Creative vs. Creative Director

There’s an article in CA‘s Interactive Annual by Xanthe Wells called “Promoted to Fail.” It includes  this chart from Rob Schwartz.

I love it. It’s true. Absolutely true.

But if you’re a young creative with aspirations of becoming a creative director, don’t just jump to the right-hand column. Embrace the left side. Be about your book. Have lots of ideas. Worry about now. It’s what you need to do now.

Someday, you’ll realize you’re more concerned about the client than your book. You’ll know what finding the idea feels like. Unifying won’t sound so lame and kumbaya-ish.

Nothing wrong with either column. Just know where you fall. And play your part as best you can.

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Nate Archambault on Side Projects

Our friend and frequent contributor Nate Archambault has a great piece on Medium.com on the importance of side projects. Check it out here.

[You can check out Nate’s advertising blog at maybegravy.com and follow him on Twitter at @nkarch.]

Here’s Why Talented Creatives Are Leaving Your Agency

We don’t often repost articles on this blog. But I thought this one on Digiday was worth sharing. It’s a London-based product designer’s take on why agencies are bleeding young talent while startups are picking them up. The author’s litany of condemnation for big agencies:

1. You won’t stop taking on shit work.
2. You don’t innovate, even though you say you do.
3. You keep hiring dead weight (and do nothing about it).
4. You don’t stop taking on projects that can’t be delivered unless we work 12-hour days.
5. You don’t give staff any credit.
6. You don’t buy us decent equipment.

Not all large agencies fit this dire mold. But I’ve worked at one or two that did. It’s good to recognize the bad  out there so you can avoid it. And it’s go to recognize the good, so you can run towards it. Read the full article here.