What Do We Mean When We Say Creative?

So let's get this out of the way from the start.

Everyone is creative on some level.

From a chef making an amazing new recipe,

to your favorite soccer player, seeing the field and making an amazing pass.

You probably are creative in your everyday life too,

from the way you dress,

to how you post on social media,

taking photos and videos of your friends,

and then playing with colors, filters, even writing captions.

These are all examples of everyday creativity that aren't too different from what advertisers, marketers, and brands do.

However, working professionals often referred to as, you guessed it, creatives

use their creativity to solve a business problem and are able to make a whole career out of solving those problems.

Developing work to come to life for a client in a way that everyone can be proud of.

 

There's a lot of different types of creatives,

but the big groupings really fall under art or copy.

Art directors help define a certain look and feel to a project.

What emotion do we want to feel?

What are we drawing inspiration from?

What's the right typography or color to convey that?

Designers use their artistic skills to design ads, packaging, memes, apparel, you name it.

Working closely with an art director to bring that visual to life the right way.

Copywriters help capture the voice through taglines, captions, and scripts.

 

Nowadays, there's a big focus on film and video as a creative medium.

Beyond just the movies you see in the theaters or the TV shows and ads on TV,

videographers, editors and more work together to create all kinds of content and art for brands.

Ads, short films, even this class you're taking right now.

The exciting thing is that creative tools are more accessible than ever.

Maybe you've even tried a few of them,

like Canva, Photoshop, CapCut, or even Instagram and Tiktok's in-app tools.

Long before you ever enroll in a high school or college course,

you have the opportunity to work on perfecting your skills, craft and vision

just in your own home or on projects with friends.

 

It can sound kind of funny, right?

Creativity isn't supposed to be work,

but to pursue creativity as a profession requires learning how to apply your artistic skills or taste in service of bigger goals

often for a client or a brand.

Professional creatives work on behalf of all types of organizations,

including advertising agencies, brands, universities, nonprofits, and more.

Creativity is especially important when it comes to sports marketing

because you can bring your passion to work with you.

There's a lot of types of creative jobs within the sports world.

Maybe you could plan interactive events to build excitement in the community

for the upcoming season,

or write social media posts to engage with fans before, during, or after a match.

There's people who design and animate the graphics package that plays in the stadium too,

or in my case, design the full look and feel of a team,

 

including logos, color, palettes, and jerseys.

We'll focus a bit on that in later lessons.

 

Hopefully you've got the creative spark, but let's focus in for a few seconds on some advice I wish I knew starting out.

First and foremost, just know that professional creative work is a team sport.

You'll collaborate with your peers, you'll give and receive feedback.

Sometimes the process starts alone.

You're drawing or writing in a notebook,

 but you will always have to work together with teams to bring that vision to life.

So try to get comfortable working with others early and often.

Next, remember that creative work is art meets business.

There's a difference between creating art and doing creative work.

Art is purely self-expression,

but creative work is about making something in service of specific goals.

You have to learn how to understand other people and their needs to apply your skills to solve their problems.

Finally, freelancing.

I mentioned in the intro video how I went freelance after working at Nike.

It's awesome to get to do your own thing,

but I really want to recommend gaining experience in a structured work environment before going solo.

Working as a creative on a team or for a brand lets you learn the business world by participating,

and you'll be a better creative for it.

 

Remember, everybody can be creative,

but a creative by trade is someone who uses their imagination and artistic skills to tackle a business problem.

There's lots of exciting creative jobs out there,

and it's especially a great industry if you're passionate about sports.

Oh, and get used to collaborating with others early and often.

It's pretty much mandatory in the creative field.

 

Next up, I'm gonna talk about some of my favorite FIFA World Cup™ creative executions ever,

and why they are so memorable.