Creative Insights Archives

Advertising is such a social and highly collaborative industry that it’s practically a job requirement for you to competently navigate relationships among a wide variety of people through networking. But for some of us, making new friends — or at least making new connections or workplace allies — doesn’t always come easy.

As a lifelong introvert, I am more aware of this than practically anybody. What I’ve learned from my 10+ years in the biz is that making connections is a long-term process. If you’re also an introvert, it’s important to remember the benefits, and remind yourself that it’s worth the work that goes into networking — even if it’s just inside your office.

Why Workplace Networking is Important

1. It can make your life better.

Having friends, compadres, confidantes, or whatever else you’d like to call them, is essential to having a long and successful career. In an industry where there are a lot of late nights, working lunches, and missed vacations, having work friends can take the edge off and help you avoid burnout.

2. It can make your work better.

You don’t have to be friends with everyone, but developing a few key strategic alliances can make it easier to do your job. As a copywriter, I always make a point of trying to cultivate relationships with the senior account and strategy people for the brand that I work on. It makes my job easier, more fruitful, and less painful. When people know who you are and trust that you’re working toward the same goal they are, they’re more receptive to exploring boundary-pushing work.

3. It can make you better.

Friendly relationships can also reshape the dynamics of feedback and criticism. It softens the blow to hear criticism come from someone you perceive as a teammate (and conversely, they may be more sensitive about giving it if they’re friendly with the person on the receiving end). If you’re getting professional feedback from a colleague with whom you’ve forged a relationship, instead of listening with resentment and dismissing their words, you’ll hear suggestions for doing better work coming from a knowledgeable partner who has the best interests of the project in mind.

How You Can Improve Your Workplace Networking

It can feel like a fine line between making strategic connections and dressing up as an extrovert. Even if it doesn’t come naturally — and it won’t, at first — there are a few little things you can do every day that can make the process easier.

Smile. When you’re in an overwhelming situation, it may be difficult to crack a smile, but smiling can help you be less stressed. You don’t have to smile at everybody, but do think about it like it’s a welcome mat.
Speak up in meetings. It shows people who you are and invites the opportunity for conversation. Start small by making short statements or asking a simple question.
Network outside your office, too. Read about how you can win your next networking event and add more connections who can help you achieve your professional goals.
Challenge yourself. The objective isn’t to turn you into an extrovert; it’s just to make it easier and less forced when the right opportunities do present themselves.
Give yourself the time and space to recuperate. Expanding your comfort zone is hard work. Introverts get their energy from within so after doing something particularly challenging, make sure you block time out for yourself.
Pace yourself. There’s no need to get out there and do everything at once. Try one of the tips or all of them; the important part is to stay true to yourself.

Networking isn’t a “one and done” process

Any kind of relationship takes work and nurturing. You don’t acquire a new friend and then have that friend forever without doing some work. The same is true with business or workplace relationships.

You’ve probably heard that it can be more expensive for a business to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one. Now think about that in terms of maintaining your network. Keep nourishing your new connections by showing value, whether it’s lending a friendly ear, providing key information, or offering to make an introduction.

Lisa is a Creative Circle candidate and seasoned advertising copywriter who lives in Los Angeles. Her background includes both in-house and agency work on Fortune 500 and global accounts in the consumer and healthcare/pharmaceutical fields. She excels at words, fashion, and cats. If you want to work with Lisa, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles.

As creatives, we don’t always have control over what the day brings us (hello, same-day deadlines!), but there are several time management strategies that can help you have both the time to complete a project and the creative energy to do it well. Try one or all of these time management strategies so you’re prepared the next time you get asked to deliver something by 2 p.m. (and you were about to run out to grab lunch real quick…)

1. Ask more questions at kickoff meetings.

Before kickoff meetings, take time to go over the project brief; review everything you know (and don’t know) about the project and list out questions or missing pieces you find. Having a little knowledge upfront can keep a project from bottlenecking once you’ve started it so you don’t have to stop mid-project to wait on someone to give you what you need.

