Font Combinations & Pairings - Page 27 of 76

How to “Draw Out” Your Creativity

November 27, 2020 by Douglas Bonneville

Illustration – Douglas Bonneville

Although advice on fostering creativity is not hard find, it often falls short to dig deep into the reservoir where creativity germinates. In her book, The Artist Within, Betty Edwards explores a force that propels creativity. She stresses the need to recognize and develop this force, or mode, to enhance creativity and solve every day problems…. [Read More]

Finding Your Voice as an Artist: The Paradox of Originality

October 18, 2020 by Douglas Bonneville

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. … [Read More]

Artist Frederick Franck on Seeing

September 15, 2020 by Douglas Bonneville

As an artist, Frederick Franck is concerned with more than drawing solely for the sake of pleasure. He views it is as powerful tool in learning to truly see. Seeing, he believes, correlates to being deeply present in everyday life experiences. He writes about awakening through the practice of drawing directly what the eyes perceive, and no more. As a by-product, he finds inexplicable aliveness in all things, and the capacity to communicate that aliveness to others. seeing_drawing

… [Read More]

How to Move Beyond Creative Blocks

August 10, 2020 by Douglas Bonneville

Illustration by Douglas Bonneville - "How to Move Past Creative Blocks"

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: … [Read More]

Claude Bernard: The Only Way to Learn

July 25, 2020 by Douglas Bonneville

Learning Through Direct Experience

Claude Bernard was a 19th-century French physiologist who revolutionized experimental medicine. His approach to learning rejected the passive absorption of established wisdom in favor of direct experimentation and observation. For Bernard, true understanding could only come from hands-on engagement with the subject matter. This philosophy applies directly to creative work. You can read every design book ever published, watch thousands of tutorials, and memorize all the principles, but genuine skill only develops through making things. The gap between knowing and doing is bridged only by practice.

Why Tutorials Only Take You So Far

Designers often fall into the tutorial trap. They watch video after video, feeling productive because they are learning new techniques. But watching someone else design teaches you very little compared to struggling through a project yourself. The mistakes you make and the problems you solve become embedded knowledge in a way that observation never achieves. Bernard conducted over 10,000 experiments during his career. Most failed. But each failure taught him something that no textbook could have conveyed. The same principle applies to design: your hundredth logo teaches you things your first logo never could. Start projects before you feel ready. Take on work slightly beyond your current abilities. The discomfort of not knowing exactly what to do is the feeling of real learning happening.