As creatives, we play a big role in people's world perception. We have to take responsibility. Don't feel restricted by a client's brief - encourage diversity
Diversity can mean many things. Age, gender identity, life experience, income, ability and ethnicity are all common examples. Having different perspectives might be one of the most important factors in making good decisions for the future, but it is also a way to help people from different backgrounds feel included in society.
As creatives, we play a big role in the type of world perception people get. Rather than feeling restricted by a client brief, it is totally ok to take ownership of your work and encourage the type of brands that embrace diversity. The traditional one-model-fits-all advertising strategy is fading but our role as creative business owners can stretch further than just using more diverse photography. The creative industries are already taking the lead in employing people from different backgrounds, but we still only have 11% women in higher positions and we see similar trends for people of different ethnicities, backgrounds or abilities.
Today, we will look at how we as creatives can help change these statistics and strive for a more inclusive and diverse (and so much more exciting) everyday in our own and our client's businesses.
OVERVIEW:
Change your defaults
Give some love to great brands and causes
Use side projects
What are we, Creative Hold doing?
Change your defaults
A first step to being more inclusive in your work is to begin by changing your defaults. When we search for stock images, look for illustration inspiration or envision the perfect target audience, try to examine your bias and default assumptions. Many sites are starting to catch up and offer more options. The #ShowUs campaign by Getty Images in collaboration with Dove and Girlgaze is a great example of bigger companies showing us that diversity matters.
Give some love to great brands and causes
An easy way to help create a culture of positive change is to give great businesses and organisations some love. Follow them on social media, share their content and show them that they have your support.
One organisation that combines creative skills with improving human rights and inclusivity is Hivos. From organising incubator space for creatives in Indonesia to fighting for LGBTQI rights globally. A great example of where creative skills helps the organisation is the short film telling the personal story of four transgender people.
Use side projects
No need to wait for the perfect project to come along. If you have an idea, you can create a passion project to help promote diversity. A great example of this is the website What diversity gives us where you can type in minority groups and learn more about wonderful contributions to the world by people from this group. The project is meant to address prejudice and help showcase passionate and talented people from different backgrounds.
What are we, Creative Hold doing?
That was the talk, now on to the walk.
This year, our parent company Kayla decided to sponsor Edinburgh Ladies Wine and Design (LWD), a place for anyone identifying as female or non-binary in the creative field to meet up, share advice and help each other out. LWD was started by Jessica Walsh as a response to how few women hold higher positions in the creative field. Jessica saw that many women often felt they had to compete against other women for the few places rather than helping each other grow together. LWD is trying to change that. They now have 250 chapters worldwide and we are really excited to help support them in our home town so give them some love and spread the great message!
Secondly, 95% of creative businesses in the UK have fewer than 10 employees so we want to help bring more people together so we can learn from each other. Our Masterminds, the Facebook group and all the resources like our podcast are all free so you can build your business and get new perspectives regardless of how much money you make or where in the world you are.
We always love to hear what you think so please let us know how we can do better!
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