Ask questions that are appropriate to the clients and project, including ones that will save you time and money down the road.

Who is the point person at your end?
Are there brand guidelines I should be aware of?
When is my first draft due, and what is the drop-dead date for completion?
How many different concepts/approaches would you like to see?
Are there additional creative assets for this job I might need? Who has them?
Do you already have something in mind?
How many people will need to review it?
If there’s more than one reviewer, will you collect all of the changes, or will I need to make changes after each individual reviews it?

2. Come up with a system for classifying your jobs.

It isn’t always sound business to have a creative director, a senior art and copy team, a proofreader, and a designer at a kick-off meeting to discuss edits to a small change in an e-blast. Yes, clients don’t always understand that. A few years ago, when I was working at an in-house shop, we struggled to make our clients aware that, even though we were right on the premises, our team didn’t function like bottomless mimosas, so we came up with a project classification system. The system pre-determined how much time and creative energy we could expend on an assignment:

Level 1 were basic jobs requiring simple art or copy elements without much strategy;
Level 2 might require a little ideation, but was mainly just design or writing; and
Level 3 needed the big creative guns and the whole team working.

Even when I left that job, I held onto that system, and I currently use it for all of my freelance assignments. I spend my peak working hours on the more challenging assignments, and the lower-grade projects are shoehorned in at the end of the day.

3. Keep a well-organized swipe file.

Technically, a swipe file is a physical collection of ads, direct mailers, and brochures that have performed well in the past. It’s a way of keeping things that inspire you and have been called a “must-have” if you want to improve your marketing and communications. Your creative swipe file would work in the same way and can also include photos, magazine spreads, packaging, or whatever else wows or inspires you. Some people do keep physical copies but others use tools like Trello, Evernote, or Pinterest to look for and organize inspirational images and ads.

If you don’t already have one, start with one file for one topic and you’ll find that you’ll keep thinking of cool new things you want to save. Whether it’s digital or analog, keep your files organized so when you get that last-minute request and it’s time to brainstorm you can easily look through the work that inspires you.

4. Look for things you can automate.

If your job includes a lot of repetitive actions — for example, copying and pasting, resizing images, or creating many similar web pages, take advantage of whatever technology is available to automate the process or do things faster. You can probably find thousands of tips for specific programs you use, but here are a few that will apply to any program you’re working in:

Customize your workspace so that all of the tools or tabs you use frequently are in one place.
Learn the keystroke shortcuts for the functions you do frequently, and try programming your own (which you can do in everything from Word to After Effects).
Create your own templates and style sheets (and save them in the same spot).

5. Practice the “Two Minute” rule.

The “Two Minute” rule is simple: If you can do a task in under two minutes, do it immediately. Whether it’s responding with a quick approval to an email, or updating the one line of copy in round 4 of the deck, get it out of the way so you can move on to the bigger things and also let the people waiting on you move on with the project. The bonus is that you won’t have to deal with what would have been a small task at the end of the day.

Those two-minute tasks can pile up, though so there’s a lot of back and forth about procrastination making you more creative, but the reality is if it’s something that can be done in two minutes, you’re not robbing the world of a masterpiece of innovation. If you have a hard time sticking with this, and two minutes turns into 20, time yourself or set aside a 30-minute time block for these small tasks.

We’re always looking for ways to improve our productivity, and these time management strategies are just a few ways to do it. Keep reading and learning new ways for yourself, though; it’s time well spent!

Stock photo literacy isn’t just for designers and art directors! Beyond producing LOL-worthy memes, stock imagery is one of the great equalizers in marketing, allowing companies that don’t have the budget for original photography to use sharp, high-quality images in their communications.

If you work at a small agency or company and wear many different hats, you’ll probably be asked at least once to help research stock photos. Or, you may even be asked to complete a project that requires using stock photography. Here are a few basic terms and ideas that can set you up for success (and help you avoid getting sued).

