Crack the code to creative success with more insider tips from Adobe MAX

Crack the code to creative success with more insider tips from Adobe MAX

With creative industries transforming more quickly than ever and technologies like generative AI redefining the skillsets needed to succeed in the digital economy, we invited nine established creators to take the stage at Adobe MAX 2024 and share their tips on how today's artists can secure their creative futures.

In this second blog of our two-part series, I share highlights from the six rock stars who spoke on days two and three of MAX. From the value of getting in touch with one's emotions to the importance of networking, their insights provided the MAX crowd with a template for career longevity in today's fast-moving world.

Ta-ku - Musician, Producer, Photographer, and Creative Director

Since bursting on the Australian music scene in 2008, Perth-based Ta-ku has curated a multidisciplinary creative empire, working with visionary artists like Chet Faker and Childish Gambino, and creating content for brands ranging from Apple to Nike. Reflecting on his career, Ta-ku pinned down the unifying theme of his creative journey: his emotionality.

"I'm emotional!" he proclaimed to the MAX audience, before recounting the Gillette razor advertisement that brought him to tears as a 12-year-old and first drove him to pursue a career as a storyteller. Through music, photography and in his current role as a creative director, Ta-ku has differentiated himself by telling stories from the heart and he invited the MAX crowd to do the same.

Lucas O'Keefe - Social Media Marketing Teacher and Adobe Express Ambassador

An elementary school teacher turned content creator, Lucas O'Keefe speaks to 30 eighth graders each day and over 400,000 Instagram followers by night. Drawing on his experience in the classroom and in the digital realm, he shared tips for creators who want to tell stories that stick and to build lasting relationships with their audience.

His first piece of advice is to "hack the human algorithm" by telling stories that make people feel they belong. "If someone is genuinely interested in what you have to say, you can't go wrong," he said. Next, he reminded creators to never lose sight of their story, especially when using new technologies like generative AI to enhance their craft, adding, "If you start with a great story, it can never be replaced by technology."

O'Keefe also urged today's creators to keep an open mind. Whether it's embracing wake-up calls that take their career in new directions or being willing to step outside their comfort zone, the only way to evolve in the long term is to leave room for growth.

Goldie Chan - Writer, Creator, Agency Owner and Adobe Ambassador

When people call you the "Oprah of LinkedIn," you know you're doing something right. As a writer, agency owner and Adobe Ambassador, Goldie Chan wears many hats. Her most valuable talent is the ability to connect with people, and in today's age of non-stop change, she believes that meeting fellow artists, potential brand partners and even future bosses is essential to securing one's creative future.

"ABC. Always Be Connecting," Chan urged the MAX audience, inviting everyone in attendance to turn to the person next to them and say hello. She then stressed the importance of taking every new encounter further, providing attendees with three questions to help them strike up meaningful conversations with new connections and build genuine relationships:

• What's your favorite project this year?
• What are you currently creating?
• What do you need help with?

Ian Sayers - Customer Engagement and Training Director, Xencelabs

Xencelabs makes pen tablets and displays for creatives, but for Ian Sayers, that's just a job description. The real driver of his joy is the "why" behind the work he does. As a customer engagement and training director, his "why" is to have fun, build bridges with people, help others and, just as importantly, discover how others can help him.

If he could go back to being 10 years old and start over again, he mused, he would still do what he does today. In that vein, he implored the MAX crowd to never lose their sense of wonder. Instead, they should try viewing the world through the eyes of a toddler. "If you lose your passion, it comes through in the way you communicate with people," he cautioned.

To close, Sayer encouraged attendees to use MAX as a platform to build new connections, be it with fellow creatives, potential collaborators or future employers. Technology will always change, he reminded them, so if you want to future-proof your career it's about people.

Caroline Tran - Photographer and "Rangefinder" Creator of the Year

As a freelance photographer, Caroline Tran straddles the line between creating what she wants in the style she wants and being a service provider for the clients who pay her. To future-proof her career, she has had to satisfy both needs, combining her joy and passion with an approach to photography that brings her commercial success.

Drawing on 17 years of experience, and using some nifty Venn diagrams, Tran showed the MAX audience how to find the sweet spot between these two forces to build a lucrative and satisfying career. She also stressed that this sweet spot might shift as their life and career progresses.

Daniel ("DTM") Flores - Multidisciplinary Artist

Daniel Flores, also known as "DTM" understands that building connections and networking is uncomfortable for many creatives. When their talent is to sit in isolation with a tablet or computer and draw, the idea of getting involved, being social, and going to industry events can feel totally unnatural, he explained. "But you can't do it yourself," he reminded them. "You need your community!"

To drive the point home, Flores invited willing introverts in the crowd to join him on stage and open up to their peers by asking them what they do and what they hope to gain from their time at MAX. "These folks have decided to future-proof their career," he boasted to the audience. "They're going to share what they know."

Want more insight to help you secure your creative future? Click here for more insider tips from the rockstar creators who spoke on day one of Adobe MAX.

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