Some clients ask, “How did you come up with that?”

Often the best ideas come from collaborations with designers. I start any conceptual project by writing down, stream-of-consciousness style, words and phrases. I call them the Nuggets. I assume that most of them are rubbish, nevertheless, I bring the Nuggets to brainstorming sessions. Then I proceed to throw out all of my ideas to the group. Invariably, someone picks up on a Nugget that I’ve written down and it sparks a sequence of rapid-fire idea pitching. This interplay results in a solid idea that we build a concept around.

A brilliant characterization of this creative process occurs in a scene from the movie, Hustle & Flow. Three of the main characters are sitting in their makeshift recording studio talking about song lyrics. The producer, Keys, suggests that they consider something more radio friendly than “slap that ‘ho” for their hook. They start riffing on the point they’re trying to convey. DJay, the writer, eventually mumbles, “Whoop that trick.” Shelby, the keyboardist, picks up the lyric, and a hook is born. The whole exchange takes less than three minutes.

This is very similar to how headlines, taglines and conceptual directions come together in the graphic design and advertising realms. We spend a lot of time sitting around and talking.

Sometimes I really love my job.