Rights-managed images vs. Royalty-free images

When you go to select images from one of the leading online stock photo agencies like Getty Images or Shutterstock, you’ll be able to search and filter based on photos that are either royalty-free or rights-managed. Know the difference before you make your selection.

Rights-managed images
For public-facing communications that have to stand out for the right reasons, you’ll probably want to choose rights-managed images (which are generally more expensive). The costs are based on the intended usage, duration of time, the media you’re using (e.g., digital only, print, billboard), where the image will appear, and if you want any exclusivity — that is, if you are willing to pay enough so that the photographer or agency won’t license it to other companies in your industry, and geographical location. You can even purchase complete exclusivity. It’s not quite ownership, but you are drastically reducing the chances that one of your images will turn up in a competitor’s ad in two months. Rights-managed images have very specific terms of use, and you may need to renew your rights (i.e., pay more) to use the image over time.

Royalty-free images
The basic idea behind a royalty-free image is that you pay for it once, and you can use it as many times and in as many different places as you want. Royalty-free image prices are based on image size (and of course, where you get them) and tend to be much less expensive than rights-managed images. The downside is that you have no guarantees of exclusivity — the same image you purchased to represent your customer service rep may be used on a package for adult incontinence products or grace a magazine spread for an article about heroin addiction. These are admittedly extreme examples, but there are more than a few angst-riddled tales about stock photo models who’ve suffered the consequences of having their photos used as stand-ins for terrorists, werewolves, and guys with really awful penis conditions (SFW). Royalty-free images are great for internal communications, images of secondary importance, backgrounds, or inanimate objects.

Free images

There are also public domain or Creative Commons images. These images are free, but you may need to credit the photographer or agree to use them in a specific fashion. There are hundreds of sites dedicated to hosting Creative Commons images; if you want to go this route, try places like Flickr’s Creative Commons section or the aggregator site Creative Commons Search. All of them have different legalese and licensing agreements so make sure to read the fine print before downloading and using photos!

Illustrations

Most stock houses also sell illustrations known as vector graphics. Vector images are drawings or clip art that can be used in logos and illustrations. These are usually created in Illustrator. Unlike a photographic image, which is usually made of pixels, vector graphics can be scaled up or down without losing resolution.

Things to know

You can assemble an entire image library from stock photography. Many agencies have extensive selections of work from each of the photographers they represent. Most of the bigger stock photos houses have representatives who can help you find “of a kind” images (i.e., you give them a photo, and they can suggest ones that are stylistically or compositionally similar), which can save you countless hours of research.

You should never “screenshot” stock images or use “samples.” Even if you’re just creating an internal PowerPoint deck that will only be seen by three other people, grabbing low-res “samples” from stock photo agencies is technically stealing. Of course, it’s not likely that you’ll be discovered, but it’s really bad form and could be liable for fines or criminal charges. It’s risky and unnecessary, considering there are places where you can buy royalty-free stock photos for as low as $3.

Choosing and using stock photos is fun, but it is serious business. No matter what your needs are, ALWAYS read the fine print to keep yourself and your company in the clear.

Instagram might be a platform for people, influencers, and brands to market chosen personas and lifestyles to their online community, but that doesn’t mean that the reasons why we like their content are anything but human.

In fact, there’s a science behind why we engage with certain content over others. Research found that viewers can determine the “gist” of what they’re looking at “with over 80% accuracy” within 36 milliseconds, which means you have less than a second to make a literal impression.

Psychologically, people want to build and maintain relationships over social media – where the act of “liking” a photo has become a mode of reinforcing closeness or encouraging someone to return the favor. Sharing a photo/video is as vulnerable of an act as sharing personal information 1:1 nowadays.

Even though Instagram content is often perceived to be “misleading” or “inauthentic,” people are still drawn to photos that appear as close to real life as possible. Dan Zarrella, a social media scientist, discovered that photos with no filter actually perform better than ones that do. Therefore, things like over-saturation, lack of depth, and photos without human faces don’t garner as much engagement.

