The job description for a creative technologist varies from agency to agency. However, in most cases it is an individual in the agency that understands technology, can speak in plain english to a client and is considered a creative person just as much as a true developer.
“Creative technologist integrates those who live and breath software and tech into an agency’s creative and strategic process.”
If you find one in your agency, this job description may explain what he or she does.
As a creative technologist, your role would be part right brain, part left brain, a bridge between ideas and technology. You kind of play the role of coming up with creative ideas and translating them technically (and practically), providing innovative solutions that are technology based. And part producer who can organize insights and interested in investigating and experimenting with emerging platforms and frameworks. And should be able to analyze a user experience through a behavioral lens and have ability to identify and analyze current and future UX technology trends.
You might work across wide areas of technology and require the guidance for creating a user experience that is not only creative, but is grounded in best practices, valid UI and underlying architecture recommendations and solid design theory and technical proof-of-concepts.
Responsibilities
- Define the interactive strategy of all projects and oversee the project development of interactive projects.
- Assess emerging media, measuring tools, platforms and technologies for interactive, mobile and social.
- Guide development process.
- Stay informed of social, mobile and content strategies.
- Part of the creative team in ideation, participate in pitches and client meetings.
- Act as the agency lead of our digital team to insert and evangelize effective technology solutions into client projects and campaigns.
- Ability to act as a cross-functional leader, creative and technical breadth and depth, and proven research, experimentation, problem solving, and design translation experience across multiple consumer and/or enterprise software domains such as web sites, portals, and applications, mobile platforms and apps, RIA and desktop applications, and embedded devices
Although many people in your agency can and may play a similar role. Without someone in the room who isn't up on the latest (HTML 5, API's, and any other cool tech (like Cinder)) you may be limiting the conversation. It's important to remember that sometimes we need a tech advocate.