7 Steps to Successfully Deliver a Creative Project
This seven-step guide looks at the anatomy of a creative project. We start with the brief and idea generation, then cover how to capture an idea and turn it into reality, the logistics of timelines and deliverables, and how to reach a happy, successful outcome.
What is a creative project?
Aren’t all projects creative? For this guide, a creative project is anything that isn’t an off-the-shelf product or service: it needs creative thinking and problem solving. It usually aims to make something unique and inspiring, ideally with a jaw-dropping impact on your audience.
Putting a beer in the fridge doesn’t involve creating; finding a way to cool it in a warm wilderness does. Heating a microwave dinner for one doesn’t; foraging in the woods and making a fire… well, you get the point. There are degrees of creativity, and different problems need different solutions. So, for our purposes, a creative project is bespoke, probably a one-off, may involve emerging technology, and has artistic elements.
Who is this guide for?
This guide is for anyone commissioning or working on a creative project. It’s also for clients who want to see inside the process: what goes on, how to steer it, and how to keep control and stay in the loop once the brief is out the door.
We break the process into seven steps. You’ll probably pass through some of them more than once: successful projects are iterative, and creativity rarely walks a linear path.
Each step has its own, more detailed article, linked below.
Step 1: A Jargon-Free Anatomy of a Creative Brief
Briefs can be big or small, loose or tight. OK, we’re not talking about your underwear here. We mean a description of what the project aims to achieve and, most importantly, why. The perfect brief is harder to write than most people think. We look at how a well-written brief can catalyse the whole creative process, and give you an example outline.
Step 2: The Art of Brainstorming
Brief in hand, you’re basking in golden sunshine, looking over an uninterrupted vista. Now you just need to start throwing ideas out there. But they need to be good, complete, on target and new, right? Wrong. This is a wilderness and you can make of it what you will. Ideas are ephemeral; at this stage you only need to capture glimpses. The most important rule is to have no rules: keep the ideas coming without judging them. We gather top tips for generating ideas, especially the weird and wonderful ones.
Step 3: Capturing the Idea
Your creative butterflies flutter around you in all their dazzling glory, but they could vanish at any moment. Now it’s time to pick the best and brightest and pop them in your butterfly jar for a closer look. We cover a digital and analogue toolkit for capturing an idea’s essence and sharing it with others.
Step 4: Harnessing the Power of Iteration
Every creative project is an adventure. It takes diversions before it reaches its end: new ideas join the old ones, you meet obstacles that seem unconquerable, and you have wonderful eureka moments. One of the best weapons you can carry on that quest is iteration.
Step 5: Plan for the Known Knowns and for the Known Unknowns
Creative projects often go down to the wire. They’re complicated by nature, and there can be huge unknowns, especially on the ‘cutting edge’. We gather tools to help you plan, keep communication positive between creators and client, build a timeline, stay flexible, assess risks and keep a contingency, even for the unknown unknowns. We also outline what a project plan should include.
Step 6: On Budget
Ideally the budget is set as early as the brief. But many creative projects that use emerging technology need a discovery phase first, researching different options before a more accurate budget can be agreed. We look at ways to budget a creative project, and at tools for tracking time and effort.
Step 7: The Grand Finale
Once your thing of beauty is unleashed on the world, don’t rush straight on to the next project: celebrate it. Sit down with the whole team for a debrief on what worked well and what could work better next time. And open a bottle of bubbly!