Next time you’re trying to “get those likes,” remember to just keep it human.

Annie is a Creative Circle candidate and freelance creative strategist/copywriter working and living in Los Angeles. She knows digital media as well as she knows her own horoscope (she’s a Virgo), having worked at the likes of BuzzFeed and Mashable. She has created branded content strategies for the top Fortune 500 brands, which means she knows the true meaning of “going native.” If you want to work with Annie, contact Creative Circle Los Angeles.

Many of us seem to be blindly scrambling for that next rung on the career ladder without giving much thought to what it entails. Our culture has conditioned us to accept an equation that says: “If you’re not making moves up the ladder, you can’t be a success at work; and if you’re not a success at work, you’re not a success at life.”

It’s enraging, right? And not true. You might be better off embracing the rung you’re currently occupying so never forget that your happiness is even more important than a job title. If you’re uneasy about making the move up, here are a few reasons why you might be right.

New titles don’t always come with more money.

To badly paraphrase a quote from The Princess Bride, “Your fancy title does not mean what you think it means.” That is, to say, gaining a new title, such as adding on a “Senior” or a “V.P.” to your current title, doesn’t always bring you any more money.

Some companies bestow these titles in lieu of a raise, working under the assumption that since people move around a lot in the industry, you’ll be able to cash in at your next place of employment. There may be some room for you to negotiate other perks and benefits, but make sure you’re comfortable with your new professional demands (e.g., longer hours, more client contact, required travel – all things that could impact your finances as well as your personal life).

You might not like the new job that much.

Speaking on behalf of creatives, from the time most of us get our first jobs, it’s implied that we should all be making strides toward the position of Creative Director, a Group Creative Director, or an Executive Creative Director. After all, those are the folks who end up with the awards, the vacation homes in Aspen, and their names on the agency marquee.

They’re great jobs to aspire to, but they require skillsets vastly different from what it takes to be an Art Director or a Copywriter. Besides being able to hire, fire, and motivate people, and organize departments, budgets, and design workflows, being a CD or above means selling work too, and occasionally taking flak from every direction. So even if you spend six hours a day in meetings, you still need to figure out a way to get the work done (no matter how much sleep you or your team loses).

In short, this kind of life is the opposite of everything most creatives want out of their jobs.

Even for those outside the creative department, climbing higher usually requires taking on more duties related to management and operations. You’ll likely work more hours, which means you’ll spend a greater percentage of your life doing things that are radically different from the job you signed up for.

The more entrenched you are, the harder it is to get out.

If you work in advertising, branding or design, it’s really easy to get stuck in a particular category. For example, if you’ve worked on brands in automotive, healthcare, consumer packaged goods, or restaurants, you’ll be seen as someone with expertise: i.e., you’re the car guy, the financial writer, etc. Sure, it’s easier to find similar jobs, but it’s much harder to make a change. If you don’t like the path you’re on, don’t take a more senior position unless it will give you skills that you can transfer laterally to another job.

Said in a different way, if you don’t like what you’re doing, why would you put yourself in a situation to do more of it?

It’s true that you can keep your horizons broad by taking on freelance or doing volunteer work, but you have to be willing to sacrifice your personal time (which you’ll probably have even less of if you make a big jump up the ladder).

If you love your job, stay put.

Staying put isn’t career suicide and there’s a lot to be said about really owning and growing within your current role: stability, job security, and hopefully, the chance to make the right move at the right time. Ultimately, though, you’re the only person who can do the cost/benefit analysis to figure out if you should seek or take a promotion.

If you do find yourself craving change or wanting to move up, it actually is possible to pick up some of the essential traits and skills that are outside of your current job description or comfort level. You may never be able to teach yourself to like late nights or act as a punching bag for clients, but it’s easier than you think to learn the leadership skills you need if you do decide to keep climbing. Many of these skills you can start to use immediately: the faster you start applying them at your current position, the faster you’ll move up into a new one.

