Although the creative process, utopically speaking, works best without deadlines and with total freedom in a constant open exchange of ideas, this is not always how it works.
In a design agency, with tight deadlines to meet, it often seems difficult to find that spark that will set the media alight with the new advertising campaign of the year. However, with organization and the right leadership, team spirit overcomes everything and becomes the perfect ignition for the creative process.
To this end, we leave you with 6 tips that will transform any team into a Dream Team.
1. The art of prioritization
The secret is to identify the most important tasks that need to be worked on that day and determine a realistic number of how many need to be completed. Trying to divide the day into two phases can be an alternative. This way, we can finish simpler and shorter tasks in the early hours of the morning and leave the remaining hours of the day for more complex tasks. This way, we reach the end of the day with the feeling that we have managed to complete more projects.
2. Take advantage of project management tools
The trick is to find the tool that best suits your needs (at EDC we use Asana). Once you’ve gotten used to it, using this type of tool as a team streamlines and simplifies processes and minimizes often unnecessary interruptions between colleagues.
3. Communicate as a team
For a creative process to result in the perfect solution to the client’s problem, there is nothing better than the correct flow of information between all members of a team. This way, designers don’t have to make assumptions, as they have all the content they need to develop the piece at their disposal. This flow of information works perfectly through the correct use of a project management tool.
4. Realistic deadlines
The motto is, the customer is king and is always right. However, the deadlines given by the customer for the completion of projects are often unrealistic. This can compromise quality upon delivery. In this case, it is necessary to know how to manage expectations. We won’t have the best website in the world in 24 hours. Good creative work needs time to become creative, to brainstorm, to surprise. Avoiding stress for teams starts with knowing how to explain the value of time in the execution of creative processes.
5. Feedback is essential
Feedback is important for the final result. Feedback from the client, the account manager, the project leader, or team members all counts. However, it is important to know how to give and receive feedback. Feedback is only valid if it is constructive and justified. This helps us to follow better directions and see other perspectives, as well as helping productivity.
6. Standardize processes
When creativity needs to be productive, efficiency is key. Standardize organizational methods among team members so that each person’s work is part of a whole. This is the best way to streamline steps that would otherwise only create entropy in the development of tasks. Organizing folders and file names in the same way is one example.
