By Erick Hodge
When people ask me what makes great creative work, I often tell them about my garlic pasta.
It’s the simplest recipe you could imagine: garlic, spaghetti, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano and Parmesan. That’s it. No exotic ingredients. No secret sauce. Anyone can buy the same things from the store, and in theory, anyone can make the dish. Yet, when I put it together, friends will swear it tastes different—like something special.
The truth is, it’s not about the recipe. It’s about how you put it together.
Creative direction works the same way. Every agency has access to the same core ingredients—strategy, design, storytelling, technology. On their own, they don’t guarantee greatness. What separates the ordinary from the unforgettable are the four essentials that bring those ingredients to life:
Technique. Anyone can follow steps, but it takes skill and instinct to know when to add, when to hold back, and when to experiment. In cooking, garlic burns quickly if you’re careless; in creative work, rushing past the discovery process leaves you with ideas that don’t connect. Technique is the discipline to respect each step.
Personal Touch. The magic comes from the unique perspective you bring. A chef’s touch can turn the same ingredients into a signature dish; a creative director’s role is to guide a team toward the twist that makes a brand story unforgettable. That small detail—a line, a color choice, a reframed insight—often transforms the work entirely.
Experience and Intuition. Just as a chef tastes as they go, creative direction means refining in real time. It’s knowing when to let an idea simmer, when to add a dash of something new, and when to strip it back to its essentials. Experience gives you confidence, but intuition keeps the work alive and surprising.
Culture of Collaboration. The best meals, like the best campaigns, aren’t created alone. They come from teams working in sync, each adding their own flavor. My job isn’t to dictate solutions, but to create the environment where everyone feels empowered to bring their best to the table. That’s when the work gains depth and dimension.
But creative direction is more than a process—it’s a way of life. Staying curious, humble, and collaborative ensures that what we create doesn’t just look good, but carries meaning that endures.
That begins with learning how to observe. Pay attention. Great ideas come from listening, watching, and noticing. Then, collect. Gather insights, perspectives, and truths, noticing patterns and connections others might overlook. Finally, create. Transform those collections into stories that inspire connection, conversation, and hope.
This cycle—observe, collect, create—is what keeps work authentic. It’s how we move past trends and into something lasting. Just like the pasta, the ingredients aren’t rare. What matters is the way you notice, combine, and elevate them.
In the end, brand success is a lot like that bowl of garlic pasta. The recipe itself is simple. The ingredients are available to everyone. But the magic lies in the hands that prepare it—the technique, the intuition, the personal touch, and the collaboration that make it feel like more than a meal.
That’s what I try to bring to every project. Not just a beautiful plate, but something nourishing, something memorable, something true. Because when creativity is practiced as a way of life, the stories we serve aren’t just consumed in the moment. They stay with people—like the taste of a favorite dish—long after the last bite.
Great creative isn’t about following a recipe, it’s about finding the right way to bring it all together. That’s what we do every day at Elevate —see how at oneelevate.com/brand
