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Creative What Is Creativity? Creativity

A portrait of the artist as a young(ish) man: delving into the mind of a lifelong creative

By Catherine Shepherd, Head of copy

DRPG

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June 14, 2022 | 5 min read

Creativity is mysterious, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn a little from some of its best practitioners. Catherine Shepherd of agency DRPG sat down with DRPG’s own creative director, Richard Preedy, to find out what makes his creative brain tick.

DRPG's creative director shares his route into adland.

DRPG’s creative director shares his route into adland

What is your first memory of your own creativity?

As far back as I can remember, drawing was an integral part of who I was. The pencil was an extension of my arm. Not merely content to copy what was in front of me, I’d interpret the world around me through a lens of imagination and inquisitiveness.

I always wanted to capture things differently – the question of “how can I make this unique?” always resonated, and I’d look for new perspectives and ways to draw things.

Did you realize you were different to other kids?

None of my mates seemed interested in art or anything creative. I remember as a teenager when I discovered the pop art movement, and all the striking imagery and bold colors it entails, and I was captivated. I showed my friends my newly-discovered Warhols and Lichtensteins and they simply shrugged. They just didn’t get it.

But I did, and my love of vivid design and making the everyday amazing has never left me.

Who influenced your style growing up?

Initially the pop art movement was a major inspiration, but as my career progressed, I became inspired by the work of Neville Brody and Dave Carson. Brody pushed the boundaries of what was possible from a typography perspective and was one of the first digital designers to utilize the Mac as a tool for design. I was arrested by Carson’s fusion of art and commercial design for magazine layouts; his work always leapt off the page.

How has your creative process changed over your years in the industry?

Looking back at when I was a junior designer for a small creative agency, I was focused more on the aesthetic rather than the message. If it didn’t look cool, I would turn it into something cool.

But as my career progressed, I understood that my work needed to fit into a much larger picture; it needed to be part of the overall vision. It has to persuade someone to take an action.

Nowadays, I focus much more on the truth of the end result. What makes it connect with people? That’s what I try to capture with my ideas and designs.

Do your ideas come from your experiences or from your imagination?

A mixture of both, but more so experiences. You can twist your experiences into something new by using your imagination. Going out trying stuff, seeing stuff, smelling stuff, hearing stuff is the only way you can keep that inquisitive mind fed.

Now that I have kids (apart from being knackered) I can see their innate inquisitiveness and their quest for sensory experiences. I’m still like this. I still search for sensory experiences that feed my creative mind and can be stored in my memory, ready to pull whenever the right project comes along. I’m all about immersing myself to new forms, new ideas, new approaches.

How do you take on board constructive criticism?

It’s something you learn to live with. It took me a while to not rage against it, but as I got older and my knowledge and body of work grew, I learned to process it in a useful way, without it dampening my spirits.

But sometimes you need to fight against a “no” and follow your instincts to achieve the best result possible. When a client becomes nervous about an ‘out there’ concept, sometimes it’s worth sticking to your guns and showing them that it is indeed the right way to engage with their audience and will make them stand out for the right reasons. But then again, sometimes it’s not – we’ve all been there.

Creative What Is Creativity? Creativity

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