After graduating from ASU with a degree in Art, my path to becoming Design Director at Highway 85 was anything but direct. However, my five-year journey here has taught me that everyone’s experiences and background uniquely prepare them to develop their own strengths. In the world of design, creativity cannot be confined to one standard box. To achieve true collaboration in business, it takes all types of creativity and work styles. This is how it works within our walls.
Creativity in Design
As a designer, I don’t think about creativity like other people do. My job involves taking in information and then looking at a blank screen, upon which I’m supposed to make something exciting and resonant appear. No pressure, right? Of course, I love the challenge. That’s why I do what I do. But it’s not as straightforward as some might think.
Sometimes, clients aren’t sure what they want or don’t have a lot of materials or ideas to share with our team. While we can get around this, thanks to our experience, it does make ideating more difficult. If you’re working with a designer or design team, always aim to provide as much direction as possible. That might include sending over audience personas, mood boards, pictures of what you like/don’t like, shapes, colors, and so forth. The more vast the information you give us, the more options we have for starting points.
Oftentimes, the tiniest detail amongst a wealth of information can ignite my creativity. I might come across an intriguing shape that I can manipulate, or be drawn to a company’s artistic style. After that, it’s all about developing and expanding upon the ideas. However, starting with some boundaries and a more defined focus can actually provide the design team with more flexibility and possibilities.
To Pepper Or Percolate
When I started at Highway 85, collaboration in business meetings was a challenge for me. Our owner and CEO, Guy, has a natural knack for ideating on the fly. During our brainstorming sessions, he would launch idea after idea after idea. Of course, not all of them would work. But the fact that he could pepper the client with these inventive concepts – one after the next – was intimidating, to say the least. I started to think this was what being creative meant, and that my own creativity didn’t stack up to his.
Since then, I’ve learned this isn’t true at all. In fact, I just have my own version of creativity. I’m more of a percolator. I take in everything the client is saying, listen to Guy’s and other team members’ ideas, browse the client’s website, sift through materials, and then let it all become enmeshed in my brain. From there, the ideas percolate. It’s not immediate, like Guy’s style of creativity, but it provides a different approach that complements my other team members.
Collaboration in business is so important, especially in our line of work, which is why we believe the more creativity we have on a project, the better. This means communicating with both the client and our internal team and appreciating all the creativity types and their contributions for the value they bring.
Want to work with a team that prioritizes all shades of creativity for maximum collaboration? Reach out today!
