You have an idea.
Perhaps you already know pieces of it. Perhaps you can see the finished thing in your head but cannot yet explain how it gets there.
Creative Direction is where we work through the entire creative proposition before production begins.
Tanka Blue becomes the outside mind within the project.
We work alongside you to discover what the idea is, what it could become and what it needs in order to exist.
The process combines conversation, research, conceptual development, strategic thinking and rapid experimentation.
The aim is not simply to produce a strategy.
The aim is to define the thing itself.
Creative Direction can be applied to a wide range of projects, including:
Books and publishing projects
Characters and fictional worlds
Animation and film concepts
Brand identities
Creative campaigns
Digital products
Websites and applications
Intellectual property
Editorial platforms
Cultural projects
New creative ventures
Concepts that do not yet have a category
We establish the original thought behind the project.
This includes:
Intent
Ambition
Context
Existing material
Influences
References
Constraints
Desired outcome
The objective is to understand what already exists before introducing what does not.
We establish the creative centre of the project.
Depending on the nature of the work, this may include:
Core proposition
Creative premise
Positioning
Purpose
Audience
Themes
Narrative principles
World logic
Brand principles
Intellectual property structure
Relevant cultural, market and creative context is investigated.
Research can include:
Audience behaviour
Cultural references
Comparable projects
Category analysis
Competitor and landscape research
Niche discovery
Historical and contextual research
Visual and creative references
Emerging opportunities
The objective is not research for its own sake.
The objective is to identify information that changes or strengthens a creative decision.
The core idea is expanded.
Depending on the project this may involve:
Story development
Character development
World-building
Brand development
Creative systems
Naming and language
Editorial architecture
Product concepts
IP development
Experience concepts
Multiple routes may be developed and tested before one is selected.
Ideas are made visible.
We can rapidly generate:
Written concepts
Concept imagery
Character studies
Environments
Mood systems
Storyboards
Visual references
Audio references
Early animation or video tests
Prototype concepts
Modern creative technology is used here as a means of increasing the number of possibilities that can be explored before committing to production.
This is where the project becomes more precise.
We remove what does not belong.
We strengthen what does.
We challenge assumptions, resolve contradictions, refine the language and establish a coherent creative system.
The final stage converts the thinking into a practical route forward.
We establish:
What needs to be produced
In what order
With which capabilities
Using which tools
Which work can be developed internally
Where specialist external talent is required
What the immediate next stage should be
The engagement concludes with a bespoke Creative Direction Document.
Depending on the project, this may include:
Creative premise
Project positioning
Core proposition
Audience/context notes
Cultural research
Competitive or landscape analysis
Narrative structure
World-building framework
Character framework
Brand principles
Visual direction
Creative references
Generated visual concepts
Production recommendations
Technology recommendations
Development priorities
Specialist requirements
Project roadmap
Next-stage brief
Not every project requires every component.
The document is built around the project rather than against a fixed template.
Creative Direction is collaborative.
The project typically moves through a combination of:
Conversation → Research → Development → Review → Refinement → Direction
Meetings, voice notes, written material, references, working documents and generated material can all become part of the process.
The work can begin with very little.
A voice note is enough.
A notebook is enough.
A rough paragraph is enough.
A fully formed concept is enough.
The starting point is not the measure of the project.
Typically 2–4 weeks
The actual duration depends on the complexity and maturity of the idea.
A smaller project may move quickly.
A world, brand or significant intellectual property project may require a longer development period.
The engagement is scoped around the creative requirement rather than an arbitrary number of meetings.
A standard Creative Direction engagement includes:
Initial project consultation
Creative discovery
Research
Concept development
Iterative creative review
Directional refinement
Final Creative Direction Document
Recommended next-stage roadmap
The project moves from:
“I have an idea.”
to:
“I know what this is, why it exists, what it needs and how it can be made.”
You leave with a creative blueprint that can be taken into production, development, funding, collaboration or further refinement.
From £795
Larger or more complex projects are individually scoped.