Still not sure? For your inspiration, The Muse has collected nine stories about people who stepped away from highly paid, high-power careers and had zero regrets about it.

Here’s an important lesson in work and in life: Respect isn’t something that you earn once and have forever. You have to protect it, and doing good work isn’t always enough. Your professional credibility is enhanced, or chipped away, by the other little things you do. You may be eroding your credibility if:

1. You aren’t careful about your social media presence.

You probably already know that more employers than ever are peeping potential candidates’ social media feeds. Besides showing restraint about what you post to Facebook, be careful about what you’re saying on LinkedIn. Anyone who you’re connected with can view your comments so stay neutral or consider creating professional profiles that are separate from your personal ones.

2. You have a cringe-worthy email address.

If you’re using a personal address to send professional emails, then your email address should reflect it. It should be some variation of your name, a professional URL, or the name of your business. Keep your Buffguy1989 or luv4pomeranians for your personal endeavors. Get a free Gmail account and ditch anything on Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL. And finally, don’t apply for a new job using your current job’s email address.

3. You ask for LinkedIn favors without offering something of value.

You have a connection that you kind of know, but not really, and you may have never met them in person. Then you see that they’ve just connected with an Associate Creative Director at one of the top agencies in your area. Don’t start pestering them to hook you up. Why would they risk their own credibility by recommending someone they don’t even know?

The same goes for asking people you know only vaguely to endorse or recommend you. At the very least, write a thoughtful, personalized email to that person. Better yet, if you know someone who can and will vouch for you, ask them to make a more formal introduction.

4. You send out communications that are poorly written/riddled with typos.

OK, so we’re not all writers, and English may not even be our first language, but there’s a baseline for business communications, especially in a communications-related field. Your communications reflect your professionalism and attention to detail — and if you’re in a client-facing role, they also reflect your company. Make sure you’re casting yourself in a good light. At the very least, run spellcheck and then read these writing tips that will help you sound smarter.

5. You deliberately lower the bar on the value of your work.

You are supposed to be the expert and your opinions are based in facts or opinions you trust; leave no room for anyone to doubt what you’re saying. Keep your language strong and confident. Banish phrases like, “Well, if it were up to me,” “In my humble opinion,” “I think”, “I’m pretty sure,” or “It’s my feeling that…” Say what it is that needs to be said, without inviting your audience to doubt your authority.

6. You talk negatively about yourself.

Here’s a secret: People look to you to get their first impressions. If you’re berating yourself, they will think it’s OK for them to do, as well. This ranges from really offhanded or seemingly innocent comments, such as, “Oops! I’m such a klutz!” to when someone gives you professional criticism about your work, saying something along the lines of, “Yeah, that was really stupid of me. I don’t know what I was thinking.” If you made a gaffe, resist the temptation to belittle yourself.

7. You instantly agree with someone who criticizes your work.

It doesn’t matter what your job is or how far up the ladder you are, people are always going to have suggestions about your work. Be willing to stand up for the value of your contributions. Admittedly, if you’re just starting out, you should learn as much as you can, but don’t roll over each time someone makes a comment. Push back with respect, and defend your position with facts and experience, not just feelings. Showing confidence in your own work will make others confident about your abilities.

8. You can’t take it when someone criticizes your work.

It doesn’t matter what your job is or how far up the ladder you are, people are always going to have suggestions about your work. Sound familiar? Need me to say it again? Being combative about routine feedback will quickly earn you a bad reputation. Knowing how to gracefully accept well-meaning criticism is how you learn and grow as a professional.

9. You lack follow-through.

Delivering on your promises is a huge part of earning trust — both in work and in life. If you need to, be a flake on your own time. But at work, not making good on things you’ve committed to can put everyone else in a bind, especially if whatever you said you’d be responsible for is part of a bigger project.

Bottom line: Start protecting your credibility now.

