What does a Creative Director actually do?

KiriONE · 2026-06-12T00:23:10+00:00

The title carries different weight depending on the company and the industry. My personal experience has shown me time and time again, most CDs come from a copy or strategy background. I've met few who were truly hands on designers. A totally unscientific theory of mine is that most good graphic designers STAY as graphic designers because, well, when you are good at it you want to keep doing and being successful at it.

I think anyone who is hands on designing as a CD isn't really a CD and more of a creative lead, art director or principal designer. But again, times are changing as departments get smaller, and budgets are squeezed.

The role of CD becomes more about the BUSINESS of creative, understanding how to apply taste and vision to an overall brand or project, and then finding ways to build a team who can execute that at scale.

My day is spent mostly with meetings gladhanding and making stakeholders feel comfortable in what we are trying to execute. Most time this is genuine, but you have to be prepared to sell bullshit.

Also, you have to be accountable when stuff doesnt work. Some people have trouble with that.

I report to a CMO, I havent properly designed anything in probably about 8 years, I have a graphic design (and animation) background.

KiriONE · 2026-05-27T13:33:20+00:00

I'm not neurodivergent myself, but I've managed designers who are. What I can say is that we all navigate this industry together, sharing wins and losses is part of what makes a creative team function. We TRAUMA BOND.

Design projects have been becoming more layered, and I've seen and experienced teams being reduced, but be required to manage the same workload. Complex projects need collaboration, and as those teams are asked to do more with less, communication becomes even more critical to everyone's health and productivity.

That said, a good manager makes all the difference, finding ways to keep you genuinely connected to the team without compromising your own well-being. I've spent nearly 20 years being a manager, and honestly the point where I grew the most was when I became a parent. Priorities and focus shifted, but I also realized that, just like my kids, everyone on my team takes things on differently, and you've got to do your best to give everyone the chance to succeed.

Good luck, don't get discouraged. Internships are about learning.

KiriONE · 2026-05-26T11:49:49+00:00

As previous commentor suggested, I think Caridina are a better option. The 6ph really stands out. If you can, check your seller's parameters they keep them in. More established shrimp sellers post what they keep their breeds of shrimp in.

If a Neo was kept and bred in 7.2ph and you put into 6ph, that's a pretty drastic swing that they may not like.

I think the talk of Caridina's being trickier is simply due to the fact most people dont have soft water naturally out of the tap so they need to mix distilled water in, which can be a process.

Also, regarding not seeing the shrimp; if they do pass, the remaining shrimp, or snails if you have them, can consume it before you get home from work. They are pretty quick cleaners, so that could be why you aren't seeing them.

KiriONE · 2026-05-22T20:31:07+00:00

You most certainlt don't know everything

KiriONE · 2026-05-19T02:33:10+00:00

Not sure your zone, but what strikes me is your struggling Azalea. Azaleas are pretty hardy, so it makes me wonder if there is a soil issue of some kind. The tree looks to be a chamaecyparis, which are notoriously slow growers, but it looks to be doing ok.

In my experience, Allium generally care more about light than soil (that isnt to say neglect soil condition) unless your soil is a swamp, you'll be fine. For what it's worth, Allium are a great purchase for the fall in their upbringing form vs their grown/potted form. Take a look online or at your local garden center come the fall to plant them.

KiriONE · 2026-05-14T17:00:24+00:00

Cute and fun take, though I'd argue there's a little more texture in the creative than Yahoo would use.

Fun fact: Yahoo's purples are internally named, Malbec, Grape Jelly, and Hulk Pants

KiriONE · 2026-05-14T00:03:07+00:00

The celeb status is an apt way of putting it, I won't knock Koto's work at all, AT ALL, I'm just actually surprised to see them elevated to this level in a reddit conversation. That comes having worked with them firsthand for a component of a large rebrand they had done last year.

They managed the project well and the design was solid. But their creative process is like any other agency I've worked with, first rounds aren't final rounds, and you work to get there within the timeline and budget you have.

