Tired of messy workflows and moving deadlines? Here’s a field guide on how to avoid creative chaos

Messy files, tight deadlines, and endless rounds of feedback. Anyone who works in a creative team will resonate with the chaos of a poorly organised workflow. Creative collaboration has always been challenging. But in today’s work culture, it’s further complicated by remote teams, rapidly shifting trends, and multiple stakeholders that chime in with last-minute changes.

Creative work is no longer as simple as ‘getting the job done’ – it’s about implementing and following a clear and efficient process.

Enter: A Field Guide for Creative Operations. It’s a new report by creative operations software company Air and brand strategy firm Hyper Studios, which reveals how to formulate a winning process.

Broken into 13 sections, it breaks down real-life structural tactics from some of the most successful creative teams working today, including art directors for companies like Vaan, Sharma Brands, ASRV, Bandit Running and Graza.

“There’s an inherent resistance to ‘having a process’ in creative fields,” say Oren John and Clayton Chambers, co-founders of Hyper Studios. “There’s often a stigma that ‘structure restricts creativity’. But we’ve found it’s the opposite: structure creates freedom.”

Oren and Clayton are creative directors themselves, but also branding experts with independent social channels that dissect and commentate on campaigns. In both their personal experience and research they’ve found that creative teams are generally dealing with the same problems: “The speed of how much content needs to be released, of how the zeitgeist changes, of what strategies are impactful day to day.”

They also noticed that conversations about creative work tend to revolve around results. The success of projects is usually measured by the quality of the work and how it performs. But the biggest challenges that creative teams face aren’t to do with ideas, it’s the humdrum of time management, resource allocation, and effective communication. And that’s exactly what this report seeks to break down.

“It’s not glamorous, but we want this guide to be a formal extension of extremely useful conversations that we always have with other creatives,” they say. With a design inspired by scientific manuals from the 60s and 70s, A Field Guide for Creative Operations takes a deep dive into the root of these conversations, and provides organisational tools and resources that teams can implement today.

“The solution requires a single source of truth,” says Air’s head of content Ariel Rubin. “Once you automate all the annoying logistical stuff, you can go back to doing the fun stuff.” Less unnecessary calls, passive-aggressive emails, or long nights chasing unrealistic deadlines? It’s a yes from us.