The Creative Doctor

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The Creative Doctor

Creative Credentials & Selected Work

Diagnosis, direction and production for brands that need stronger creative.

Diagnosis, direction and production for brands that need stronger creative.

Diagnosis, direction and production for brands that need stronger creative.

Tom Leishman — Founder & Creative Director

Positioning · Language & copy · Campaign concepts · Visual direction · Content systems · Production · Team capability

Tom Leishman directing talent during a professional studio production.
Tom Leishman directing talent during a professional studio production.
Tom Leishman directing talent during a professional studio production.

02

The Creative Symptoms

Most brands don’t lack content. They lack clarity, desire, story and a repeatable creative system.

Most brands don’t lack content. They lack clarity, desire, story and a repeatable creative system.

Most brands don’t lack content. They lack clarity, desire, story and a repeatable creative system.

Output is not the same as direction. More posts rarely solve a weak creative foundation.

Hands holding miniature disco balls
Woman enjoying coffee
Woman holding grapes in a field
Man beside a red car
Long-haired male portrait
Woman on a pink sofa with gold streamers
Woman in a purple jacket
Women with basketballs
Glitter-covered figure
Hands holding miniature disco balls
Woman enjoying coffee
Woman holding grapes in a field
Man beside a red car
Long-haired male portrait
Woman on a pink sofa with gold streamers
Woman in a purple jacket
Women with basketballs
Glitter-covered figure
Hands holding miniature disco balls
Man beside a red car
Woman in a purple jacket
Woman enjoying coffee
Long-haired male portrait
Women with basketballs
Woman holding grapes in a field
Woman on a pink sofa with gold streamers
Glitter-covered figure

03

What I Build

I turn unclear ideas into brand worlds, campaign concepts and content systems.

I turn unclear ideas into brand worlds, campaign concepts and content systems.

01

Brand Direction

Positioning, language, tone of voice, copy and visual direction that make the business clear, distinctive and recognisable.

02

Campaign Concepts & Production

Creative ideas, hooks and stories developed into photography, film, design and ready-to-use brand content.

03

Content Systems & Team Capability

Repeatable formats, guidelines, templates, workflows and training that help internal teams maintain the creative standard.

04

The Evidence

Creative work with scale, brands and commercial outcomes.

Creative work with scale, brands and commercial outcomes.

Atmospheric production set in a plant-filled room
Photographer and film crew working together
Full studio production setup with cameras and lighting
Tom speaking beside a microphone and laptop
Tom photographing beside a pig
Black-and-white behind-the-scenes portrait shoot

6B+

6B+

content views

14M+

14M+

asset downloads

£500K+

£500K+

reported Adobe portfolio revenue

11,000+

11,000+

assets across 58 shoots

Selected clients

Adobe
Canva
BT
Sky
Channel 5
Discovery
Three
McFly

05

Case Study: Canva / Pexels

Building content at the scale of one of the world’s most-visited creative platforms.

Building content at the scale of one of the world’s most-visited creative platforms.

Through Koolshooters, my production company, I led creative development and production across 58 shoots for Canva and Pexels. I built multidisciplinary teams and delivered more than 11,000 reusable photography and video assets—generating over 6 billion views and 14 million downloads while helping scale Canva’s global visual ecosystem.

Creative development · Casting and crew leadership · Production ownership · Client review · Scalable content systems

Watch the project reel →

Man beside a yellow television
Three women performing handstands
Two glitter-covered figures
Dancer with red and blue projection
Dancer with red and blue projection
Woman inside a vehicle holding a flower
Woman inside a vehicle holding a flower
Women with basketballs
Women with basketballs
Smiling woman beside an open vehicle
Female boxer
Picnic scene viewed from above
Four women posed around a ladder
Tom Leishman directing a photography and video crew during a Canva and Pexels production.
Tom Leishman directing a photography and video crew during a Canva and Pexels production.
Tom Leishman directing a photography and video crew during a Canva and Pexels production.

Tom directing the photography and video team on set.

6B+
Pexels content views

6B+
Pexels content views

14M+
Pexels asset downloads

14M+
Pexels asset downloads

11,000+
assets across 58 shoots

11,000+
assets across 58 shoots

EXPLORE THE FULL CASE STUDY →

06

Case Study: McFly

Visual direction across albums, tours, merchandise and fan-facing campaigns.