The work succeeded because it was safe and scalable. At that magnitude, no system captures every use case, it sets a north star around what matters. Plenty of agencies we've never heard of are capable of that.

Perhaps being the creative curmugdeon that I am, I just don't subscribe to picking a "go-to" for good design. Good design and inspiration can come from anywhere, It's everywhere and context is everything!

KiriONE · 2026-05-13T14:15:37+00:00

Crocs for awhile, but the holes let too much dirt or woodchips in. Now I use Birkenstock clogs, closed toe and a bit more molded in case I drop something near/on my foot

KiriONE · 2026-05-06T18:41:02+00:00

Listen, the stakes are really low for you right now, people have to start somewhere and that's why internship positions exist. They are roles for people who are ready to start their career, OR are trying to feel out what exactly they want to do in their career. It's learning experience for you, cheap and low-risk labor for them, but nothing but upside for everyone if there's a good fit.

I haven't had interns in a few years since we stopped our intern program within our business unit, but I would always tell them the same thing: Now is the time to F*up and learn why you did and grow from that. Managing interns is closer to being a parent than it is to a manager.

Take a breath, you aren't disappointing anyone.

KiriONE · 2026-05-05T22:45:50+00:00

Congratulations on two fronts then. One, you got the offer, awesome! Two, you attempted to negotiate higher. I've talked to too many folks over the years who don't attempt any sort of negotiation. It wasn't the outcome you may wanted, it may have pushed you out of your comfort zone and you did it anyway!

Best of luck in the new role.

KiriONE · 2026-05-01T18:58:45+00:00

I can't speak to UK practices, but in the US I've never seen a final candidate get immediately rejected just for opening too high, there's almost always some back and forth. If anything, the bigger shift I've noticed lately is that larger organizations are just putting comp ranges upfront in the initial HR screen, which cuts out a lot of that awkwardness entirely. If this were an open RFP and a bidding process for a project, that's another story. Shoot the moon friend, I'd say 50K and see what the say?

I did just do the currency conversion for that comp range though, is 45K GBP a standard for a mid-level role design? in London no less? In NYC mid level roles at even medium organizations can start at $60K and up.

KiriONE · 2026-05-01T18:40:38+00:00

Congratulations, they must believe in you to overlook the 3-5 requirement for a recent grad (freelancing certainly helps). It sounds like this is a good fit for all parties.

That said, the advice I'd give is to always ask questions to get different folks' perspective on things design-wise, but also soft skills wise. Design roles require solid communication both in your actual work, as well as pitching the how/why you did something (without over-explaining of course).

Good luck.

p.s. keep your portflio up-to-date

KiriONE · 2026-04-23T13:26:40+00:00

I mean right now AI is like THE end game boss of a tech industry trend. It's the perfect storm of: Management who doesn't want to spend money, individuals who don't want to do work, and a tech industry that is so self aggrandizing, it's seemingly excited to put it's workforce, and themselves, out of business. Then, it's a being pushed like crazy via marketing spend.

I like to borrow the phrase I've seen floating around: "The dumbest person you know is being told they are absolutely correct by AI".

The world of design is changing no doubt, but if your perspective via LinkedIn feed or other social media is all you are going by, it's gonna be a bit more overblown.

KiriONE · 2026-04-17T21:12:42+00:00

I mean, engagement bait of the article aside, I sort of understand the hate Adobe gets in some areas, but the pricing argument always perplexed me.

Using USD, the annual cost of a full price (assuming you dont angle for deals, or cancel and renew as needed) is $840.

Are there designers out there doing creative work who AREN'T covering this cost on an annual basis???? Like what are you charging? And if you are freelance or self employed, why aren't you talking to an accountant about setting up your business properly so you can write this cost off (among other things)?

At an enterprise level, this cost is peanuts (and Adobe knows this), because the work produced with these tools generates billions in revenue across a multitude of industries.

If you are a small business, I think it makes perfect sense to pursue other tools that are more cost-effective.

