SEO Title

An art director. For words.

May 05. 2023

While everyone knows the difference between an art director and a graphic designer, there seems to be no such distinction for people who use words.

Most are familiar with copywriters, but a word director doesn’t just write the words; they come up with the reasoning and purpose behind the words.

They have a gravitas and business understanding, as well as a deep understanding of user experience to go along with their creative wordsmanship.

Meet the Word Director

In many ways the word director is a hands-on strategist who articulates big ideas into words. This relatively new position is a result of the fragmentation big agencies have undergone.

The big budgets of the past empowered big, hyper-specialised teams where you had planners, strategists, account executives, writers and designers. In today’s lean, fast-paced climate, only those with multiple skill sets can survive. The word director is a strategist, account executive and wordsmith all rolled into one.

Someone who balances both business and creative, and orchestrates the brand’s distinct voice, tone and personality across all touchpoints - from marketing to product.

Low-risk, high-reward creative problem solving

When businesses face an acute identity / relevance challenge, they often seek a new perspective; a set of questions that challenges the conventional thinking born from prolonged status quo.

A strategic narrative process (SNP) is often the most effective way to challenge conventions and inject fresh thinking into a business. Unlike full-on brand strategy and visual identity processes that are both expensive and time consuming, the SNP takes between 3-4 weeks, and can provide a business with a newly aligned north star -- even a 10 degree shift that can utterly change the course of a journey.

Whether it’s discovering an untapped market, a way to capture the cultural zeitgeist, or to simply distil a brand’s purpose and quickly implement the new messaging on the brand’s website and marketing assets, the opportunity of fresh perspective can be priceless.

It can be the difference between winning and losing.

<Laxer>

The window to your soul

The smart and cost-effective approach to developing core messaging

May 10. 2023

David J. Laxer

The end of fast?

Understanding the cycle of sustainability