What Does Your “Creative” Look Like?

An advertiser’s introspective look at cliches, stereotypes and hipster frames without glasses

Just like in Hasbro’s game “Guess Who,” we can decipher certain appearances, behaviors, quotes, clichés, and stereotypes that apply to the people working in the creative industry.

Imagine Jules Winnfield asking what Marsellus Wallace looks like (well, it’s not a great joke if you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction).

We can use the exact same protocol of questions to identify a creative

Does your Creative look messy?

How many times have we heard that, to trigger creativity, there must first be chaos. There is this belief that a person who is highly unorganized will perform an outstanding job as a Creative because they have this crazy mind in which everything is messed up, while they still have this ability to connect ideas in a non-lineal way.

Even if this has a greater connection with some theories of creativity developing and improvement, there is a well known concept about creation that says:

“Creativity is not how much you know or how much you don’t, it’s about connecting what seems unconnectable.”

And, of course to make it work toward the goal.

Does your Creative dress, talk, act and think like a “hipster?”

There are misconceptions about Creatives, mostly traits imposed by the same creativity culture. We see that Creatives working in the advertising field often have a style leaning toward the “hipster” culture.

This has caused an arrogant attitude toward mainstream media, an uncanny idolization for new, cultural, artistic, thinking movements and a generalized contempt against anything that is now accepted by the masses.

There is also a common believe that the “great” Creatives use psychoactive drugs to unleash “connective brain waves” in a massive and constant way.

As I don’t have research to deny or confirm this, I can only say that I’ve seen people high on several kinds of drugs without having any coherent ideas, and sober people with an amazing idea that changes everything.

So, are these right-brained hipsters the only ones who can develop the creativity of the world? Of course not!

In my short, but rich experience working in the advertising, marketing and IT fields, I’ve witnessed exceptional ideas for the creative process come from“logical, linear, objective thinkers” (whom many would call nerds, geeks and freaks). I’ve also known “creative, abstract, artistic thinkers” who go and solve a problem in the IT area.

What I’m trying to getting at with this is, never underestimate the problem solving capacity of anyone around you. You might be surprised how well a mind can adapt to a strange scenario and find a way to get their team out of it.

Finally, let’s decide if it’s good to have limitations and reins within the brief. I would say that it depends entirely on the managers of the project. They are the ones who know if the workers they hired will feel fine with a brief with very specific directions, or if they will defy it and go further in order to get the most of the team work.

Either way, just understand that, for creativity to bloom, time is an essential factor. Nevertheless, if you let it be or if you carefully sow your creative seed, it will need time; just like these kids: