What bothers me about the idea of
creative people versus non-creative people
is it makes creativity seem exclusive.
It's exactly what it shouldn't be.
My name's Liam. I'm a creative director in advertising.
The creative director's job is essentially ensuring
that any brand is communicating consistently
in line with its message across all touchpoints,
whether it's in print or outdoor, on TV
or on social media.
Right after university, I started working at a magazine publisher.
I was working in the ad sales department.
Pretty early on I realised that I was missing
a creative element to my job.
So, I applied to a lot of different agencies in London,
was sent a brief for a poster
to encourage people to wash their hands after using the bathroom.
I'd never received a brief before,
so I didn't really know what it was.
So, I just proposed some
stupid ideas, some safer ideas and got the job.
And it's been eleven years
in advertising since.
What I was really afraid of when I started working
and what I still fear every time I go into something new
is not knowing what I'm doing and it showing.
Over time, I realised that that's a good thing
and that when you're really stressed and
you feel like you're at the edge of your competence,
it's usually when you actually take risks
because you don't know the rules,
so you try something new and you end up
sometimes doing your best work.
I've worked for many different clients over the years in different sectors,
so fashion, luxury, beauty.
One project that's been really exciting and important for me recently is
a project for L'Oréal called Lessons of Worth.
It's a series of monologues
with each of the brand ambassadors of L'Oréal Paris.
It was a way to explore
the meaning of their signature: "Because I'm worth it",
through the prism of each of these ambassadors.
It gave us a chance to talk about
racism, about prejudice, about bullying, about sexism.
And to actually start a conversation,
we did some videos that actually got a lot of people talking
and made people think about "Because I'm worth it" in a new way.
I don't know if it's necessarily possible
to always create something new.
There are so many things that everybody's seen before.
There are so many messages everywhere.
To kind of stand out, I think it's really about the twist you put on it
or the way that you put it together.
I think creativity is you give me something
that I've seen before and that you've seen before
and I have to give it back to you
and make you think you haven't seen it before.
In the beginning, you can feel a bit precious about your ideas
and a bit protective of your ideas.
But what I realised over time is that it's by talking to other people,
the more I talk to people at the agency who don't have a creative job title,
the more you realise that everybody has a point of view
and everybody can have an idea.
It opens your mind and might take you to a place that you wouldn't have got to.
Everything is influence in a way.
So, an outfit can make me think,
"Ah, that could portray a certain character in an ad".
A painting as well, you could get an idea for a shot.
I think everything without realising it,
really is influential in creativity.
If somebody wants to work in a creative industry,
I would say don't be too choosey in the beginning.
Everything is a learning experience.
Take whatever opportunity you can to create
even if it means writing your own briefs,
like choosing a brand and saying,
"What can I do for this brand?" and making it up.
Everything's going to work your creative muscle.
If I have to write something, it usually starts by not writing,
so I will just let it
bubble away in the back of my mind for a few days,
maybe write stuff down on my phone whenever I think of something
or if I read something that kind of strikes a chord or whatever.
And then the actual writing can seem pretty quick
as I've been writing it for three weeks in my head.
The process is kind of invisible.
I think it's important to have conviction in your ideas.
What I think is dangerous is
to get set in your ways in a way
and kind of rely on the same reflexes all the time.
It means that you stop progressing
and it's kind of the death of creativity.
What I hope for the future is that I'll stay curious
and occasionally feel
that feeling when you feel like you've nailed something
and it feels really good.
And hopefully not get too blasé about the industry,
which can happen sometimes because you take some hard knocks.
If I do get blasé, get out before I'm forced out
or just keep enjoying it as long as I can.