Anyway, I’m sure you’ve all heard the colloquialism “can’t see the forest for the trees.” This little quip usually refers to someone focusing on some small detail and as a result, loses site of the bigger picture. I used to be in the Army and on my first trip to Iraq, I found myself telling my Soldiers that they needed to remember that our operations were part of the bigger picture (strategic versus tactical for you military types). “Sir, why aren’t we moving on Mr. X” or why don’t we apply more pressure to this area.” It’s tough to remember that you’re part of a big machine when it seems you’re doing most of the grunt work.

Now that I’m in the creative world and far removed from the Army, the same principles and colloquialisms are still relevant. When developing a product for a client, whether it be a logo, packaging, marketing collateral, or a company polo shirt, one has to be mindful of the strategic or bigger picture. What are the mores and norms of a given industry, a client’s target market, or the region in which that TV spot will air? Don’t just think about what the client’s asked for or needs but apply those requests against a template comprised of relevant external factors (SWOT anyone?). Maybe if the artist had thought about the strategic backdrop, he* would’ve realized that his caption and the image of the chimpanzee might lead the readers to an almost unavoidable realization. Keep that in mind next time you’re working a project for a client not only to avoid a negative out come but to possibly stumble upon an extremely positive one. See the forest AND the trees.

*In the interest of time and space, I use “he” as a general term rather than try to use “he/she”, “he or she”, “him or her”, etc. I’m paraphrasing from Guy Kawasaki here but don’t look for a problem where none exists.

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