Susan Kirkland (bio)

Same with football; different field, same intent. Say a linebacker decides to take control of the ball, rendering the quarterback useless and the coach irate. The trouble is, a lot of middle managers see themselves as coaches and are encouraged by senior management to follow a gameplan. It's just too sad to admit that the team is a case of still wine with only one bottle of sparkling—that out-of-control, in-house creative. This hierarchy is rampant in the south, where the good ol’ boys see their employees as a squad of rugged tacklers going after big business. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been warned to just do my job and stop trying to think outside the lines. “My gawd, who are you to advise me on designing my sales piece? Just do what you’re told and try to get along. We need a team player in your position.”

Don’t Feed the Animals: Chances are you’ve heard these complaints; yet there you sit, through another meeting of helpful marketing people who haven’t discovered design by consensus is a bad idea. Each marketing person puts their two cents in and what comes out? Often a dull, diluted and unsatisfying result unless a seasoned creative director is on hand. Creativity, unlike medicine or marketing, does not respond to more than one cook in the kitchen. It requires a single vision to be artistic. Go ahead, argue the point. Someone did precisely that at the AIGA arguing for the necessity of collaboration in one sense—utter nonsense.

What is ART? Let’s start here: It’s me trying to show you what I see. Is there any other way I can do this, short of hooking you up to Natalie Woods memory bubble doodad in her last film with Christopher Walken? You know the one, where the guy loops the sex experience and gets stuck in rapid climatic revolve for two weeks? Art is me showing you what I see and how I see it. It involves human expression (no, an elephant is not creating art when he paints) and the effects of human emotion on the personal experience of creativity. Adding more than one person into a personal expression makes it a washed down version of a once original thought. Even John Malkovich, starring in his new film, Art School Confidential and an accomplished creative, must battle to maintain his artistic integrity as he introduces his new fashion line, Mrs. Mudd. From his interview in New York Magazine (05/05/06), he says, “I’m still having quite a battle, frankly. I want it done the way I want it done, and until that happens I won’t be happy. As I’ve said to my partner, if this was a play, you’d be in jail. You can’t take a play someone has directed and do whatever you want with it. I don’t know where they get that idea. I’d never do it to anybody.”

Poke Your Eye Out: When my freelance income dipped with the price of oil, I accepted a full time position with a rapidly growing company whose CEO adopted an aggressive growth through acquisition strategy—lots of new faces with each acquisition. The in-house art department was established with a drafting position that blossomed into a publications department. When I replaced a software guru with real skills in advertising design, all it did was frighten the natives. My first project was to learn about each marketing VPs product line. So I called one of my buddies at an agency and asked him if I could borrow his unfinished client questionnaire for in-house use. “This questionnaire was designed by the city’s leading B2B ad agency to extrude information from clients. It will help me design sales support literature that will increase sales and put you ahead of the pack with the competition. Do your best to have it back to me within 2 weeks and I’ll do my best to help you increase sales.” After repeated reminders and no response, one marketing VP came into my office with his incomplete questionnaire. “You might as well stop asking us for those questionnaires. We all decided not to do it and that you should just do what you’re told.”

Wait for the Birdie: About a month later, one of the marketing managers asked for dupes on the same generic ad he had been running in trade magazines for the past year with no results. “Is that ad getting you the type of results you expect?” I asked. He looked at me as if I was interfering, “No.” Here it comes—wild horses rushing past the open gate. “Well, if you think you can do better, let’s see it!” Oooh, baby. I took his product lines and created over 45 quick comps and asked him to meet me in the conference room about a week later. “These are my ideas.” I put each comp on the ledge as I went through the stack just like it was another portfolio showing. He sat silently as he listened and it took him a few minutes to take it all in. Finally, he said, “Well, I had no idea you were capable of this.” He took the entire stack of comps to his boss and got budgets to cover production.

Going for Gold: One line of equipment was marketed as an alternative to the whirlpool bath used in physical rehabilitation. He had to overcome a truly outdated, ugly product design. When I showed him the comp on the campaign, he asked me the strangest question, “Who is Mr. Pitouli and does he know we want to use him for our ad campaign?”. “Oh, those nutty people in the art department--relax, I made him up. Mr. Pitouli is a figment of my imagination and we need to hire the right model to play him.” That was the topic of conversation for quite some time. “Where do you come up with this stuff?” That’s okay, because the bottom line sang my praises. When the brochure and supporting ad campaign came out, sales increased more than 35%. We had finally reached measurable results every sales manager could appreciate.

Break OUT! For those of you limited by the noncreative culture around you, it is possible to change your environment instead of changing yourself. First, don't assume senior management has informed the people you work with about your qualifications. Arrange a meeting with everyone who will be using your services and turn it into a portfolio showing. At least everyone will be on the same page as far as your abilities. Create dramatic results for those willing to trust your education and experience. The others will follow once results are realized; and soon after, raises will follow, too. Change is hard for everybody, but all it takes is a small amount of courage, the right opportunity and timing. If you’re new to the job, the change will become harder the longer you wait. Your coworkers will no longer be able to use the “they’re new and haven’t learned yet” excuse to blow off the changes you need to excell. Learning more about the personalities and politics involved only intimidates the timid, so don’t wait. Risk takers dive in at the first sign of a good idea; so can you. You will accomplish great things, but only if you have the nerve to ruffle the feathers of those who don’t soar with eagles. Feathers can be smoothed at a later date. If not, you know what they say; There are lots of other birds in the flock with feathers to stroke.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you enjoyed this article, you'll enjoy my book, too, because it's the book I needed when I first started out in design. It's filled with great links and a full spectrum of experiences that will prepare you to face the unknown in freelance and the world of design. Even if you've been freelancing for years, you'll find new information and a trustworthy mentor to stand by your side through thick and thin in Start and Run a Creative Services Business. Excerpts are available online at my website.