I'm just a creative technologist

A techy path in creative technology

Hey, my name is Olivia Ema and I am a creative technologist. 

I've been reflecting on my journey as a creative technologist, particularly how I ended up in this role, prompted by questions on my TikTok. While it’s tempting to say 'I fell into it,' the truth is that it required significant learning and experimentation, which has meant a lot of time taken and fair share of risk in my career, and the journey is still ongoing.

Being a creative technologist is a relatively new role, so in the early stages of my journey I never sought to become one. It happened by nature of the work I was doing, the title fit my line of exploration well. 

But, what is a creative technologist? 

Defining a creative technologist was challenging, and I spent a considerable amount of time searching the web and YouTube for a resonating explanation. According to Creative Lives In Progress:

‘The role of a creative technologist falls somewhere between technology, design and coding. They'll be involved in concept development through to its digital implementation. The tasks can vary from company to company and from project to project, but the role is generally a hands-on one which requires coding skills, software knowledge and an understanding of digital technology’

As a creative technologist, I operate at the intersection of design, technology, and marketing. My work primarily involves investigating emerging technologies and discovering innovative methods of communication that can be used for creative expression or integrated into marketing strategies. In advertising, where the focus is often on engagement, my role bridges the gap between creatives/ creative directors and developers. This unique position allows me to understand both the creative brief and the technical possibilities, facilitating collaboration between teams thus opening the door to innovative outputs.

How did I end up as a creative technologist 

I have been working in and around advertising for nearly eight years now. Over this period, I’ve taken on various roles within the industry, from creative and conceptual designer to art director and ultimately, creative technologist. Each role has been connected by my consistent desire to find the most enjoyable mode of creative expression. These roles have informed my creative thinking and enhanced my perspective as a creative technologist, allowing me to seamlessly blend creativity and technology in interesting ways.

My journey into creative technology began in 2020, during COVID while I was working as a conceptual designer. For a long time, I enjoyed using filters and naturally decided to try making one myself. This exploration with augmented reality led me to discover the modern-day magic of extended reality. As I delved deeper, I started thinking conceptually about the near-future possibilities within technology, I started to experiment with cross-pollinating different technologies e.g. 3D, Ai and AR, which was yielding interesting results.

Portal of wellness AR

One of my first AR projects ‘Portal of wellness’ was centred around affirmations, exploring the potential of merging neurolinguistics with augmented reality. I also experimented with how collages could transform in 4-dimensional space using AR.

These explorations opened new doors for me, leading to a collaboration with Adobe to create an immersive AR experience for their festival. This was my first commercial AR project and it demonstrated to me how AR could be applied not just as an experimental medium but as a tool for engaging and entertaining audiences.

Additionally, I worked with Hillsong Media Collective to develop a face filter. This project was promoted through a short video showcasing the filter, with the aim of connecting people during quarantine. There was something special about seeing the impact of my work—using technology to foster connection and provide entertainment during a challenging time.

Within my main job as a conceptual designer, creative technology was seldom being explored - if at all. I enjoyed my job as a designer but saw the possibilities within technology. By this time, I was deeply immersed in metahumans and fascinated by the possibilities with digital humans. I was also learning about digital fashion and teaching myself 3D. I desired the space to delve deeper into my explorations. 

Freelancing as a creative technologist

I decided to freelance for a while and decided to embrace the title creative technologist. Whilst freelancing I worked predominantly as a graphic designer doing branding work, but it allowed me the space to learn and expand my knowledge on creative technology. I bought a 12 week course on TouchDesigner, a node based visual programming software. Despite the teacher's guidance it was a challenging piece of software to learn, one which I’ve dedicated a separate blog post to, read here. As a freelancer, I realised that many people were unaware of the role of a creative technologist. I worked with a PR agency to help develop ideas around an immersive event for a global sports star but that was as “techy” as it got. 

After a challenging stint at freelancing, I decided to return to full-time work, albeit reluctantly. I applied for a role as an artworker at the Ministry of Sound, seeking a stable, non-creatively consuming job to provide a consistent source of income while continuing to explore creative technology on the side.

However, an unexpected shift occurred during the interview process. While everything was going smoothly, the interviewers recognised the value of my skillset for both the club and the broader business. They asked me to explain my role as a creative technologist, and by the end of the interview, they offered me a position not as an artworker but as a graphic designer and creative technologist. And with that, my plans for a semi-mundane, non creatively exhausting job quickly went out the window.

This was my first creative technology fulltime position, Ministry of Sound was my playground where I unlocked potentials around creative technology at various touchpoints around the business - working on 3D projections, developing AR responsive posters, interactive murals, developing motion graphics for live performance, 3D scanning and audio reactive visuals for club nights. This role allowed me to explore the capabilities with emerging tech whilst leaning into process and strategy in order to achieve marketing goals- gauging stats and monitoring feedback by audiences who engaged with the work.

Unfortunately my time at Ministry of Sound was cut short, I type this with remorse as I know that there is still a need to go deeper into the experiential possibilities that such a space can offer- something I was exploring in the club space with the screens. But the objectives of the people driving the vision shifted to something more salesy as opposed to creating more immersive experiences, which I was initially hired for. In a series of redundancies and job loses I was hit.

Summary

My journey as a creative technologist has been a peculiar one, driven by my curiosity around finding interesting and fun ways to captivate people. This journey is fuelled by my enthusiasm for creating connections—with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. Creative technology has been the medium through which I achieve this goal of captivating audiences. I think this role works for me because I’m someone who can’t sit still for very long, I love learning and wowing people through what I learn, I also believe that I can create anything if I can watch enough YouTube tutorials - which comes in particularly handy because tech is constantly evolving.

I’m excited to continue exploring the intersections of technology and creativity and how this unfolds in my journey. I also look forward to sharing more of my journey with you. If you’ve read this far thank you, and if you’re interested in seeing the evolution of my journey in technology, follow my substack, Instagram and TikTok.