Once it’s been dinged too hard, it’s almost impossible to restore your professional credibility. You’re probably not in the position where losing it will cost you billions of dollars, but the story of tech startup CEO Elizabeth Holmes’ fall from grace is a fascinating look at what happens when you push your credibility to the breaking limit. By making a few simple steps, you can avoid jeopardizing your credibility in the first place.

Bored with Behance? Seen everything on Comm Arts 1,000 times? The next time you’re looking for inspiration for your design, advertising, or marketing project, check out a few sources from off the beaten path to get your creative juices flowing.

The World of Fashion

Cutting-edge fashion synthesizes culture and history, often while pushing the boundaries of engineering. Here are a few contemporary designers who are also considered creative geniuses.

Late British designer Alexander McQueen pushed the envelope for form and function in fashion: the iconic knuckle-ring clutch and Lady Gaga’s famous armadillo boots are masterpieces of industrial design.
Avant-garde Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo is loved for her sense of whimsy and elaborate construction. Believe it or not, this look that Rihanna sported at the 2017 Met Ball is one of the designer’s more accessible pieces.
You could describe Rick Owens’ signature style as “maximal minimalism,” but his clothes demonstrate how far you can go just by playing with proportions.
Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen takes an architectural approach to fashion design, often creating her own textiles. She’s even collaborated with famed architect Rem Koolhaas on 3D printed shoes.
The Mulleavy sisters (otherwise known as Rodarte) tend to polarize critics, but they’ve won fans with their painstaking handiwork and intellectual approach to fashion.

Retail Stores

Even though it feels like everything is online all the time, 94% of all retail sales are made at a physical store. And the retailers who want to keep it that way are pulling out all the stops to attract and engage their customers.

You’re probably already studying Nike’s ads; why not dig a little deeper and be awestruck by what they’re doing that’s breathing new life into retail?
Rebecca Minkoff’s New York flagship store takes personalization to new levels and aims to be the future of retail.
Grocery stores aren’t very sexy, but the national chain Kroger is integrating cutting-edge technology that delivers personalized pricing and offers to cement the value of brick-and-mortar shopping.
High-end appliance retailer Pirch has created an in-store experience that makes shopping for ovens and refrigerators whimsical and fun.
Take a trip to your local Apple store and just poke around. The design is equal parts art, science, and magic, offering up a uniquely immersive experience. The New York store has been named one of the world’s most beautiful shops.

Board Games

Board game design is like an elaborate exercise in creative problem-solving. While the humble board game can’t come close to matching the innovative bells and whistles of their digital counterparts, playing a game (and studying the packaging) can help get you out of a creative slump.

Saturday Night Live is a board game. Who knew? With its vibrant colors and iconic images, you might even buy it for the packaging alone.
Over the years, you’ve probably seen Cranium a million times at Starbucks, but it’s worth checking out, especially because it was designed to foster creativity.
Take a look at these 15 reconceived chessboards, and imagine how you could breathe new life into the traditional way of doing things.
Creativity is often tied to ego, so why not make something where you have no expectations? Sagrada is a competition to build the best stained glass masterpiece.
It’s more of a parlor game, but a few rounds of Exquisite Corpse, the collaborative game where people take turns blindly assembling a story or an illustration, can get you excited about collaboration.

If all else fails…

Go to an immersive theater event—imagine being one of only two audience members in an elaborate, six-hour production.
Find a museum with interactive or hands-on exhibits. Think the International Spy Museum in D.C. or the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.
Sit at a train station and people-watch.
Listen to your favorite music in the dark.
Go back to the source of what made you want to pursue a creative career in the first place.

Above all, when you’re stuck or uninspired, keep your mind open. Be receptive to, and ready for, new ideas and inspiration that may come at you from anywhere. To avoid mental inspiration ruts altogether, regularly expose yourself to new things — even things you don’t think you’ll like. It’s all about nudging your brain into unexpected territory and continuing to expand your own internal creative inspo database.