Working with Will

How I structure my creative engagements, exceed expectations, stick to a process, and produce work that keeps clients coming back

Whether comprised of a single individual or a large cross-functional team, every creative studio has a process. The process keeps us on track and provides a clear, transparent path to success throughout the creative engagement.

Some processes are proprietary; some are complex. Most are honed through trial and error over the course of years and many projects. But a creative process is not magic, mysticism, or rocket science — and anyone that tells you that’s what this is all about may be trying to sell you snake oil.

A creative process is simply a roadmap for the tried and true way creative professionals choose to get the job done.

My process has been refined over time and regardless of what kind of work I happen to be doing for a client, I use some variation of these steps for each of my creative engagements. I wrote this article to give my current and potential clients a concise and understandable framework of what it’s like to work with me. Let’s dig in!

From a transactional perspective, I offer a free consultation via phone interview or email to any person or business interested in contracting my services. In that initial communication, we’ll get into the details about project objective, scope, timelines, and budget. Before anything “creative” happens, I will deliver the client a proposal for work and a quote which the client will either agree to, walk away from, or suggest amendments.

With the consultation out of the way, it’s time to get started. When I begin a creative project I want to learn as much as possible about the task at hand and the company I’m serving. The Engage phase always begins with a conversation, but the rest of the phase is dependent on project scope.

For instance, if you’ve contacted me to write copy for a three-page brochure, it should require less background and a different kind of research than developing a brand identity and those subsequent deliverables.

Some of the methods I use to delve into the project and my client’s business can include:

– Online Questionnaires
– In-Person / Phone Interviews
– Competitor Research / Business Category Review (Independent)
– Brand / Creative Audit (Independent)
– Brand Identity Exercises
– Stakeholder Interviews
– Customer Interviews or Focus Groups

No two projects are the same, but these tools help me get to the root of what we’re working on so I can develop and present the client with the Brief.

In my practice, the creative brief is more than just a set of instructions about what the client is looking for. It’s a document of partnership between the studio and the stakeholders — an agreement signed before the start of creative work that puts us on the path to success and in lockstep from the very beginning. The brief is not something to be pre-produced and delivered by the client. The creative needs to take an active role in the development of the brief.

So before I ever put pen to paper (or finger to mouse), I produce the brief based on the information I’ve gathered in the Engage phase. Then I deliver it in an easy-to-consume format for the client and all required stakeholders so that everyone is clear on expectations from the outset.

Depending on project scope, the creative brief I present back to the client before the Create phase is designed to be no more than a couple of pages — hence, “brief.” It has three major parts: Purpose, Research, and Process.

The Purpose section can include an overview, a section on the client, and the project background, but the most important, can’t-live-without-it part is the business objective.

The Research portion can include various elements like an industry snapshot, a brand audit of your current/relevant creative, and other pertinent research, but the key elements are identifying the target audience, how the strategy should meet the business objective, and the key insight(s) that will define the project’s direction.

Finally, the Process section will lay out the nuts-and-bolts logistics of how the work will get done. It includes the phases of work, reiterates the project scope, puts into writing the agreed-upon timelines and budgets, identifies key stakeholders, outlines the approval structure, and names the final deliverables and how they’re to be handed off.

Much like a contract, the brief is designed to protect both the studio and the client from scope creep and help meet deadlines. The brief can always be updated over time if the project changes, but it requires the signoff of all stakeholders so everyone remains on the same page.

Once the Brief is finished, we get to the Create phase. If any stage in this process feels like “magic,” it’s this one. But again, this isn’t magic — not by a long shot. It’s merely the way we produce your brand identity, blog post, copy, script, storyboard, etc.

In the Create phase, we turn the brief into the desired number of creative options and present them to the stakeholders. This process is iterative and is meant to be a conversation with the client; we refine over time until we reach a workable and satisfying solution for all.

That’s it! These three steps keep us honest, transparent, and on schedule throughout any creative engagement. It’s important to remember that these aren’t hard and fast laws. A process needs to be organic and flexible. What’s right for one team might not be right for every team. This is a framework, not a bible; a tool, not a policy. If we need to refine and improve it based on real-life situations, that’s much better than being rigid in a situation where something isn’t working.

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