Making It Better, Making It Worse
Why your idea died a slow death.
There is a point when collaboration peaks on a project, and after that you’re just picking it apart to die a slow death. Where is the line? How do you stop it?
We’ve all had projects that start out great. Everyone is in agreement. Everyone is excited about the idea. Just a little tweak here and there. Three months later, you look back and don't recognize it. Where did things go wrong? The line feels fuzzy if you can see a line at all.
There wasn't any one meeting that felt like collapse. All the changes seemed small. Nothing shouted out that you should push back. But ten small revisions can be more devastating to an idea than two big ones. Which is why designers tend to push back about things that might seem very unimportant by most standards. Projects are like the Grand Canyon. It didn’t wear away overnight – it shows us clearly what small things can do over time.
Typically, projects peak pretty early on. There is a start and then some editing, modifying, tweaking. All good. When the edits become second guessing, or “what ifs” that don’t really sound plausible, or are a function of overthinking, or lack of budget, then watch out. You’re headed down the hill. It does not get any better. In fact, it gets worse.
It's hard to convince people that the small change they just asked for is somehow unreasonable. You will be cast as the whiny art director who is being too precious. But your job is to try to keep projects on the rails – "here is what we all agreed to." You won't always succeed. Very often, you need backup.
The only way that I think you can be a viable creative director is if you do understand those skills, because the job is to be almost like a conductor of an orchestra. You have to understand all of the different roles and responsibilities, and you have to be able to bring them all together for a common goal. That is what a creative director is. And everything else is bullshit.” —Ruba Abu Nimah
Relatively speaking, it's very easy and comfortable to just make the change. And any change that seems like less of a risk is also easy and comfortable. It just won't make something memorable or interesting.