Visual direction across albums, tours, merchandise and fan-facing campaigns.

A long-term creative partnership with the band, management, label, stylists, merchandise and live production teams. Creative direction covered album and single artwork, tour imagery, merchandise and official calendars, including artist and stylist direction, cross-functional leadership and creative review.

Long-term creative partnership

Album and single artwork · Tour imagery · Merchandise · Official calendars · Artist and stylist direction · Cross-functional leadership · Creative review

McFly seated on stools in water
Backlit McFly live performance
McFly live Memory Lane performance
Tom photographing all four McFly members in a forest
McFly facing the Royal Albert Hall audience
Illuminated McFly stage and crowd
McFly guitarist holding his instrument above his head
The Best of McFly tour poster with dates and venues
Projected portrait of all four McFly members
McFly guitarist jumping onstage
Monochrome live image of a McFly guitarist
Monochrome live image of a McFly guitarist

07

Case Study: Prévu

Three years shaping Prévu’s visual world across campaigns, lookbooks and social content.

Three years shaping Prévu’s visual world across campaigns, lookbooks and social content.

A three-year creative partnership working directly with the founder, leading creative direction, casting and styling direction, production and photography. Managed feedback and approvals from initial idea through to final assets.

Direct founder relationship · Creative direction · Casting and styling direction · Production and photography · Selfridges commercial milestone

EXPLORE THE FULL CASE STUDY →

Model seated in a café
Model seated in a café
Prévu Selfridges campaign advert
Two models wearing blue Prévu clothing
Two models wearing blue Prévu clothing
Model lying sideways on green turf

08

CASE STUDY: BT FLEX TV

Photography that helped turn a cinema prank into a believable film campaign.

Photography that helped turn a cinema prank into a believable film campaign.

Working alongside the advertising company Recipe, Tom was commissioned to photograph the cinematic key art for Broken Trace and Bitter Truth—two fictional films created for the launch of BT Flex TV. The finished images became spoof movie posters displayed on digital screens throughout cinema foyers.

Watch the case study →

Bitter Truth cinema placement visualisation
Broken Trace cinema placement visualisation

Cinema placement visualisation

Cowboy profile beside a horse
Neon-lit female Broken Trace portrait
Cowboy walking beside a horse through atmospheric smoke

CAMPAIGN RECOGNITION

DMA GOLD

Integrated campaign

MEDIA WEEK SILVER

Media innovation

+19% seen as first with new ideas

+8% more likely to trust BT TV

+26% more likely to consider BT TV

Source: DCM/Differentology research · Base: 800 ABC1 adults aged 25+ who own a TV

Source: DCM/Differentology research · Base: 800 ABC1 adults aged 25+ who own a TV

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The Working Model

How We Fix It

How We Fix It

01 - Diagnose

Review the brand, audience, website, messaging, content and customer journey to identify the problems and opportunities that matter most.

02 - Creative Direction & Production

Shape the positioning, language, copy, concepts and visual direction, then assemble and lead the right creative team to bring the work to life.

03 - Equip Your Team

Turn the work into a repeatable system using guidelines, content pillars, templates, briefing tools, workflows and practical training.

04 - Advise

Remain involved as a consultant or fractional creative director, reviewing output, shaping campaigns, guiding decisions and helping the brand evolve.

Production crew working in a warmly lit plant-filled room

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Ways To Work Together

Start with a diagnosis. Build what comes next.

Start with a diagnosis. Build what comes next.

Every engagement begins with a clear diagnosis. From there, Tom can lead the implementation, equip the internal team and remain involved wherever senior creative direction adds value.

Start

Creative Diagnosis

A complete diagnosis of your brand, content and customer journey, delivered with prioritised findings and a practical 90-day action plan.

BOOK A FREE 20-MINUTE FIT CALL

Build

Creative Direction, Production & Ongoing Support

For businesses that want Tom to shape the direction, assemble and lead the right creative team, produce the work, build the internal systems and remain involved as an ongoing adviser.

Discuss a Project

← RETURN TO THE CREATIVE DOCTOR

tom@thecreative.doctor

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