There are numerous career options to choose from; for the more creative people, becoming a creative director is a good alternative. Joseph Cianciotto is one such individual from Long Island, NY who has dedicated more than 11 years of his life to serving as a creative director and enjoying this position at DDB, New York.
Reaching this position begins with proficiently performing as a junior designer, copywriter, or art director. Anyone intending to become a creative director, however, has to be prepared to be persevering and hardworking to be able to cross all the initial posts and reach the pinnacle.
When one begins their journey in the creative department, they mostly begin as the copywriter mentored and guided senior person of the same category, namely an associate creative director. They usually don’t directly interact with the creative director. The reason is that in big ad agencies a creative director has a plethora of work to look into, which is why they rely on their immediate subordinates and their reports.
As one progresses, they move up the ladder while slowly accumulating experience in the field. Although a lot of their ideas may not be used yet they require less help eventually and overcome the teething problems. They begin to gain confidence and also begin to take small decisions on their own. Gradually, they also develop their own creative style like Joseph Cianciotto irrespective of the agency they are working for.
The more experience one gains the more opportunities become available to them, the only thing they need to keep in mind is to ensure that their style does not overshadow the agency’s requirements or their brand. They have to learn to strike a balance between their own style of work and the brand. Once they grow to become adept in this they have already glided into a senior position either as copywriter, designer, or director.
In some places, you may reach a senior position in a matter of 5 years, and in others, it may be double of the time. At this stage one is most likely to be assigned a team to work with, they will be expected to supervise the team and lead it towards realizing the brand requirement. This is the position of the Associate Creative Director (ACD) and having reached this position, one may expect to take direct instructions from the creative director.
Having reached this position, the individual will be expected to take major decisions without anyone’s approval on behalf of the agency, keeping in mind the goodwill of the agency. Meetings with clients to understand their requirements becomes a daily task at this time. Every ACD is however expected to retain their area of specialization just as Joseph Cianciotto did being a designer.
The next and final stage as the creative director is reached soon after. When at this position finally, one will no longer be required to take instructions but to give them. Guiding others and mentoring them to achieve the desired results comprises the job profile. A full circle in the job is now achieved.
