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If this piece caught your eye, you might either be a new Creative Director or a Creative strongly considering stepping into a new professional role. Whatever your situation may be, it’s good to educate yourself on everything that goes into a Creative Director’s job.
Leading a creative team can be quite different from leading teams in other industries because Creatives like graphic designers, web developers, and copywriters face unique challenges.
- There are looming deadlines to contend with.
- Creative project management pressures that come from juggling multiple projects, design sprints, and group VR calls.
- Clients can change their creative vision and target audience every other day.
- No matter how much project planning you do, there will always be last-minute projects with tight turnarounds.
A good Creative Director has the professional experience and the project management skills to navigate their team through all of these challenges. Great Creative Directors can do it all while staying true to themselves, displaying excitement to the creative team, and constantly demonstrating to the client that they have their back.
You might be wondering how you can begin to approach leading a creative team. If that’s the case, let this blog be your guide.
Today, we will discuss some Creative Director best practices to give you the roadmap to becoming the most effective Creative Director you can be.
Be a Great Communicator.
As a Creative Director, you’ll establish budgets and timelines, oversee the creative process, and use your years of experience to complete projects to the client’s satisfaction.
However, the most important aspect of a Creative Director role is that you must be a great communicator!
As a team leader, you must be able to explain assignments clearly and set crystal-clear expectations and goals to ensure that every member of your team understands the projects you’re working on.
Communication isn’t just about explaining projects. You must also know how to give constructive and respectful feedback to your team.
This means checking your tone, choice of words, and everything about your delivery to ensure that your feedback (both positive and negative) is given in a constructive way to maintain a cohesive environment.
A great communicator is easy to talk to, easy to take direction from, and can make all the difference in a happy working relationship with your team members.
Make Your Team a Safe Space.
The best Creative Directors always look for new ways to bring out the best in their creative team. So much of Creative Direction is mentoring. You’re helping people become their best selves and using the work to catalyze personal growth and professional learning.
Part of creating a positive creative team structure is fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment where everyone knows and understands their contribution and opinions are heard and valued.
How does one do that?
Start with your communication skills.
- Be sure that the way you speak or write to your team is positive and constructive.
- Be a supportive and respectful Creative Director to ensure your team feels comfortable communicating with you.
- Encourage your team to work together, communicate, share ideas, and give each other (and you!) the same constructive feedback you give them. Weekly check-ins are a great way to do this.
- Be available for any questions or concerns. This is very reassuring for Creatives, especially newer ones just beginning their careers.
- Foster a team environment where everyone is encouraged to be creative, take risks, and explore new ideas together! You can’t accomplish that unless everyone is comfortable working together.
It must also be said that you should advocate for your teammates. Defend their ideas, even if not the clients’ favorites, and don’t bad-mouth them to others.
Your team should always know that you’ve got their back.
Don’t Step on Their Toes.
Like ballroom dancing, you want to avoid crunching your partner’s toes as you navigate the creative waters together.
If you’re a newer Creative Director, you may not be far removed from your days as a Creative, but it’s time to get used to it, friend. Learn to delegate, because you’re the creative project manager, not the Creative. Your job is to be a creative manager and mentor, provide direction and feedback, and mediate between the clients and your team.
Fight the urge to micromanage! Not only is it super annoying and frustrating for your creative team, but it causes stress, quashes their creativity, and makes folks less likely to want to work with you. No one likes to be micromanaged and nitpicked, after all.
The best way to show your team that you respect them and trust their creative judgment is to provide a comprehensive set of instructions and creative direction at the start of the project, ensure that they have everything they need to complete the work, then stay out of the process until deliverables are turned in for your approval.
You never know when their next amazing idea will pop up, and if you hover and make a nuisance of yourself, you may unintentionally prevent greatness.
In other words, don’t be this guy.
Lead by Example.
This should be a no-brainer, but we should cover it here.
If you expect to get the best out of your creative team, you must first be the best version of “you.” Simply put, this means that whatever you expect from your team, you must expect from yourself. There should be no “do as I say and not as I do.” Instead, treat others the way you want to be treated.
