Creative spotlight: Darren Crellin, Lead Creative at True Story creative agency

We caught up with Darren Crellin, lead creative at True Story, a creative agency working with a range of retailers and brands, from high street names to small independents. From early Photoshop filters to how his Wacom Intuos Pro has helped him hit some tight deadlines, we spoke about his roots in design, what tools help his design workflow, and the creative trends he’s got his eye on…

Tell us a little bit about your background as a designer

Like many creatives, I came to understand what design was through a love of drawing ­­– the nerdy younger me would spend hours tracing video game characters from magazines. I honed my drawing skills at school (not even the excruciating life drawing sessions managed to deter me), and around the age of 15 or 16 I discovered Photoshop, and the vast array of filters blew my mind. I’d scan my drawings and experiment with effects and distortions. Despite it being completely useless, I still hold a special place in my heart for the ‘glowing edges’ filter – I thought it was the coolest thing ever back then. 

I was equally passionate about 3D drawing and initially studied Product Design at university. I soon came to realise I was less interested in model making, so after a year I switched to Graphic Design. A lot of my degree work was centred around my interest in advertising and typography. After graduating, I spent six months doing various work placements in London, before securing full-time work in the Midlands. I’ve spent the last 12 years working across a number of different sectors, both in-house and agency side, with a current focus on design for retail.

What does your work involve day to day?

In a nutshell, as a Lead Creative my day is split primarily between managing my own design projects, and overseeing the work of others. The balance between these two responsibilities constantly shifts with the demands of the studio, so no two days are ever the same. I attend briefings, provide direction to my team on their ongoing projects and liaise with other departments about best practice, as work progresses from concept to artwork production.

Outside of project work, I also line-manage a number of designers, and support them from a professional development perspective, to ensure they get what they want from their careers.

Tell us a little about True Story and your approach to design

True Story is a creative agency based in Nottingham with a focus on retail branding. We’re a diverse mix of designers, language specialists, strategists and planners. We work with high street retailers and independents, creating in-store experiences and campaigns, brand identities, as well as packaging.

There’s always the perception that designers get a brief, give it a cursory glance then dive head-first into a flurry of chaotic creative, only pulling something cohesive together five minutes before the deadline. While that may work for some, I’m the opposite – I’m quite an analytical designer by nature. I’ll often spend a large chunk of my project time planning the best way to approach it. I like constraints, which may sound counterproductive to a designer, but understanding boundaries encourages me to think more innovatively.

What have you found to be the biggest challenge in your role?

The retail industry is incredibly fast paced, which means projects need to be turned around very quickly. Creatives have daily deadlines to complete stages of design development so efficiency is key. Maintaining visual consistency is another challenge, as retail campaigns can consist of hundreds of parts, all at different stages of development. Store environments have a vast number of messages competing for the customers’ attention, so for any given job much consideration is given to striking a balance between cohesion and distinction.

What different skillsets are there across your creative team?

There’s a wide range of skillsets in our creative teams, and as a job evolves it will get passed around the studio depending on what kind of input is required. Some designers are strategic thinkers, specialising in ‘rough and ready’ concepts. Others prefer the technical precision in creating print-ready artwork. Many of our designers are passionate photographers so will get involved with directing photoshoots, while others specialise in 3D visualisation and mapping out customer journeys. A lot of our digital work is in collaboration with specialist teams outside of the business, so having good communication and presenting skills is essential.  

Do you have any productivity tips that you’d recommend?

When working on larger campaigns, using Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries is a great way of sharing commonly used assets. We use them to keep track of which assets are signed off and which are in development, updating as we go. We work mainly in InDesign, so accessing the libraries through the InDesign interface rather than digging through thousands on files on the server really speeds things up.

Photoshop Smart Objects are a great way to edit and update complex compositions. We create a lot of store interior visuals that constantly evolve – swapping in and out flat graphics and having the associated effects retained in the original composition is a real time saver.

Which creative products could you not live without?

My workstation is a 27” iMac which handles most of my day-to-day tasks. Sometimes I’ll need to work with more demanding CGI-based files, so to keep on track I’ll switch to our team’s iMac Pro. When I’m out and about directing photoshoots I’ll use a MacBook Pro to quickly mock up visuals to explain a particular scene to a photographer. Away from the office, I’ll also use the Notes app a lot on my phone to write down thoughts, convert them into to-do lists and even create simple doodles when I have an idea for a layout. iCloud syncing allows me to access and refer back to these whatever device I’m working on.

My Wacom Intuos Pro has also got me through some pretty tight deadlines of late! I converted to a stylus a few years ago and never looked back. The initial adjustment slowed me down for a few weeks, but it has more than made up for it since. I always have a pencil in hand so it feels more natural to continue working this way on screen. The programmable buttons bring more shortcuts to my fingertips too.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Websites such as WGSN are at the forefront of trend forecasting, and are great to get insights into consumer behaviour. There’s a strong focus on fashion and beauty analysis, which is particularly useful for producing mood boards.

I use Pinterest daily, and I love reading the critiques on the Brand New website. When I want to give my eyes a rest I listen to lots of podcasts, such as 99% Invisible, the Allusionist and Radio Wolfgang. While it’s not visual, listening to other people talk about their creative work really helps to sharpen my own approach to constructing narratives – after all, storytelling is a vital skill for effectively pitching creative work.

Are there any creative or technology trends you’re excited about in 2018?

There’s a lot of chatter around VR and AR, and it does feel like it’s beginning to mature a little more as a platform. From a retail perspective, VR has the potential to enhance the in-store experience, adding theatre and allowing customers to explore product in exciting and informative ways, relying less upon the costly floorspace. The key is to implement it meaningfully without it being gimmicky. There’s always a temptation to jump on the burgeoning technology bandwagon regardless of who your client is, but it has to balance being able to offer something useful for the audience while projecting brand values positively.

Check out True Story’s work at truestory.uk.com to find out more on their creative work with retailers and brands.

If you’d like to find out more about any of the creative kit mentioned above, give us a call on 03332 409 204 or email DandP@Jigsaw24.com. For all the latest news, follow @WeAreJigsaw24 on Twitter or ‘Like’ us on Facebook.