During my last semester at college, I took a course titled “Collaborative Workshop”. The entire course focused on how to best collaborate within a team setting. We were placed into groups of 4 or 5. These were our “creative director” groups. As creative directors, we would be directing our project and leading a group of designers. This was my first taste of creative directing. Here’s what I learned…

在大學的上學期中，我參加了一個名為“協作工作坊”的課程。 整個課程的重點是如何在團隊環境中實現最佳協作。 我們分為4個或5個小組。這些是我們的“創意總監”小組。 作為創意總監，我們將指導我們的項目并領導一群設計師。 這是我對創意導演的第一次嘗試。 這是我學到的...

讓您的團隊為成功做好準備 (Set your team up for success)

When leading a project, you obviously want the project to be successful. You want your team to feel proud about the fact that they worked on a successful project. Initially, I thought creative directing meant giving your designers creative freedom to explore. When drafting our brief, I decided to give our designers guiding principles to follow and clear deliverables, but I let them have the freedom to figure out the solution on their own. We didn’t know what we wanted, so we thought we’d let our team figure it out.

當領導一個項目時，您顯然希望該項目成功。 您希望您的團隊為他們在一個成功的項目上工作而感到自豪。 最初，我認為創意指導意味著給您的設計師創造探索的自由。 在起草我們的簡介時，我決定給我們的設計師以指導性原則，以遵循并明確可交付成果，但是我讓他們可以自由地自行解決。 我們不知道想要什么，所以我們認為我們會讓我們的團隊弄清楚。

I quickly learned that if you give your team an open-ended brief, they’re just going to be confused and frustrated. Furthermore, if they don’t meet what you were expecting of them, you’re going to end up right back at square one. This isn’t setting a team up for success.

我很快了解到，如果您給您的團隊一個開放式的簡介，那么他們只會感到困惑和沮喪。 此外，如果他們沒有達到您對他們的期望，那么您將最終回到第一方格。 這并不是建立成功的團隊。

Constraints allow for creative freedom. Set clear expectations around the project brief and tell your designers exactly what you want. Don’t make them guess.

約束允許創造自由。 在項目簡介中設定明確的期望，并告訴您的設計師您到底想要什么。 不要讓他們猜測。

At first, I thought this would seem too bossy. But that’s kind of part of the job. If you want the project and your team to be successful, you have to be clear and upfront with them of what’s expected. Let your team own the work, but provide them with clear direction.

起初，我認為這似乎過于專橫。 但這只是工作的一部分。 如果您希望該項目和您的團隊取得成功，則必須明確并提前告知他們期望的內容。 讓您的團隊擁有這項工作，但為他們提供明確的方向。

幫助他們成長 (Help them grow)

Good leaders care about the growth of their team, as a whole but also as individual members. In our second and third project stages, we held 1:1 sessions with our designers and learned about their personal goals. What do they want to gain out of this project? Where do they see themselves in the next couple of years? Now, how can the creative director help them get there?

優秀的領導者既關心團隊的整體發展，也關心個人的成長。 在第二和第三項目階段，我們與設計師舉行了1：1的會議，并了解了他們的個人目標。 他們想從這個項目中學到什么？ 未來幾年他們會在哪里看到自己？ 現在，創意總監如何幫助他們到達那里？

Look at the different moving parts of the project and identify the tasks that align with your team members’ goals. Assign it to them. In these cases, it’s important to build an environment around psychological safety. Personal growth can make people feel vulnerable. A psychologically safe environment signals to your team members that taking positive risks is encouraged.

查看項目的不同移動部分，并確定與團隊成員目標一致的任務。 分配給他們。 在這些情況下，建立圍繞心理安全的環境非常重要。 個人成長會使人感到脆弱。 一個心理上安全的環境向您的團隊成員發出信號，鼓勵積極冒險。

建立強大的團隊文化 (Build a strong team culture)

I found this to be the hardest, yet most important part of creative directing. Most of creative direction is establishing strong team culture. What are your teams values? How do those values shine through?

我發現這是創作指導中最困難但最重要的部分。 最具創意的方向是建立強大的團隊文化。 您的團隊的價值觀是什么？ 這些價值觀如何體現出來？

During our class, we were asked to create a team value canvas. We wrote down each of our individual values, strengths and came up with game plans on how we would handle conflict or obstacles. It seemed like a pointless exercise at first, but it held us accountable. It acted as a point of reference for when we lost our way.

在課堂上，我們被要求創建一個團隊價值畫布。 我們寫下了我們每個人的價值觀，優勢，并提出了應對沖突或障礙的游戲計劃。 乍一看似乎毫無意義，但卻使我們承擔責任。 它是我們迷路時的參考點。

Establishing team norms is important to bond the team together, especially if you’re working with new people. You want your team to feel unified. We did this by creating a collaborative Spotify playlist. The playlist allowed us to learn a bit more about each other, and it also gave us the opportunity to be vulnerable and share our favourite tunes in a judgement-free zone. It ended up a chaotic mess, with songs from Doja Cat to dosii, but still unites us, long after the end of the project.

建立團隊規范對于將團隊聯系在一起非常重要，特別是在與新員工一起工作時。 您希望您的團隊感到團結。 為此，我們創建了一個協作式Spotify播放列表 。 播放列表使我們可以相互了解更多，也使我們有機會變得脆弱，可以在沒有判斷力的區域分享我們喜歡的音樂。 在項目結束后很長一段時間，它最終陷入混亂，從Doja Cat到dosii的歌曲，但仍然團結了我們。

投資人 (Invest in people)

I never really envisioned myself as a creative director (or in any leadership position) until someone pointed it out to me. David Hoang was one of the first to do so. Since then, he’s been helping me and giving me tips on design leadership. That’s what good design leaders do. They identify areas of growth and help you get there.

除非有人向我指出，否則我從來沒有真正將自己想象成一名創意總監(或擔任任何領導職務)。 David Hoang是最早這樣做的人之一。 從那時起，他一直在幫助我，并向我提供有關設計領導力的提示。 好的設計領導者就是這樣做的。 他們確定增長領域并幫助您實現目標。

I still have a lot to learn about creative direction. I’m glad that I have some insanely talented and kind people in my corner to help me learn and grow. Find your people, then pay it forward.

關于創意方向，我還有很多東西要學習。 我很高興我的角落里有一些瘋狂的才華和善良的人來幫助我學習和成長。 找到你的人，然后將其支付。