CREATIVE TECHNOLOGISTS: Mixed talents

The role of creative technologist (CT) isn't new, but there has been a steadily increasing buzz around the title over the past year. LinkedIn's CT group was created in March 2010 and now has more than 2,300 members, and anecdotally jobs boards have seen an increasing demand for candidates...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNew Media Age p. 2
Main Author Hargrave, Sean
Format Trade Publication Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Centaur Media USA Inc. (A member of Centaur Plc Group) 23.06.2011
Subjects
Computer programming
Creativity
Design
Designers
Employees
Marketing
Teams
Trends
Web site design
Websites
United Kingdom > UK
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Summary:The role of creative technologist (CT) isn't new, but there has been a steadily increasing buzz around the title over the past year. LinkedIn's CT group was created in March 2010 and now has more than 2,300 members, and anecdotally jobs boards have seen an increasing demand for candidates who have a foot in both the creativity and technology camps. "It has become such a buzzword over the past two years," says Neil Clements, senior technology recruitment manager at consultancy Major Players. "CTs tend to be designers who have become a bit more technical over the years through programming, usually in Flash, so they have a good grasp of building websites. You also have programmers with some design experience gained from building websites. Having both creative and technology skills are highly prized assets that agencies, particularly above the line, are actively seeking out." Skillsets are usually varied and there's a continuing debate among creative technologists to what extent they should be able to use code, for example. Typically, though, there's an assumption that CTs can design websites as well as write code. In addition, they'll be expected to have strategy and client-handling skills. Rather than sit in a creative, strategic or coding silo, a CT needs the skills of all three. For the moment, demand is predominantly an agency requirement but this is expected to move client-side, and brands will soon be looking for staff with both creative and technical skills, says Clements.
ISSN:1364-7776