How to evaluate an idea

How do you really know if an idea is any good? Can you truly judge creative work without getting tangled in your personal taste or letting your biases get in the way? In this episode of Now Go Create, I dig into the messy, often emotional process of evaluating creative ideas. It's award show season, and competition for gongs is fierce. I’m joined by my fellow judges for the Creative Moment Awards by top-of-their-game creative directors Kim Allain (Golin), Greg Double (Burson), strategist Gemma Moroney (SHOOK), and the king of creative excellence, Arif Haq. Together we pull apart what “good” actually means, and how you can bring real objectivity and confidence to your feedback, judging, or sign-off. You’ll hear about three powerful frameworks I’ve honed through years of practice and study, which can help you move from gut feel and fuzziness to clear, actionable creative decisions. If you’ve ever agonised in a judging room or struggled to explain what you think about a creative concept, this is the episode I wish I’d had when I started out. Highlights: Why creative evaluation is so tricky: where instinct meets process, personal taste clashes with objectivity, and why that tension is essential How Heineken’s Creative Ladder gives you a “dictionary” of creativity, and a shared language to discuss what’s great, bland, or legendary in your ideas Testing for authenticity: Kim Allain on digging below the case study to see if an idea really had impact and relevance IDEO’s Lifeline Cards: Seven lenses (Heart, Beauty, Brains, Bravery, Magic, Mastery, Destiny) that unlock richer creative conversations and better feedback The effectiveness lens: James Hurman’s ladder for measuring results from behaviour change to brand fame Field wisdom: When “good” is a feeling in your gut, and when it’s time to step back and question what’s driving your opinions The practical side: Frameworks, worksheets, and questions you can use to level up your creative conversations, pitch, or awards judging How to fight for someone else’s idea and why strong critical thinking means challenging your own biases, too. Do you have a bold story or breakthrough you want to share, or a creative challenge you want Claire to discuss next, or a creative dilemma you’d like her to tackle on the show? Email [email protected]. About Claire Bridges Claire Bridges is Chief Spark and Founder of leading creative training consultancy Now Go Create, whose philosophy is that everyone can be creative. Claire worked as Managing Director and Creative Director working with global brands including Starbucks, Kellogg’s, Unilever, P&G and Danone in her previous PR career. Upskilling individuals, teams and organisations with practical creativity tools is Claire’s mission. She’s one of only 250 people globally to hold an MSc in Creativity, Leadership & Innovation, and authored an Amazon best-selling creative handbook In Your Creative Element based on her academic studies. Claire and her hand-picked team of experts have worked on thousands of creative projects and trained over 40,000 people around the world since starting Now Go Create in 2011. Join our weekly email for free resources and worksheets to go with the podcast here http://eepurl.com/dtrWZf Connect with Claire: Website: https://nowgocreate.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowgocreate/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NowGoCreate LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-bridges-b6205b14 Creative Moment Awards: https://www.creativemomentawards.co/ Produced by winteraudio.co.uk