Let's Ask Our Experts: Using Visual Media to Tell the Story

We ask, they answer.

As experts in our industry, we know the importance of building a strong network of other experts. One of those many impressive pros is Stephen Dagley, who shares with us his perspective as a Creative Director and Web Team Leader at Gordon College. We've worked closely with Steve for many years on several creative projects and productions. He is both a profound photographer and designer, as well as an inspiring Creative Director. It's always a pleasure to share these insights as a resource for you and your company. Enjoy this Q&A!

An Interview with Stephen Dagley

Q: How did you get into doing photography and design as a profession?

A:?I’ve always enjoyed trying to create things, and as I grew up that took different forms, from magazines for my younger brothers, to MS Paint masterpieces to animations in an app called ‘Spider Man Cartoon Maker’ that we got in a cereal box. But during college I was able to connect with really talented designers and artists who helped me cultivate my interests into something more serious and introduced me to the world of art and design so that I had some quality reference points for inspiration and guidance.

?

Q:?Why do brands need design?

A:?One thing I love about design is that you can use it in service to anything you care about. It’s great to be able to help people communicate and promote the thing they care about. Design helps brands stand out with a distinctive and memorable personality, but it also helps the people behind the brand organize their thinking and clarify what they offer. I’ve had so many conversations with a client about a website that turned into a deeper discussion about what their company actually offered and how they wanted to talk about it.

?

Q: Many photographs in your portfolio are of nature scenes or the general outdoors. Is there anything you look for in particular when you decide to take a photograph of something?

A:?I love exploring natural spaces! In outdoor photography, I’m always looking for interesting light, but more and more I’m looking for vantage points that might be a little less familiar, even in places people are familiar with. Creating photo calendars has really challenged me to think about what local landmarks are meaningful to people and find their most interesting angles!

?

Q: As a Creative Director, what is something that excites you about using different media to tell a story?

A:?It’s fun to be able to adapt a brand personality across a bunch of media and let each play to their strengths. I’m thinking of types of videos we’ve done with Lightmark on really fast and casual social media platforms like TikTok, as well as big, in-person events where people watch together in the moment. And while I’ve spent a lot of my time in digital media like the web, it’s always really exciting to see work pop up in other areas of our life, like t-shirts, signage, or physical displays.?

?

Q: How have you seen visual media grow and adapt over the last 5 years? What are your thoughts on incorporating the use of AI in digital media creations?

A:?Well it has definitely grown a lot since the days I was using Microsoft Paint to make magazines (ha)! A big thing I think of is mobile technology. When I was first starting out, the types of things people expected to be able to do on their phones were so different – we made tiny, stripped down websites with basic functionality for mobile rather than the immersive, mobile-first web designs we see today.?

And AI is so fascinating and hard to predict. I see lots of benefits in the practical sides of design – I’ve used Photoshop’s ‘content aware fill’ to extend images countless times. I do worry that the ease of creation might eclipse the purpose or quality or intent of what we create. If we can tell Photoshop to add in a dramatic sunset, what is the purpose of capturing a real sunset? I’ve seen that burnout a little bit on Instagram in the landscape community where people have taken the most epic versions of so many natural wonders that you start to burn out on it. At the same time, film photography is having such a comeback right now and I wonder if it’s directly related…

My hope is that AI becomes a really helpful, creative tool that helps us brainstorm and extends our technical ability but that we still think about why we create what we create and what story we’re trying to tell.

?

Q: How do you see visual arts intersect or work alongside the technology/healthcare world?

A:?I think technology opens up a lot of new ways for us to create art as well as new avenues for people to take in and receive art. Who knows if VR will become one! I don’t have personal experience in health care, but I think clear, compassionate communication is critical there, and design and art can certainly help?humanize?what can sometimes be scary or stark information we receive about our health. Good design helps the viewer make sense of information, so there’s big potential there.

?

Q: Any favorite projects you got to work on as a Creative Director?

A:?One big recent project for me was a brand refresh for Gordon College, where I work as creative director. It involved a new logo and tagline, but underneath that was a new messaging framework and brand story that came out of deep, collaborative discussions from people all across the college. This was challenging but also exciting, and it was the first time I went through a process while in the creative director role. I went through all the phases, from not being sure I wanted to do it, to searching for “the answer,” to growing through input and feedback, through ultimately releasing a brand update to our community and seeing it take hold. We obviously dealt with a whole range of opinions once it was in the wild, but it was really fulfilling to see our campus community embrace and embody it (this is where a physical medium like t-shirts was fun – I get to see the branding every day on people around campus).?

Q: As a Creative Director, what is a challenge you've faced and how did you overcome it?

A:?One challenge I’ve dealt with since moving into the creative director role has been balancing being responsive and helpful to others with quality deep work. This role is broader than my previous role and I’ve found that in marketing, it can be really easy to lose all your time to the frenzy and hustle. It’s important for me to help move projects along through meetings and email, but I also need time and space to do quality work. And it was important for me to find a way to protect my team’s time in this way as well. I ended up setting aside certain days or half days each week where my calendar was blocked and I either worked in a different space or just disconnected a bit. I’ve also learned to be more realistic in how quickly I promise work to others because on important jobs, you need to take the time to do it right!

Find out more about Stephen here.