- Be prepared for your meetings so that you honor the time of your team.
- Turn assignments in on schedule.
- Keep your promises.
- Show up to meetings.
- Communicate positively and respectfully.
- Let people make mistakes; when they do, take ownership of it yourself.
- Praise your team publicly and bring corrections privately.
A leader who doesn’t follow their expectations is not a leader who inspires greatness, so make sure you’re on your A-game.
Keep yourself updated with the newest social media trends and updates on tech and software, like Adobe or Figma. It’s good to know the tools available to you and your creatives, and, as a graphic design mentor, if your team is not aware of a tool that makes their job easier, you should bring it to their attention.
Celebrate Your Team’s Wins … and Their Losses.
It’s easy to celebrate wins. They feel good, everyone’s happy, and celebrating comes naturally. But just as much as you celebrate a glowing review or a gushing email from a client, you should also celebrate the great ideas that didn’t make the final cut.
Just because the client didn’t like something doesn’t diminish the fact that it was a great idea.
Celebrating wins and losses will encourage your Creatives to keep trying and pushing the creative envelope.
Praise boosts your team’s morale overall. You want to empower and encourage your team, no matter what stage of their careers they may be in.
If you can do this, you’ll have a crowd of Creatives who are more likely to communicate with you, accept your feedback, and produce high-quality deliverables!
What Is a Creative Team?
A creative team is a group of professionals who work together to bring ideas to life through visual, written, and interactive content. At its core, a creative team is responsible for creating the visual identity and messaging that help brands stand out, communicate effectively, and connect with their audience.
Your team might include graphic designers, copywriters, UX/UI designers, web developers, animators, videographers, and more — each with their own unique skill sets and creative perspectives. Together, they collaborate on everything from social media campaigns and website design to packaging, brochures, logos, and brand storytelling.
Creative teams thrive on inspiration, structure, and support. And with the right leadership, they’re capable of producing powerful, engaging work that drives real impact.
What Are the Responsibilities of a Creative Team?
Creative teams wear many hats, and their exact responsibilities will depend on the company they’re working for or a specific project. But in general, their job is to execute the creative vision of a brand or campaign.
Here is what that can include:
- Brainstorming and ideation for visual and written content.
- Designing visual assets like logos, marketing materials, social media graphics, and websites.
- Writing compelling copy for everything from taglines to blog posts and ad campaigns.
- Developing multimedia content, such as videos, animations, or interactive experiences.
- Collaborating across departments (like marketing, product, and sales) to ensure cohesive messaging and brand consistency.
- Responding to feedback and iterating quickly while maintaining quality and meeting deadlines.
Ultimately, a creative team’s job is to transform ideas into tangible, strategic assets that communicate a message, inspire action, and align with the overall brand identity!
<div class="c-blog_comp-cta cc-component-2"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left"><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-wrap"><img src="https://global-uploads.webflow.com/61cdf3c5e0b8155f19e0105b/6369519c2ccf5cbe678f6ba9_Current-Creative.png" loading="lazy" alt="" class="c-blog_comp-cta-left-img"></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-cta-right cc-dark"><div class="c-blog_comp-content"><div class="c-text-wrapper cc-mb-32"><div class="c-title-4 cc-bold"><strong>Grow with a community that is exclusively inclusive!</strong></div></div><div class="c-text-wrapper"><div class="c-text-2">Get inspiration from creative directors and level up from emerging creative to Chief of Design by collaborating on projects.<br><br></div></div></div><div class="c-blog_comp-wrapper"><a href="http://designity.com/creatives" target="_blank" class="c-button w-button"><strong>Discover Your Growth Path</strong></a></div></div></div>
Take the Reins.
Now that you’ve got an idea of what it takes to be a great creative mentor and leader, it’s time for you to take the reins and lead!
Whether you're about to step into a new career as a Creative Director or just looking to improve your leadership skills, following these best practices is an excellent way to set yourself up as a successful leader that Creatives are lining up around the block to work with.
What do you look for in a creative leader?
