Leading Creative Teams

Book excerpt: Learn the skills you must master to assume leadership roles—creative directors, art directors, and advertising managers—on creative teams and in integrated branding campaigns for corporate clients. This book compares and contrasts the skill sets and responsibilities of creatives with those of managers who direct creative teams. Technical competence in the creative arts is a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for promotion to and success in positions directing creative teams. Business, management, and communication skills are equally necessary. Leading Creative Teams reviews the business metrics that the manager of a creative team must be able to manipulate and present persuasively to the organization to prove that the team’s creative excellence delivers superior ROI. Award-winning designer and veteran creative director Eleazar Hernández walks you through the creative manager’s skill sets—technical, business, management, and communication. He covers the techniques and tools common to the direction of creative teams in all industries: brainstorming, creative exploration and visual communication tools, internal and client presentations, critiquing, mentoring, and copywriting. Hernández shows how creative directors can apply management and leadership skill sets to different kinds of creative teams found across interactive, graphic design and advertising industries and how they orchestrate methods among team members. He details how creative teams vary in their concepts and principles, composition, objectives, and processes according to their specific industries and project requirements. And he shows you how to shape your career trajectories toward creative management roles in your chosen field. Leading Creative Teams features information on the processes and best practices for ideating, developing, and directing advertising campaigns, graphic design projects, :30 TV spot and :30 radio spots. Drawing on interviews with top creative directors, art directors, and advertising managers, the author explores how the roles of creative team managers are evolving in response to changing technologies and business models. What You'll Learn Learn the technical, business, and management skill sets of creative management Lead and orchestrate teams of creatives Discover tips, tricks, and techniques for creative direction of web, broadcast, and print projects Shape your career trajectory toward creative management Learn the dos and don’ts of creative presentations Who This Book Is For Mid-level and junior creatives—graphic designers, web designers, copywriters, and artists—and ad students who seek information on the specific skills, experience, and credentials they need to qualify for promotion to creative management. The secondary readership is creative directors, art directors, and advertising managers who lead web interactive, design, and advertising creative teams and who develop and direct integrated branding campaigns for corporate clients.