Over the years, the role of a creative director has become extremely important in the modern marketplace. Joe Cianciotto mentions that these professionals are largely responsible for making sure that the creative team members of a company have all the resources they need to realize the vision of an advertising or marketing campaign, and execute it efficiently. Their role largely involves developing creative ideas and impeccably executing them to expand the profit opportunities of a company in an engaging and innovative manner.
Today, advertising and marketing are considered to be two of the most crucial elements of any business operations. This has subsequently led to an increase in the prominence of the role of a creative director. Joe Cianciotto mentions that such a professional is responsible for managing both the visual and narrative aspects of creative campaigns, while making sure that all the assets involved align with a broader brand message that is being conveyed. Creative directors work both as a manager and mentor, while leading their team toward superior success. They commonly oversee and manage all the aesthetic and functional components of an advertisement design, while making sure that each of its components comes together in a manner that adheres to the brand standards of the client.
Being a creative director can be an extremely rewarding. However, to reach this important position, a person has to go through certain steps that would provide them with the needed experience and expertise to excel in this job role. Here are some of the stages involved in the journey of becoming a creative director according to Joe Cianciotto:
- Gain work experience after graduation: Prior to joining a grad school, it shall be a good idea to gain a few years of work experience. Usually, people interested in this field complete a bachelor of arts in graphic design or animation, and tend to send out polished CVs and portfolios to recruiters and HR managers. On-the-job training is way better than any academic course, and provides people with a great opportunity to learn valuable, profession-specific skills.
- Choose the domain of work: Creative directors can work in a number of domains, right from advertising to publishing. Hence, it is important that they try to understand which area they are most interested in, and subsequently, strive to take their career on that path. The design and conceptual work at a magazine would be very different from the tasks involved in the advertising department of a newspaper. Hence, these individuals must do thorough research about the options available to them and then select the industry that resonates with them the most.
- Learn important software: In the modern digitized environment, it has become vital for a creative director to be adequately tech-savvy. They should be expert in working with some of the most popular design software like Photoshop and Illustrator. This shall invariably help them to do their duties in a more competent manner.
These were some of the important stages involved in the journey of becoming a creative director.