What are the functions of a creative director?

The Creative Director operates in a world of permanent change, which means that he or she must be prepared to constantly face highly diverse creative challenges, not only because of the many types of brands and companies with which he or she collaborates but also due to the fast evolution of the different languages, channels and formats of the media context in which he or she works. Although media and forms change, creativity and empathy are essential constants of good communication.

Creative Direction is a professional practice directly linked to communication strategy, marketing and advertising, in which the Creative Director acts as a creator of messages and projects that enhance the value and perception of a specific brand and that are relevant to a specific target audience.

The job of a Creative Director consists of making use of strategic thinking, advertising design and creativity to offer companies and brands visual, conceptual and experiential communication solutions that meet their needs and context, to position themselves positively in their audiences’ minds through universal principles such as motivation and empathy, with creativity as the main tool.

Being a Creative Director involves developing numerous and diverse skills such as lateral thinking, the use of language and image, emotional intelligence and the disruptive ability to find communication opportunities that both surprise and move the general public.

The Creative Director is the person responsible for the communication and expression of a brand, which means that their main task is to ensure that the messages a company shares are in line with the very nature of the brand, reflecting its authentic personality.

To do this, he or she has to work with many professionals from different areas, from company management to marketing specialists, account executives, and professionals in graphic design, audiovisual production and software development, among others. The Creative Director acts as a bridge between all these diverse profiles and is in charge of coordinating them so that they can work together to develop coherent and effective communication products across multiple communication channels.

However, one of the greatest skills and functions of a good Creative Director is to know how to tell stories and, through them, to evoke emotions that generate strong bonds between people and brands, and that is also capable of activating them beyond what is merely transactional.

The Creative Director must have a holistic view that is capable of understanding the context, enhancing the brand and charming the audience by creating messages that are useful and relevant to a large number of people, which makes their work a fascinating practice.

It takes time and effort to develop the skills needed to do this job, but at the same time, it provides a set of skills that are useful for many aspects of life.

At Elisava’s Master in Creative Management and Communication, creativity is considered a free, diverse and complex practice that offers infinite solutions and possibilities, which is why those in charge enjoy creating communication concepts through an open methodology that guides creativity but at the same time gives it freedom, so that students can develop their talent through tools that stimulate creative thought processes.

If you want to know more about these tools and methodology, visit the website of the Master in Creative Direction and Communication.