If you find yourself in or around Celebration Church or Metro church, and even spheres outside of it, you know who Dougie is. He is an amazing creative director. He has taught, trained, and developed all the people who’ve had a hand at shaping me. His work ethic and creativity has left me challenged and inspired time and time again. I asked Dougie some questions and am really grateful that he was so down to answer them. You can read his responses below.
What’s your creative process?
Vision (Understand why you’re doing what you’re doing) -> Research (Who’s done this before? What can I learn from other practices?) -> Brainstorm (Gather potential ideas and solutions) -> Prototype (Begin designing rough ideas/imagery/graphics/moodboards/storyboards for pitch) -> Execute and Reformat
Biggest success, worst failure?
Success: Stepping into a creative director role with no previous experience in the Creative field and somehow managing to not fail miserably, thanks to the amazing staff I had the privilege of working with. Failure: I don’t necessarily see many things as failures because they always lead to greater things, whether it be another opportunity, a moment to learn from, etc…I think failure is an important part of the process…If I had to pick a scenario, it would maybe be the moments when I let my personal preference get in the way of a project, instead of designing the project for what’s best for the situation, organization or the client.
Favorite project you’ve ever worked on?
It depends…I really enjoy doing re-branding projects, as well as anything that encompasses the full scope of our team in one project (music, design, storytelling, environment, etc)…seeing a successfully completed project come together and executed well is always a rewarding experience
How long have you worked in the field?
12 years
What is your current position?
Executive Creative Director at Metro Church DC (worship, production, design, environments, photo/video, storytelling, marketing/communications)…and I also Co-lead 2 design agencies
What has been your career path to get where you are?
A lot of happenstance lol, but mostly being positioned and ready in the right place at the right time…Majored in Business Management in college (<-random) Started as Worship intern -> worship coordinator -> worship director -> Creative Director with no prior experience…anything I’ve learned about being a leader or creative director I’ve learned as I’ve gone, a lot of learning from others, a lot of studying and self learning
What advice would you give to a young creative like myself?
Be really good at what you do and put the work in to get there. Most people want a position, but don’t want to do what it takes to be good at it. Also, become fluent in as many areas of the creative world as you can…force yourself to try them so that you can have first-hand experience with whatever it is. If you’ve never shot/edited video, try making a video. If you’ve never recorded/edited music, try it. If you’ve never done layout design for a book, try it. If you’ve never experimented with environmental design, try it. Learn from it. You will be better for it, and you will lead others with a greater perspective. Make it a goal to be well rounded in your skillset. Lastly, only get feedback from those you respect in your industry…it does you no good to get a pat on your back from friends and family who just want to be supportive…actually get good, practical feedback from those that know better and that are willing to be honest with you.
Thank you so much Dougie. For training the ones who have trained me. Eternally grateful for your contribution to the creative community.
Kayla x
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