About Creative Intelligence
Creative Intelligence began in 2015 as a transformational resource to establish bridges and improve collaboration between contrastive art and business communities working together in Commercial Creativity.
From decades spent in creative environments, a community of practitioners was identified who found the endless spiral of miscommunication, failed interactions, and incongruous business practices both predictable and debilitating. Commercial Artists - innovative and curious - represented the leading edge of an enormous creative economy, although they were constantly searching for ways to improve collaboration in the context of business performance. How were we so sure? Because we counted ourselves among them.
With that in mind, Creative Intelligence began formulating support for an inclusive Commercial Creativity community with two complementary approaches:
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Awareness Seminars - To cultivate creative intelligence by improving individual and collective awareness, perspective, and insight, helping practitioners establish bridges between people, ideas, and industries.
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Assessment & Analysis Consulting - To provide organizations with actionable intelligence, grounded in strategy, data, branding, and marketing to help practitioners determine strengths, identify opportunities, and accelerate results.
The premise of Creative Intelligence is simple: equip individuals and organizations with the information they need to partner differently. The instrument for this clarity is expanded insight into the performance of their creative collaboration.
With support from a broad-based group of experts, and in the spirit of providing more than just intelligence, our hope is to build something closer to a professional community to expand the scope of what is possible. Using experiential learning, we continue exploring unique pathways to enhance both awareness and applied analysis to improve measurable outcomes.
Our aim at Creative Intelligence is to serve as an essential foundation for Commercial Creativity professionals. To become a trusted resource that connects awareness, analysis, and creativity in ways that matter most to those working at the intersection of art and business.
John Crane
Director, Creative Intelligence
Meet the Director - John Crane
Raised by immigrant parents in Los Angeles, California, the youthful John Crane couldn't imagine a career in creativity. However, while directing a pioneer migration mural in the fifth grade, something inside got ignited. Originally motivated by a sanctioned means of skipping class, this experience would set into motion a lifelong pursuit of creativity and creative collaboration.
Over the following decades, working on both coasts and internationally, an award-winning career would ensue. Through creative leadership positions in agency, industry, and academic settings, (Graphic Services, Ingram Micro, Preferred Hotels, Kaiser Permanente, Providence Health, University of Massachusetts), success would be gauged in both business and artistic measures. This collaborative passion would become the inspiration for Creative Intelligence and Awareness Seminars.
Today, John's goal is as before — skipping class, and advancing collaboration in Commercial Creativity. He divides time between Seattle, and Orcas Island, Washington where he receives constant inspiration from his dear Lindy Mac, family, friends, and two cats, Angus and Phinneas.
"Commercial Creativity isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a path that demands courage, originality, and resilience if one expects to prosper. It also means converting vision into value in every conceivable setting. To be at the top of one's game requires ongoing preparation. But to collaborate at the highest levels of business? This takes something more. I believe it to be conscious living. It begins with situational awareness. That’s what I hope these seminars will bring into your life." — John Crane, Orcas Island, WA 2025
"I was working with John Crane in 2016 when the idea of an "awareness seminar" was hatched. It was based on John's personal and professional work regarding growth. I applaud the dedication that went into this effort." - Ann Rutledge Britt, M.A., Master Certified Coach 