How do we work?

Everyone has been “the new kid” at some point in their lives. At school, in a neighbourhood, a book club or the workplace. Some people try to blend in, some make a strong first impression, some wait to assess the dynamics of the situation.

What happens when you are unquestionably the different one? Your skill set and life experience are light years away from the others’, and your job is to support their artistry; in my case, that’s partly why I was hired. I make sense of the administration side, so they can create.

The challenge is: how does the numbers person fit in with the artistic folk? This isn’t high school, where we find cliques (or stay out of them), because a workplace needs teamwork as well as talent.

Looking in from the outside means I see the creative process in a completely different way. I don’t compose or illustrate; I balance currency and input data. The creation of new design (verbal, visual or web-based) is akin to inventing a new language, to me. I know there are guidelines, and precedents, but where do you begin?

What I have discovered is that the abilities of my co-workers lie not only in the concrete manifestation of ideas, but also the communication of concepts and motives. They use colour, font, text, coding, and many other tools, to define and explain. Looking through the Portfolio of Red Rocket Creative Strategies, I now understand much more about mining companies, clothing and house wares retailers, First Nations representatives, and many other clients for whom we have done projects. Their jobs, like mine, are to reinterpret and redefine information.

We work well together because our methods and expertise complement one another; our common goals are education and clarification. We work knowing that, as a team, we can manifest change: in web design, in print, and in our world.