ItHow are creatives settling in to this new working reality?
As the Covid-19 pandemic and its social distancing measures continue to disrupt life as we know it, with agencies, studios and creatives everywhere being challenged like never before, we reached out to our community to hear how they’re settling into this new working reality. From less-than-perfect Zoom calls to virtual whiteboards, read on to find out how creatives are collaborating and ideating in isolation.
Carl Halford , Course Leader, BA Advertising, University of Gloucestershire
“Despite being on campus one day and then locked down the next, social isolation appears to have been a blessing in disguise for our students. The generosity of agencies, creatives, brands and organisations in terms of offering video crits, online “placements” and masterclasses has exposed students to a host of individuals and expertise that would have been a logistical nightmare to organise. But yet when the world comes to a standstill, creatives turn it up to 11. And I’m totally not surprised. What an amazing industry to be part of.”
Eleanor Harpur, Art Director
“We made this little film at home while on lockdown. We think it’s a great example of how we can still create lovely work with tiny, safe crews. Delighted that the little film we made while at home last month was loved by everyone at Land Rover and they are now running it. We had lots of fun creating this and we think it’s a great example of what can be achieved with a good idea and a tiny crew. Thanks to all the collaborators.”
Richard Wood, Brand Strategist, Cheddar Creative
“At Cheddar Creative, we’re actually finding the enforced isolation quite handy for brainstorming and ideation exercises. As we all know, individual brainstorming results in more ideas that are more diverse, original and creative than those that come out of group brainstorming sessions.
Currently, we’ll jump on Zoom or Hangouts Meet for an initial briefing session where we’ll define the problem at hand and what we’re hoping to achieve then go our separate ways (virtually) to generate as many ‘How might we…’ ideas/solutions as possible then reconvene to add our ideas to Zoom’s virtual whiteboard or note.ly where we can discuss, group and vote for our faves.
This process is working really well for us and it definitely feels like we’re generating better ideas faster and aren’t getting as distracted or bogged down in debate. It’s a little more difficult to pick up on those all-important body language “tells” when you’re watching someone’s reaction via a less-than-perfect video feed, but so far we’re getting by pretty well with our remote workflow.”
Tony French, TV Editor
“I’m a television editor working remotely from home on a series for Discovery. Avid editing kit was left on my doorstep which I set up in my living room and it didn’t take long before the editing process flowed seamlessly between myself and the edit producer also working from home remotely. Two things that have stood out for me is that with no distractions my productivity has increased twenty percent, and without someone peering over my shoulder, I’ve dared to be more creative which has elevated my work. In my opinion anyway.”
Becky Sidwell, L6 Graphic Design, Staffordshire University
“Myself and Chloe are a creative duo at Staffordshire University, currently in our final year. We are entering D&AD New Blood this year and we are really excited to share our work. When we initially found out about working from home it hit us hard, but after about a week or so we set a programme and we now have a scheduled FaceTime session with our tutors every week. The support is fantastic and we couldn’t wish for any better. Having a routine is everything, map everything out week by week and you feel a lot better and feel like you achieve what you set out to do. Communication is key.”
Article: D&AD