If you work in the creative industry and it’s not the coolest job in the world, you either really need to try harder…or quit and work somewhere else…or maybe this line of work simply isn’t for you.

The wonderful thing about design is the optimism of endless possibilities. Every time you begin a piece of work you have a shot at greatness, the adoration of your peers, awards, fame, fortune…it only takes one unique idea and the world is yours. Back in the day, I would have the excuse that the tools or the execution would inevitably let the final vision down. But now, our toy box is full and we dip into it daily to aim for the stars…or at least, that’s the idea.

At Fuzzy Duck we often urge each other to make the next piece of work better than the last one, but it is easy to forget this when you’re working on familiar jobs, familiar brands. Jobs where you just know that you can place this here, that there, you can construct a very accomplished design or film that (importantly) you just know the client will like – or at least be satisfied with. But, that isn’t aiming for the stars is it?

By producing our very best work, our clients stand out from the crowd, if our clients get noticed, so do we. Of course form must follow function; we’re not artists, we’re commercial artists*. But it’s all too easy to forget what an opportunity and a privilege every day at work can be. I really mean this. To mould your dreams into reality – how cool is that? …that is what we do.

So today I will try to push towards greatness, to rummage through that toy box and build something completely fresh that will inspire, not only the target audience but myself.

Dave Hartill

* We’re not simply here to please ourselves as the creativity must work on a commercial level and do it’s job first before we can concentrate on whether it pleases us. If we get it right, it should do both.