On Knowing Your Role

Art directors art direct.
Copywriters write.
Designers design.
Creative directors direct the creative.

It's not rocket science. And yet somehow people seem so easily confused by it all.

Know your role.

Art directors art direct. If you're an art director, you're allowed to have opinions about the writing. But, you aren't the writer. You weren't hired to be the expert on writing. Know that. Accept that.

Copywriters write. If you're a copywriter, you will surely have opinions about the art direction. Good for you. Share them. But then trust the art director, you know, the one hired for their art direction expertise.

Designers design. If you're partnered with a writer, let them write. If the design calls for a shorter headline, ask the writer to shorten the headline. Don't take it upon yourself to rewrite it. Because you're a designer, not a writer.

Creative Directors. This one's a little more tricky because they have the background of either art direction or writing but are supposed to be proficient in both. Or at least proficient enough to know what's good. So Creative Directors direct. They offer advice, direction and insight on the writing, art direction and design. Because their job is to spot a good idea and help make it a better one.

Honestly, I think it'd be best to be proficient in all of these things. We are an industry that works in teams, so you should be knowledgeable enough to form opinions about the whole spectrum of the project. I'm an art director who is never short on opinions about the writing. But you know what? At the end of the day I accept that the writers were hired as such because they're damn good writers. If I were a better writer than them, I would've been hired as a writer too.