Sunday, June 17, 2012

HOW TO JUDGE CREATIVE WORK

Hello creative world.

Goodness, its been ages since I found some inspiration to write. I tell you blogging is not a walk in the park as pointed out to me by a lot of people. Nevertheless I thank everyone who has asked me to get back to writing; and what better place to find inspiration than where all creatives gather annually. Yes, thanks to the grace of God, I am at Cannes Lions.

This place is buzzing with creatives from all over the world. Creative Directors, Art Directors, Clients, Media Houses, Production Companies, you name it. Its creative Mecca.The list of speakers is also amazing including Former President Bill Clinton giving a speech.There's so much to see, so much to hear and so much to learn; but I guess at the end of the day the cherry on the cake is seeing all the great entries and ultimately who walks away with Gold.

There has always been a great debate on how to judge creativity. Many awards ceremonies create joy and on the other hand great resentment from those who feel the Judges may have done better. Its something that has always confused me. So how exactly do we judge great creative work? Well, today I found the answer to the question via a really inspiring talk by a man called Michael Conrad - President, Berlin School of Creative Leadership.

Here's what I learnt:

Judges look at work based on a criteria of 10 things. 1 - 4 is bad, 5 - 7 has potential, 8 - 9 is great.

10 -  Is it the most inspiring work in the world?
9   -  Does it set a new standard in communication?
8   -  Does it set a new standard in the category

7   -  Has is got excellent crafting?
6   -  Is it a fresh idea?
5   -  Is there innovative strategy? (Are you saying something about something we all know in a new way eg  "Got Milk"?

4  -   Is it a cliche?
3  -   Is it non competitive?
2  -   Is it destructive? (Read: Bad casting, bad quality, etc)
1  -   Is it just appalling (No humanity whatsoever?)

I found this information too precious to be selfishly stored between my ears. Its a great criteria for all of us in the creative realm to set for ourselves not only when entering work for awards, but also raising standards in what we do daily. And remember, at the end of the day advertising has to inspire peoples lives and make them take action.

So ask yourself. Where does your work score on a scale of 10? I don't know about you, but I feel inspired.

Hey, that's just my opinion.



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