The Business Of Creativity

Long known as the go-to management consultant of the design world, Keith Granet reveals more of his clear-eyed insights about running a creative business in this follow-up to his book The Business of Design. While aimed at creative enterprises, Granet's advice, quickly summarized as "know what you do best and focus on that," applies to any organization, small or large, commercial or nonprofit. He delves into the skill sets and people needed to grow a business, as well as the things you don't need (bad clients, bad employees, negative energy), in an engaging and easy-to-implement manner. His shrewd understanding, gleaned from decades of consulting for brands like Harrods, Pantone, John Varvatos, and Urban Archeology, makes this essential reading for anyone managing a business or thinking of starting one.

If you think doing consistently great creative work inevitably leads to long hours, chaos and burnout, we have just one thing to say: Rethink. Rethink your priorities. Rethink your approach. And rethink your product in the process. Rethink is a one-word business plan for any company in the creative arts—from advertising, to design, to publishing, architecture or software development. Rethink is also one of the world’s most consistently awarded advertising and design agencies. Headquartered far off the beaten track in Vancouver, Rethink has been radically breaking rules for two decades, proving that you can do work that gets the world’s attention, without sacrificing efficiency and a balanced life. Now, for the first time, Rethink offers you a how-to manual of their 55 best tools for creating a sustainable, successful creative culture—tools that will help you inspire your people, boost your bottom line and take your creative product to the next level. Tried, true, constantly tweaked and consistently proven, these tools are simple and effective ways to inspire teams, boost creativity and cut through the bullshit at every stage of the process. Rethink’s step-by-step plan is radical, refreshing and relatable to any business striving for creative excellence.

The Business of Design debunks the myth that business sense and creative talent are mutually exclusive, showing design professionals that they can pursue their passion and turn a profit. For nearly thirty years, consultant Keith Granet has helped designers create successful businesses, from branding to billing and everything in between. Unlike other business books, The Business of Design is written and illustrated to speak to a visually thinking audience. The book covers all aspects of running a successful design business, including human resources, client management, product development, marketing, and licensing. This timely update on the tenth anniversary of the first edition includes new content on social media, working from home, and understanding and working with different generations, essential tools in today's ultracompetitive marketplace.

How does a group of people, brought together because of their diverse skills and professional knowledge, set out to be ‘creative’? How are ongoing tensions between beauty, fame, and money resolved? In The Business of Creativity, Brian Moeran, a leading scholar and writer on the creative industries, takes the sacred relic of creativity out of the crypt and airs it in the ethnographic alley. In contrast to the persistent image of creativity as the spontaneous inspiration of a gifted individual, Moeran shows how creativity emerges from collaborative engagements among people, genres, institutions, materials and technologies. He alternates thick description of work in fashion, advertising, and ceramic art with theoretical innovations that shed new light on the aesthetic, symbolic, and economic dimensions of creativity and the production of worth.

"The Business Skills Every Creative Needs! Remaining relevant as a creative professional takes more than creativity--you need to understand the language of business. The problem is that design school doesn't teach the strategic language that is now essential to getting your job done. Creative Strategy and the Business of Design fills that void and teaches left-brain business skills to right-brain creative thinkers. Inside, you'll learn about the business objectives and marketing decisions that drive your creative work. You already have the creativity; now it's time to gain the business insight. Once you understand what the people across the table are thinking, you'll be able to think how they think to do what we do." -- Provided by publisher.

This exploration of innovative thinking in companies of all kinds "shows us how creativity in business can enrich us, and those who work with us." -- Spencer Johnson, co-author, The One Minute Manager

Every year the market for creative services expands -- but the competition is increasing even faster. Today, your success hinges not on talent alone, but on a thorough understanding of the business side of creativity. Now fully revised and updated, The Business Side of Creativity is the most comprehensive business companion available to freelance graphic designers, art directors, illustrators, copywriters, and agency or design-shop principals. Cameron S. Foote, successful entrepreneur and editor of the Creative Business newsletter, guides you step-by-step through the process of being successfully self-employed -- from getting launched as a freelancer to running a multiperson shop to retiring comforably. The appendices include sample business forms and documents to help put the information into practice. How should you organize? What should you charge? What marketing techniques yield the best returns? When are you ready to expand? What are the most effective strategies for managing employees? How can you build salable equity? The Business Side of Creativity delves into these questions and hundreds more -- and gives you practical, real-world answers. Book jacket.