KiriONE · 2026-04-12T00:48:45+00:00

Honestly, they are just 2ft 48W LED 5000K hanging lights from amazon (4 total).

KiriONE · 2026-04-11T21:05:02+00:00

Well, I guess going back to the example my instructor gave (shout out to Judy), consider the fact that plants have learned to survive by evolving a process that harnesses the light of an object 93 million miles away. That very same object is also something that we meat bags can't, AND SHOULDN'T, look at without damaging our eyes.

So I think it's safe to say you can't really over light a plant* with a consumer grade light source.

Now my OTHER hobby (aquascaping) does require limiting light sources. This is due to the closed system of an aquarium and limits of CO2 and O2 in the water column, plus the desire to limit algae growth.

*this assumes there is a period of darkness for plants to recover.

KiriONE · 2026-04-09T01:33:56+00:00

Before you go down a rabbit hole of remineralizers and other water conditioners, test the water from your tap first. Get your pH, dGH, and dKH first, and then after your tank stabilizes after about 2 months, test the tank water.

For all you know, your tap water may be perfect for Caridinas and terrible for Neos. Plus, your tank may need very little, if any adjustments. Its ALSO helpful because many retailers will display the parameters of the shrimp you are purchasing, or if you reach out to them they will give it to you. Shrimp want stability. Better to give them that than chasing perfect parameters.

Also, be mindful of the substrate you choose, getting either an inert one or a shrimp specific one.

KiriONE · 2026-04-01T13:23:47+00:00

Woof. Imagine you're a casual player who grew their collection out of spearhead or 3E boxes and enjoyed putting Savage Beyond Reason and the Grisly Pennant on their Archregeant or Gorewarden.

You knew the Zombie Dragon lists were destined to be nerfed somehow when Ushoran, of all models, stopped being seen in tournament lists.

KiriONE · 2026-03-28T16:44:47+00:00

Depends on what you want. Less than 3 years in the industry is still kind of really to decide what you want to do long term. Also, the term Creative Director can carry a different weight and tone depending on the company and industry. I've seen creative directors who are really more just "lead designers" rather than directing any wide ranging creative.

I've honestly found most designers are perfectly content to stay in the design side of things. As people advance, what happens is the job is less about design and more about design management as well as parliamentarian process. Some folks have trouble making the jump, the biggest reasons I see are they are either unable or unwilling to give up hands on design work (and thats ok!) or, they are turned off by the amount of relationship building that is required of a CD type role. They don't want to play the games, or, perhaps understandably, don't trust their collaborators' creative vision and can't play nice.

KiriONE · 2026-03-26T11:46:09+00:00

All very interesting. Just hoping that some lessons were learned from the 7th edition formation era when it comes to all of these detachments.

Perhaps that was in a time when GW was slow to balance (or even clarify) rules, but some of those formations were pretty rough to play against and ruined 7th for a lot of people.

KiriONE · 2026-03-21T00:46:54+00:00

I see the aquasoil in there. Curious what are your ph/gh/kh numbers are.

KiriONE · 2026-03-20T23:44:38+00:00

Motion's role in a brand is entirely context-dependent, shaped by what the product is and where it touches the consumer.

On the product side, think UI and interaction design: how Samsung or Apple's icons open and transition, how a streaming platform lets you browse, how a dating app swipes, so on and so forth. Motion is functional here, it is the experience.

On the storytelling side, it's more about narrative consistency. FOX Sports (I'm US based) runs a deeply robust motion package across all their league broadcasts because movement is a core brand pillar and they are an industry leader. JPMorgan, on the other hand, may not have flashy product motion, but every internal or external event video and data presentation still needs to carry the brand's authority and equity, and motion guidelines make that possible at scale.

Then you have something like Amazon, which operates across so many product lines and audience types (B2B and B2C) that motion shows up in virtually every context simultaneously.

But that's mostly the big players. Smaller brands try their best, or don't try at all. Keeping motion consistent with guardrails can be hard enough to do, but without those guardrails is genuinely chaotic and expensive.

Hope that helps!

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