Typography & Graphic Design Blog
Illustration – Douglas Bonneville
One of the greatest challenges for any developing artist is not only painstakingly discovering their own voice, but then courageously taking the risk of stepping into the unknown to share it with the world.
Numerous studies, books and workshops on the topic of finding a distinct voice reveal this raw nerve has always existed. Do we find our own voice by going it alone and striving heroically to be original? Or do we simply copy someone else?
Well, both.
ILLUSTRATION – DOUGLAS BONNEVILLE
Anyone who is engaged in creative work has inevitably experienced the ebbs and flows that come with it. But like weather, even the most turbulent spells eventually pass, and though we can’t will them away, we can work with and through them until sunny skies return. So what can we do when the clouds that darken our eyes are Creative blocks, the common culprits that keep us from taking pleasure in our work?
While there are probably hundreds of ways to tackle the age-old issue, the following are a few possible approaches. They are bite-size and practical since overcomplicating things can sometimes reinforce what keeps us stuck.
It’s about removing clutter, both external and internal so creativity can resurface and blossom. We can do this through creating space while becoming vulnerable, still, gentle and self-forgiving.
Let’s start with the obvious:
Beautiful work worth sharing. Susanna Bauer creates these works of art from sticks, leaves and pieces of wood together with crochet woven ornately and with delicate balance.
There is a fine balance in my work between fragility and strength; literally, when it comes to pulling a fine thread through a brittle leaf or thin dry piece of wood, but also in a wider context – the tenderness and tension in human connections, the transient yet enduring beauty of nature that can be found in the smallest detail, vulnerability and resilience that could be transferred to nature as a whole or the stories of individual beings.
You can find more of Bauer’s works on her website and Instagram.
Could the key to creativity be multitasking in slow-motion? Not only are successful people found multi-tasking several projects at once, they’ve also found time for hobbies. Studies reveal how mixing it up can be surprisingly beneficial and can help us sharpen our senses and change perspectives.
What can we learn from the world’s most enduringly creative people? They “slow-motion multitask,” actively juggling multiple projects and moving between topics as the mood strikes — without feeling hurried. Author Tim Harford shares how innovators like Einstein, Darwin, Twyla Tharp and Michael Crichton found their inspiration and productivity through cross-training their minds.
Just a little reminder…
Read Design Culture for an insightful interview with Vignelli; his story and thoughts on design, type and advice to budding designers.
How do you get creative? Writer Madeleine Englis at Thrive Global says “start acting like a beginner, a child….”
What happens when we remove our narrow definition of creativity, and accept that we are all inherently creative?
We will come to see that tapping into creativity equates to harnessing our power to create, rather than to imitate. That is it! How that shows up for you is up to you. You could build something with your hands. You could list out 10 really bad ideas, but hey, they are original and they are your creative ideas. Who cares. It’s a muscle. You need to stop being a victim of creative perfectionism and start acting like a beginner, a child. That is the first step, to leading a creative life. Read On…
Creating a minimalist white coffee shop in Hong Kong is sheer genius from a marketing stand point. NOC is a popular coffee shop that aspires “to remove distractions, so you can connect with the things that matter.”
Brilliant Design and Branding by SuperUnion
Hong Kong is all about more. NOC is a coffee company that believes in less. Less of what you don’t need or never asked for. Less irrelevant choice. Less cutting corners.
In a world that is obsessed with more, NOC decided to put a stake in the ground for believing in less. Nobody needs dozens of types of flat white – all you need is a good one. We created a coffee experience to give a moment of calm amid the chaos of a busy city.
What artist wouldn’t love this job? New York based studio, Obvious State combined their love of books with their talent for illustration. Now partnering with Boxcar Press, they’re able to produce high quality prints on letterpress. Lovely!
The Bibliophilia collection is inspired by an obsession with the underlined passages in our favorite books. Snippets of text from authors, philosophers and thinkers are used as a springboard for a new idea and illustration.
Austin Kleon’s little, yet powerful book, Keep Going, is making the rounds, and I can see why. It’s clever, inspiring, and full of insights from artists who’ve battled long and hard in the unknown territories of themselves. He says, “to change is to be alive.” And yet, culture is harsh with those who are struggling upstream, vouching it’s weak to change your mind, or defend your current view points till death. But, nothing alive is stagnant, and the inability to bend is to be dead in the water.
Kleon writes:
When was the last time you changed your mind about something? We’re afraid of changing our minds we’re afraid of the consequences of changing our minds. What will people think?
…Uncertainty is the very thing that art thrives on. The writer Donald Barthelme said that the artist’s natural state is one of not-knowing”
…You start each work not knowing exactly where you’re going or where you’ll end up. “Art is the highest form of hope,” said painter Gerhard Richter. But hope is not about knowing how things will turn out –it is moving forward in the face of uncertainty. It’s a way of dealing with uncertainty. “Hope is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable,” write Rebecca Solnit. To have hope, you must acknowledge that you don’t know everything and you don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the only way to keep gong and the only way to keep making art: to be open to possibility and allow yourself to be changed.”
Creative, highly specialized, remote work is the future. The new millionaires will be those who adapt to this lifestyle. Digital nomads are already ahead of the game. The internet is truly the greatest form of liberation. @naval pic.twitter.com/3upDxTX0mT
— Jade (@JayBeDreamin) June 11, 2019
If you haven’t followed Naval yet, do it!
Paula Scher, designer of the Citibank logo, takes us on a journey of her career pointing out that her greatest successes came when she was having fun and taking risks. She noticed her work became “solemn” after gaining notoriety and consequently being obliged to keep up certain expectations. She shares the secrets to her greatest design, and encourages designers to gamble, play, and enjoy the ride.
