Creative is NOT a Department

For those of us that work in the photography or graphic design field you know how hard it can be to be "creative" all the time. Anthony Mikes has an article in the Spring issue of Southwest Graphics magazine that acknowledges how important it is to integrate everyone in the office to a imaginative mindset and offered some ideas to keep the creative juices flowing.

Creative is NOT a Department; by Anthony P. Mikes

Not long ago, I did an in-house seminar for a midsize agency. During a discussion of their core strengths, one of the account supervisors said to me that she felt the agency would be a lot better if the creative department could actually meet a deadline and bring forth more economical solutions to clients' problems. Just as I was about to answer, a thought occurred to me...as enlightened a thought as I've had in the past few years.

"Creative" is not a department. Creative is an agency way of life in the 21st century.....

How do you turn your department-oriented agency in to one big creative entity? It's easy. Just follow these steps.

1. Meet regularly to discuss the agency's work.....

2. As you develop your agency's mission and vision, make sure you include points about being a creative organization.....

8. Make your environment creative. What does it hurt to decorate the agency in a creative way? Colors, posters, banners, open space and collaborative areas all inspire your entire organization to be creative, not just the few people in the creative department.

The full article can be found at www.secondwindonline.com, but you have to register with them to read it.