Grant Tildsley is creative director at creative production company Creative Content Works.
He joined in 2018 as an art director before being promoted to creative director last year.
Creative Content Works, which has offices across Manchester, London and Sofia, works with a number of brands including John Lewis, JD Sports, The White Company, Next, Magnet, Dreams, and Funkin’ Cocktails.
Here, Tildsley shares all the lessons he has learnt…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
Listening to music has always been incredibly important. It can be creatively inspiring, but it’s also a great tool if you need to shift your mood or focus, and I couldn’t live without it. Cliche answer but it’s true!
What’s been your luckiest break?
Moving to a futureproof company that does such impactful work really was my lucky break. A good friend of mine sent me a job advert one day thinking I might be interested in the challenge, so it really was lucky. Thank you Jonny!
When I moved to Creative Content Works I had previously been working purely in traditional photography and video, which gave me a great base of knowledge, but the industry was already beginning to shrink. I am now directing digital-first creative for campaigns, AR and VR content, and even using these technologies to help with the direction itself.
Recently our tech and animation departments collaborated to build a VR rig that allows us to walk around 3D CGI spaces with a camera to find the best angle and focal length for photography, or to track camera moves for video content. This kind of innovation and collaboration is incredibly exciting, as it actually enhances human involvement which elevates the ‘real-feel’ we are all striving to achieve digitally online.
What’s your best failure?
I’ve changed how I view failure since joining CCW. The fear of failing can really restrict progress, especially when it comes to creative work and exploring how we can best utilise new technologies in innovative ways. You have to push and break things a little to move forward. I probably have hundreds of little failures every day, but as long as I’m learning I try to not let them bother me, it’s progress.
One practice I now follow is consolidating briefs. After a call and a couple of emails around a project it’s tempting to just dive right in, but taking the time to build a single clear touchpoint that can be shared with the client and wider team ensures all parties are aligned on the real goals.
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
I’m a 34-year old renter with an excessive amount of app and TV subscriptions, so this is definitely going to be a time investment! Luckily, I find learning the basics of new applications a really enjoyable challenge.
Watching hours of YouTube videos saying “go ahead and click” every 10 seconds to learn XD or PremierPro is right up my street for some reason. I have always tried to ensure that I have an understanding of the fundamentals in any area I’m working in. It gives me the confidence that I can build creative projects in a way that not only answers the brief well, but is executed in the most efficient and impactful way.
It also helps when it comes to communicating internally, if I have an idea of how I would personally approach something, I’m much less likely to hand something over with frustratingly difficult directions or something that is out of scope for the budget.
Which book would you recommend others to read and why?
Getting Things Done by David Allen. It’s a personal productivity system that makes organising workloads much less anxiety-inducing. Anything I need to do that will take more than four minutes, I note down a short description including when the task is due, how long it will take, and where it can be completed.
This has given me the ability to break down those overwhelming to-do lists, meaning I can instantly see the best task to tackle at that very moment. This could be from illustrating a storyboard that I know will take me around three hours of focus time, down to a quick bit of Insta research I need to do while on the tram. It has really changed the way I work and how I approach managing multiple projects and tasks.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Keep an organised, yet ever-evolving, record of the things that inspire me. I only started doing this properly a couple of years ago but it’s invaluable, and even the things that I love but don’t see how they could ever be useful, I stick them somewhere because that’s always the best stuff.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
My greatest hobby has always been drumming, thanks to my parents wanting a little rockstar, (sorry, I’m not quite there yet!) I have been in a number of bands since I was about twelve years old, playing and writing with very talented people. I thrive working collaboratively, which I believe stems from having these tight creative relationships. When you all start to develop that understanding of where people’s strengths lie, these relationships can evolve into something really special.
Trusting each other to lead certain parts or pulling together to rally up when those inevitable dry-spells or disagreements occur is so important. I’ve made some great friends from music but it has also inspired my working style which I am really grateful for.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
Within day-to-day work I probably come across as quite extroverted, but in reality I actually feel that I’m a very shy person. If you want a restaurant booking to be made over the phone, or to ask directions from a stranger, I’d run a mile!
For some reason I am much much more confident at work. When I try to think about why it’s probably due to some things I have already mentioned: GTD to manage my organisation, working really hard to have a solid knowledge of the industry and my own work, and also just the drive to create the best work we can at the company.
How will the COVID crisis change work for the better?
It’s already clear that the pandemic has made people much more open to the advancement of tech, and new ways to purchase products online and interact with others. As CCW is working to push the boundaries of retail experiences both off and online, this is a really exciting time to be a part of that shift. Getting retailers into the metaverse and creating complete, high quality, digital libraries of their products is becoming a very genuine reality.
This allows endless possibilities from really cost-effective 360 spinning imagery, right up to imagining the impossible for above-the-line creative and being able to make it a reality. Doing all of this while hugely reducing a client’s carbon footprint, by reducing the need for wasteful photoshoots, is a very rewarding step forward towards a greener future.
What does success look like to you?
Being surrounded by people who trust and support you, and who you trust and support in return. At home, there’s my partner who is an inspiration to me, she’s an incredible Interior Designer/Stylist and is always an absolute ray of sunshine who supports me and especially keeps me going when challenges arise.
Not forgetting our little pup who we rescued a few months ago. I think she trusts me… she licks my face like she trusts me anyway! At CCW I am supported by an incredible network of wonderful people. Work is so much more rewarding when the effort you put in is for teammates that you really WANT to do a good job for.