My work is play, and I play when I design. – Paula Scher
A good reminder for those of us who still think too much and drown out the creative voice within…..
The men of experiment are like the ant; they only collect and use. The reasoners resemble spiders, who make cob-webs out of their own substance. But the bee takes a middle course; it gathers its material from the flowers of the garden and of the field, but transforms and digests it by a power of its own. – Francis Bacon
Cara Enteles, Bee Polinating Apple Blossom, 2017
And, a bit less poetically, Guy Claxton writes about a study of creativity in “Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind”:
The study of creativity in many different areas shows that what is required for optimal cognition is a fluid balance between modes of mind that are effortful, purposeful, detailed and explicit on the one hand, and those that are playful, patient and implicit on the other. We need to be able both to generate ideas, and also to evaluate them. Intuition is the primary mode of generation. D-mode [deliberating mind] is the primary mode of evaluation.
From an excerpt by English poet Alfred Edward Housman as he articulates his creative process using a balanced mix of intuitive and conscious effort (applicable to all artists, of course…):
Having drunk a pint of beer at luncheon… I would go out for a walk of two or three hours. As I went along, thinking of nothing in particular, only looking at things around me and following the progress of the seasons, there would flow into my mind, with a sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes a line or two of verse, sometimes a whole stanza at once, accompanied, not preceded, by a vague notion of the poem which they were destined to form part of…When I got home I wrote them down, leaving gaps, and hoping that for their inspiration might be forthcoming another day. Sometimes it was, if I took my walks in a receptive and expectant frame of mind; but sometimes the poem had to be taken in hand and completed by the brain, which was apt to be a matter of trouble and anxiety, involving trial and disappointment, and sometimes ending in failure. I happen to remember distinctly the genius of the piece which stands last in my first volume. Two of the stanzas, I do not say which, came into my head, just as they are printed, while I was crossing the corner of Hampstead Heath between Spaniards Inn and the footpath of Temple Fortune. A third stanza came with a little coaxing after tea. One more was needed, but it did not come: I had to turn to and compose it myself, that was a laborious business. I wrote it thirteen times, and it was more than a twelvemonth before I got it right.
As creatives, it often seems we try and forcefully recapture creativity or an idea when faced with the famous white canvas or blank screen. Maybe it’s during these times that we get off our duffs and go for a thoughtless stroll, or make a tea and play with the cat in order to allow something deeper than the intellect to percolate and bubble up in its own time.
Just like nature. It will happen when it supposed to happen
Opportunities, ideas, timing run on their own schedule,not on yours
For that reason i love ?@naval?’s quote. Impatient with actions, patient with results
?@morganhousel? is too good https://t.co/RsTpM1U7NJ— Shiva Singh Sangwan (@shivassangwan) June 10, 2019
If you aren’t following @naval?, you probably should check him out!
Just got the new book, The Art of Noticing – It’s a fun, down-to-earth book chock-full of ideas on how to see and connect more deeply to the world around you. Here’s a few lines from the beginning:
Imagine… devoting just one hour a week to consciously directing your attention. How would that affect the way you see, perceive, and think? How would it shift the way you engage with the world? How much might that not only change but also improve your work and your life?
…Let’s stop trying to be so productive all the time and make an effort to be more curious. Do you want to look back on a life of items crossed off lists drawn up in response to the demands of others? Or do you want to hang on to, and repeat, and remember, the thrill of discovering things on your own? –Rob Walker
The Art of Noticing, hot off the press May 2019
every time a non-writer friend asks “how’s work going??” i either stare at them with dead eyes or gush about how lucky i am to have the greatest job on earth. so i made this chart to explain: pic.twitter.com/bxcHcyPuD6
— Erin Griffith (@eringriffith) June 6, 2019
If you do creative work for other people, this chart is a fact of life. But if you are doing and monetizing what YOU want, no one has you at their whim. Figuring out how to do that is the trick 😛 .
Have you lost your passion and purpose as an artist? From time to time we get bogged down in the daily grind of life and lose site of the bigger picture of what we’re all about–which inevitably leads to loss of passion and energy. We wanted to share a few inspiring talks not only as a help to confirm your calling as an artist, but as a boost in your confidence and long-term creative vision as well.
Listen to Elle, as she tells her story of reclaiming her passion of art, changing her life work and is now living with focus and authenticity. Just recently CreativeMornings featured designer, painter, and writer Elle Luna. “Elle Luna describes her path from designer to artist, following her dreams and choosing ‘must’ over ‘should’.”
Why do people draw 3d boxes when they doodle? Well, we don’t know, but we are taking the doodling of 3d boxes to the next level 🙂 Introducing 3D Doodle Boxes!
We are in the final phases of our Unity3D project called 3D Doodle Boxes. You can, as the title implies, doodle with prefab 3d boxes in a super-easy-to-use user interface. It’s a cross between doodling 3D boxes on paper, and Minecraft :). After a final round of fit and finish bug fixing, we’ll be submitting 3D Doodle Boxes to the Mac App Store. In the mean time, have a look at the isometric logo and splash screen branding we just completed (click to enlarge):
If you are interested in having a little fun with an app like this, please subscribe to the RSS feed, or leave a comment on this thread to stay in touch.
I don’t find passion in graphic design, but I’m very interested in it, even after 20 years in the field. It’s always more interesting to do something purely artistic, where solving client problems isn’t a factor. I’m passionate about Fine Art, yet only very interested in Design, enough to keep doing it with a measure of delight after 20 years. It’s much more fun to write a song or sketch a painting concept than it is to analyze a client’s competitor and his branding. But as a designer, I must deliver work with a certain measure of inspiration or else I’ll cease to get work in this field. Right?