Dude, don’t think so much, you’re gonna give yourself a headache. Simplicity is the key. Sit down, make some stuff, and listen to Stan (http://branddna NULL.blogspot NULL.com).

While working on a pitch recently I watched suits and strategists going around in circles arguing propositions.

Not just for an hour or so. But for days.

Without a proposition there is no brief. And without a brief work cannot commence.

Or can it?

My motto is to worry only about the things that you can control.

I can’t control the circular habits of suits and strategists. So I put pen to paper instead.

Rather than waiting, I start generating.

So by the time the brief is ready I already have a body of work.

Obviously much of it will not be right or even usable, but by exploring many different territories with complete creative freedom, I will almost certainly stumble across one or two ideas that fit the brief.

Which means that when work is supposed to commence, I am already halfway there.