticing billboards and trying to ascertain what the brief was and if if the creative was well executed.
If you see yourself in any one of the above character traits, then advertising is in your future! I’d love to hear from any and all of you who share in the passion of creativity and advertising.
Live creatively and prosper!
by Miriam Hara | Jul 2, 2013 | Creative, Design, Latest
What is creativity? There’s a misconception on what or rather who can call himself or herself a “creative”. There are many types of creativity out there. You don’t necessarily need to draw and paint in order to be a creative being…. so if you don’t, don’t sell yourself short. I run a brand creative agency and I have found that being creative and owning the label of a ’Creative’ is much more than drawing or painting. Through the many years of running a creative agency with graphic designers, web developers, photographers and writers, there are many different creative personalities, but they often fall into a creative type. Here’s my informal list of creative types identifiers.
Which one (or two, or three) best defines your creative style?
The ‘Artiste’: True and tried, these creative types are what everyone naturally thinks of as “creative”. They can be artists, sculptures, glass blowers, graphic designers, animators, art directors, illustrators and painters. They use any medium from a paintbrush and easel to computers and software such as Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, to name a few.
The Physical Artist: Born to perform, these artists are actors, comedians and yes, even musicians. They are at the forefront of their creative expression…. seen on TV or in the movies and can be found in local bars and theatres.
The ‘Conceptual’: Give these people a brick of information, add to it restrictions and rules of what can be done and what can’t be done… and leave them alone. They’ll come up with ideas that speak volumes and words that rock your world. Their thinking is organized, concise and rational. They’ll be creative directors, writers and art directors.
The Stylists: These creative types are visual. They use material (from fabric to brick) and colour… and understand lines and space. They’ll be your Fashion designers, architects, interior designers and interior decorators.
The Imaginative: Creative thinkers they always ask the one important question: “what if”. This creative group loves problem solving and is often inventors and innovators… and they can be anything from urban planners to scientists and anything in-between.
The Linear: With the advent of technology, I would be amiss if I didn’t include this creative type. From understanding website navigation and user interaction to making sites look good and maintain functionality, this group of creative IT designers are as integral as conceptual thinkers and artists in the marketing field.
So what’s your creative type? Do you have one that I haven’t listed? I’d appreciate you defining your creative type here.
Look forward to hearing from you!
by christine | Nov 9, 2012 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Creative, Design
As a creative person, passionate about digital media, graphic design and the visual arts, colour has always been an important factor in my work.
How colours interact with each other or to a specific object can be significant especially in design. The same can be said about how colour relates to your brand and its impact on the consumer and what emotive feeling will be identified with your brand. Will the perception of your brand be a positive or negative behavioural reaction?
Pairing the wrong colour palette with your brand can kill your identity. It’s important to know your target audience, culturally, geographically, gender, age, and also the purpose for your campaign so that you launch your business in the right direction.
Just by viewing a colour in a design, and how it interacts with your brand can completely change or send out a false representation of your brand to the viewer. Colour is such a powerful and important communication tool that it should not be neglected; it is part of our daily actions in life represented in religious, cultural, political and social influences.
Studies have shown when users are shown a bright red hue; it will create a physical feeling of anxiousness and an increase in heart rate. This would not be a good use of colour if used on the interior walls of an emergency room, but if the colour red were associated with food, it would be a positive action to a reaction. You want the consumer to feel hungry and in a response really need to go out and purchase your product.
There is so much more complexity to colour and colour theory and I could go on, but maybe I will save that for another blog.
*Just a note you may want to check out a few of my favourite artist’s that were really the pioneers with colour theory– Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc to name a couple.
Marc
http://www.franzmarc.org/The-Red-Horses.jsp
http://artsconnected.org/collection/111185/franz-marc
Kandinsky
http://www.wassilykandinsky.net/
by Lindsay Sleightholm | Aug 31, 2011 | Creative
Creativity. Where does it come from? How does it happen? Some may think that an idea simply pops into your head. When you’re lucky, sometimes it does. Most of the time it needs to be coaxed. In a world of steady deadlines and day to day expectations, it is easy for the creative mind to get lost behind the left brain obligations. So, how can you inspire creativity when it is needed – when the idea doesn’t just ‘pop’ into your head?
There are various techniques and exercises that many creative people, be it designers, creative directors, marketers even artists use to summon the right brain when they need it. Everyone has a different process that inspires creativity. It is unique to the individual. What works for one person, may not work for the next. The only real mystery is finding the right combination of techniques that work for you.
Here are a few techniques to help inspire your creative thinking. Who knew listening to the left brain could help us develop the right brain?
- Sketching
- Free Writing
- Mind Mapping
- Problem Reversal
- Group Brainstorming
