Stay loose, But not too loose

Sure, a drink or two helps relax inhibitions. That's why so many people rely on a drink to relax and be creative. Somewhere between tipsy and sloppy there is a relaxed zone of openness, socialiblity and creativity. But it's a fine line. Being relaxed is good. Being sloppy and unable to exercise good judgement? Not so good. You're not a monkey throwing feces at a wall and hoping it'll be art. You want quality ideas and the skills to present them well.

How do you find the creative fugue state without the vino or absinthe? Practice and many hours spent doing the thing you love. Don't worry about making something perfect. Just make something and learn from the experience. Stay relaxed. It’s proven that falling when drunk will result in fewer injuries than falling down sober. Make some mistakes and learn how to stay loose in the face of adversity. The thing you're making might become something unexpected, and better, if you let it breathe.

Why I love beer labels

I’m obsessed with beer and liquor packaging. I admit it and I do my best to share my obsession with the people around me.

A good label combines strong typography, illustration, and clear focus to communicate what the product is, to whom it’s speaking and what separates it from the competition. Not an easy task when a consumer is scanning a shelf of beer at the store. And that’s the thing: people don’t read, they scan. This is especially true in packaging but it applies across all media in varying degrees.

I also love book cover design for similar reasons but here’s the difference: a book cover describes the contents but a beer label describes both the contents AND me. As the craft beer market matures so does the packaging and the identity statements are becoming more nuanced and adventurous.

The Four Horsemen of the Creative Apocalypse

Stress doesn’t come in a sudden rush. It creeps up, easing into the subconscious and slowly strangling creative flow. Learn to recognize the four obstacles to creativity and stop them in their tracks.

Fear: Usually the fear of judgement or rejection. Remember that ideas are made better when tested. You won’t be judged for accepting feedback but you will be judged for shutting down input.

Time: It's painful when we haven’t budgeted enough time or underestimated a project. Develop the ability to estimate accurately and communicate changes to your team.

Tools: The tools we use to make stuff are constantly changing. Talk to experts, pad your time and manage your teams expectations.

Distractions: Email, SMS, TV, Facebook, personal hobbies, etc. Solution: block out time to focus and turn distractions into rewards. 

Kill your babies

I can’t take credit for this wonderfully grim phrase. I can’t even remember where I first heard it but it stuck with me and that’s what counts. Our babies are the ideas we are attached to that prevent us from shifting gears and letting our concepts evolve.

Babies usually contain the seed of a good idea, which makes them hard to release. They consume your time and distract you from alternatives. They are the ideas that no ones else seems to 'get'. They are the amazing ideas that you can't seem to finish. They are the things you defend emotionally but can't describe their quantitative value.

Recognize when you're defending a time sink. If you feel overly defensive when an idea is criticized there's a good chance it's one of your babies. Step back and shift gears.

Money doesn't matter

Don’t wait for the perfect conditions to be creative. Often we use conditions as excuses to not be creative or to not work towards your dreams. There’s not enough time, not enough money, not enough support from friends and family, etc. Over time we’ll break down each of these excuses and stories can get in our way but, for now, let’s talk about money.

Money has nothing to do with creativity. The blues came from poverty. Flamenco came from poverty. Most of the arts you love have their roots in poverty. Money is great for funding larger projects but you don't need it to get started. You may not be able to afford the recording equipment you'd like, or the laptop or the dance costume but none of the those are an excuse to not create. Not having enough money is an excuse we throw in our own way. It's a story we tell ourselves to let ourselves off the hook, to take fewer risks. Don’t let money be your story.

Share your bad ideas

Seeing is believing. Sometimes the path to resolution, and evolution, of an idea means sharing your bad ideas. Yours and the clients. Sharing the good and bad,  and soliciting responses, will tune your understanding of what is important to someone.

At some point a client will ask you to do something that you think is a bad idea and, despite your genius, the best thing to do is to show them what they ask for. Worst case scenario: you discover that you’re not the genius you thought you were. Best case: the client sees first-hand that their idea doesn’t work and they trust you more. In either case you’ll learn a little more about the project by embracing the request and trying it out.

This doesn’t need to be a source of stress. If you’re working with a new client budget for iteration. It will improve the quality of your work and make your clients happier.

Fear the pie (in the sky)

Creativity is fueled by constraints. The challenge is finding the right amount of information to get you started but not so much that you have no room to explore. Imagine sitting down to start a painting with no idea what you’re going to do. Then imagine sitting down to paint having made the decision to paint a duck. The second scenario immediately triggers associations and it’ll be faster to get into a state of creative flow.

If you’re working with a client who says ‘do whatever you like’ plan for extra revisions. You’ll soon find out that they’re aren’t actually okay with you doing anything. They just didn’t know what they wanted until they had something to react to. 

Learn how to interview clients, and yourself, to establish the right amount of enabling constraints. If you aren't doing that now, try it, it will save you time down the road.

Take a walk

If you hit the wall, find yourself getting overly attached to ideas or resisting feedback it’s time to step away. Distance improves your perspective and calms your nerves. Research creativity and a couple scenarios come up over and over again. People get ideas while showering and while taking a walk.

Stepping away from my computer is the one tool that I’ve used every single day for the past 20 years. I discovered this tool when I was a political cartoonist and it became an essential tool that I’ve incorporated into my workflow. It’s that valuable.

I’ll start by feeding my brain with research and then I’ll take a walk and let my mind wander. While walking I’m more likely to make connections between ideas and more freely plan my next steps. Whether I need the break or not I take a walk religiously every day in the mid-afternoon.

Throw away your work

Any creative pursuit can test your Buddha nature. To make something special you need to get excited about an idea but be prepared to throw it away. Respond to your work as it’s in progress. Try something, react and either build on that idea or toss it. Every final design should be the result of dozens of these decisions.

Probably 90% of my work as a designer is thrown away. Does that mean I’m a failure because I don’t have a 100% track record? No, it means I’m constantly evaluating and adjusting my vision as its taking shape.

The thing I had in my head is almost never the thing I end up producing and I find that keeping my vision locked on a singular goals makes my ideas fragile. Fragile ideas are not inherently bad, just be prepared to break them.

Practice non attachment and make it part of your process.

Don't hold back. Use your best ideas.

There is no better time than now for your best ideas. Use them, there will be more. Don’t save them for a better project or a better client because good ideas breed more good ideas.

When we become stingy with our concepts we get attached to them and when we get attached to an idea it becomes the thing that is always pushed to another day because we think it has to be perfect. It's easy to put off the perfect idea because it'll take too much time.

Additionally, the more things you try the more likely you’ll find something that works and when you do find something that works don't be afraid to repeat yourself.

You don't have to reinvent yourself on every project. And repetition is the thing that all your favorite artists are known for. Repetition is style and style is the thing that reputations are built upon.

Develop a daily habit

When I started studying music my teacher said the secret to practice is doing a little bit every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s only 5-10 minutes because the regularity is better than one or two longer practice sessions per week.

He was right. It’s about developing momentum and making sure the last thing you did is at the surface of your thoughts and easily accessible. The skills we don't practice atrophy over time. How long is too long? It's a matter of degrees but every bit counts when you're trying to improve.

You might have heard that doing something 21 days consecutively forms a habit. Maybe, but it doesn’t mean the your body will go on autopilot. On day 22 and every day thereafter you still need to make the decision: am I going to maintain my momentum? 

Regular practice leads to mastery. There is no other way.