You have an idea.
Perhaps you already know pieces of it. Perhaps you can see the finished thing in your head but cannot yet explain how it gets there.
Creative Direction is where we work through the entire creative proposition before production begins.
Tanka Blue becomes the outside mind within the project.
We work alongside you to discover what the idea is, what it could become and what it needs in order to exist.
The process combines conversation, research, conceptual development, strategic thinking and rapid experimentation.
The aim is not simply to produce a strategy.
The aim is to define the thing itself.
Creative Direction can be applied to a wide range of projects, including:
Books and publishing projects
Characters and fictional worlds
Animation and film concepts
Brand identities
Creative campaigns
Digital products
Websites and applications
Intellectual property
Editorial platforms
Cultural projects
New creative ventures
Concepts that do not yet have a category
We establish the original thought behind the project.
This includes:
Intent
Ambition
Context
Existing material
Influences
References
Constraints
Desired outcome
The objective is to understand what already exists before introducing what does not.
We establish the creative centre of the project.
Depending on the nature of the work, this may include:
Core proposition
Creative premise
Positioning
Purpose
Audience
Themes
Narrative principles
World logic
Brand principles
Intellectual property structure
Relevant cultural, market and creative context is investigated.
Research can include:
Audience behaviour
Cultural references
Comparable projects
Category analysis
Competitor and landscape research
Niche discovery
Historical and contextual research
Visual and creative references
Emerging opportunities
The objective is not research for its own sake.
The objective is to identify information that changes or strengthens a creative decision.
The core idea is expanded.
Depending on the project this may involve:
Story development
Character development
World-building
Brand development
Creative systems
Naming and language
Editorial architecture
Product concepts
IP development
Experience concepts
Multiple routes may be developed and tested before one is selected.
Ideas are made visible.
We can rapidly generate:
Written concepts
Concept imagery
Character studies
Environments
Mood systems
Storyboards
Visual references
Audio references
Early animation or video tests
Prototype concepts
Modern creative technology is used here as a means of increasing the number of possibilities that can be explored before committing to production.
This is where the project becomes more precise.
We remove what does not belong.
We strengthen what does.
We challenge assumptions, resolve contradictions, refine the language and establish a coherent creative system.
The final stage converts the thinking into a practical route forward.
We establish:
What needs to be produced
In what order
With which capabilities
Using which tools
Which work can be developed internally
Where specialist external talent is required
What the immediate next stage should be
The engagement concludes with a bespoke Creative Direction Document.
Depending on the project, this may include:
Creative premise
Project positioning
Core proposition
Audience/context notes
Cultural research
Competitive or landscape analysis
Narrative structure
World-building framework
Character framework
Brand principles
Visual direction
Creative references
Generated visual concepts
Production recommendations
Technology recommendations
Development priorities
Specialist requirements
Project roadmap
Next-stage brief
Not every project requires every component.
The document is built around the project rather than against a fixed template.
Creative Direction is collaborative.
The project typically moves through a combination of:
Conversation → Research → Development → Review → Refinement → Direction
Meetings, voice notes, written material, references, working documents and generated material can all become part of the process.
The work can begin with very little.
A voice note is enough.
A notebook is enough.
A rough paragraph is enough.
A fully formed concept is enough.
The starting point is not the measure of the project.
Typically 2–4 weeks
The actual duration depends on the complexity and maturity of the idea.
A smaller project may move quickly.
A world, brand or significant intellectual property project may require a longer development period.
The engagement is scoped around the creative requirement rather than an arbitrary number of meetings.
A standard Creative Direction engagement includes:
Initial project consultation
Creative discovery
Research
Concept development
Iterative creative review
Directional refinement
Final Creative Direction Document
Recommended next-stage roadmap
The project moves from:
“I have an idea.”
to:
“I know what this is, why it exists, what it needs and how it can be made.”
You leave with a creative blueprint that can be taken into production, development, funding, collaboration or further refinement.
From £795
Larger or more complex projects are individually scoped.
