What is the Role of a Creative Director In Corporate Branding?

If you’re looking for a career that blends your business sense with your more creative side then a creative director might sound like the perfect choice.

Before setting your sights on any role, however, it’s important to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into and do as much research as you can. That’s why today we’ll be covering the basics of what it means to be a creative director, what a creative business career can look like, and which resources you can use to help you get started.

What is a Creative Director?

First thing’s first, let’s talk about what a creative director is and what they aren’t.

Traditionally creative directors work in industries like film, TV, and games to guide projects to completion and ensure that they have a consistent vision. It’s much the same in corporate branding, with one person bringing together experts from all disciplines to form one, consistent brand narrative.

As a creative director, you’ll need to be able to understand both the practical realities of the company – budget constraints and navigating regulation – while also developing successful campaigns. You’ll need to be able to give the various teams you’re working with enough creative freedom to have and explore their own ideas, while making sure those ideas are all consistent with one another.

Put simply, a creative director for corporate branding is a good plate spinner. You have to be able to embrace a multi-tasking mindset without losing your calm. You have to be able to bring an overall creative vision without being too domineering. You have to have a subtle touch.

It’s important to note that a creative director isn’t the controlling voice, even if they are the one who gets final say. The best directing always happens when the person in charge knows how to bring people onto the same page and align them around a shared vision rather than push them towards a personal one.

Becoming A Creative Director

If you want to become a creative director then you probably aren’t going to start by searching for job roles on Indeed. Creative directors are often scouted, sought out to run projects based on their previous work. Sometimes that’s within a company and sometimes that means looking for someone who’s worked on similar projects before.

Either way, it’s your portfolio that matters. You need to be able to demonstrate a broad skill set that brings together both artistic and business management skills.

Bear in mind that, in hiring a creative director, a company is placing a lot of trust and responsibility in the hands of one person. They need to know you’re someone who can call the shots in every situation, not just one expert area.

So yes, that means being able to prove that you have great design chops, but it also means showing that you’ve worked with and lead teams. It means having a vision and being able to execute it but it also means knowing how to work within constraints and limitations.

Perhaps most importantly of all, you need to be someone who can learn on the go and face new challenges as they develop. Not only does this mean that you’ll be better at improving the skills you don’t already have, but it also means you’ll be ready when complications occur – as they always do with creative projects.

If all that sounds challenging then that’s because, well… it is. A creative director is an incredibly senior role but it’s also one that’s well worth earning. And it’s one you can work your way up to so long as you’re willing to learn the necessary skills.

But how can you learn those skills? And who’s going to teach you?

Creative Business Careers

The road to becoming a creative director might be daunting but fortunately you don’t have to walk it alone. If you want to become the kind of highly skilled individual who gets to lead teams, then you’ll need a hand from someone who can push you in the right direction.

Fortunately, here at Career Navig8r, we’re always eager to cultivate creative talent. By working with a Creative Director mentor, you could get feedback and training on every one of those valuable skills. Instead of working things out through trial and error, you can get up front instruction and help.

And it’s not just about learning the skills either. A creative director needs to be a good networker and your mentor can help with that. Working with your mentor you can meet other people in the field, get their insights, and get the word out there about you and your skills.

It’s time to start your creative journey. Find your mentor today with Career Navig8r!