- Now, I believe that creativity is a journey,
not a destination.
You can spend your entire life
exploring and building on your creativity.
Everyone's path will be different, some longer than others,
but as long as you keep traveling,
you will eventually reach your creative goals.
I believe the key to building your career activity
is to keep moving, keep exploring, and keep learning.
If you stand in one place,
you will never know what is around the corner,
and you're not going to explore the true depth
of your creative potential.
And it's not just about moving,
it's also where you go that's important.
Okay, so you may be thinking, well, that's a nice sentiment,
but how does this manifest in reality?
What other things I can do as a creative person
to keep moving and build on my creativity?
Well, in this video,
I'll be answering a question from Fiifi Godsent
who asks, how can one build upon his creativity?
How could one be more creative in design?
Now, a few things you could consider
to increase and build a new creativity are,
one, get off the computer,
two, explore more styles,
three, don't follow trends,
four, don't repeat yourself,
and five, learn a new skill.
In this video, I'm going to discuss each point
in a bit more depth,
which I hope will encourage you
and help you build on your creativity.
One, get off the computer.
That's right, people, it's time to get old school.
With the advances in technology
and new gadget on the market everywhere you look,
it's no wonder why creatives feel the need
to use technology to be, or at least feel creative.
Now don't get me wrong, I love a new gadget,
and yes, in today's world,
we all use computers in a commercial sense.
But have you ever noticed that all computers seem to do
is imitate and play catch up
with traditional creative means?
The iPad just wants to be an infinite digital sketchbook.
The computer aims to make
what once took hours, days, and weeks,
only take minutes and hours.
It's all wonderful stuff and certainly comes in handy,
but it's nothing that we can't do without.
I feel the only true innovation
a computer will bring to creativity is AR and VR,
but that's another conversation.
Be ideas led, not computer led.
The problem with computers and using digital creative tools
is that they are always making you take action.
They are action-based.
Just take a look at Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator
and see how they are always offering you
quick ways to do things.
Their goal is to make your process easier, quicker,
and more streamlined.
Great, right?
Yes, these tools are super helpful,
and yes, they help us artwork our ideas into great work.
But the big problem with digital creative tools
is they don't encourage you to think, only to do so.
If you're the type of designer
who jumps straight onto the computer,
then by default, you're skipping the crucial thinking,
ideas generating stage of the design process.
When I tackle creative projects,
I always start off the computer with a humble graphic pad.
I complete my research
and ensure I fully understand the brief.
Then it's just me, my ideas, and my sketchpad.
Only when I've captured something magical,
which can sometimes take days,
then do I take my ideas onto the computer
and bring them to life.
Getting off the computer
and connecting more with physical mediums
can increase your ideas-based creativity.
Don't be influenced by the machine,
think of it only as a tool, like a pencil.
Spend more time exploring your ideas off the computer
and away from digital creative tools.
Embrace the rawness of sketching,
it's here where accidents can happen.
And who knows what magic you may stumble upon.
Remember, idea over function, not function over idea.
Number two, explore other creative disciplines.
As graphic designers,
we can spend a lot of time on our desks
looking at and doing the same sort of work,
logo after logo, brand after brand.
It's what we love to do,
and how lucky are we to do what we love.
But after 10 years of doing the same thing,
mastering the process and perfecting our technique,
it may be time to change things up a little.
Whatever you do, if you do it a lot
and at times feel you're lacking in creativity,
well, the journey of discovery
can sometimes start to feel a little too familiar.
And some may say, a little monotonous.
As Picasso said, success is dangerous.
One begins to copy oneself
and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others.
It leads to sterility.
You may be a practicing graphic designer,
but there is so much to be learned
from other creative disciplines.
If you're feeling uninspired and lacking in creativity,
try looking at other creative disciplines
that are quite different
and see how they approach solutions.
Get some books or magazines about,
say architecture, fashion, product design,
surface pattern design, and interior design.
See how other creative disciplines
approach different problems
and use color, texture, materials, shape and form
to solve creative problems.
Visiting museums and galleries always charges my batteries.
I always come away feeling excited and invigorated.
Looking at new dynamic and exciting work can be refreshing
and it always fills me with excitement
to take to the drawing board.
Looking at creativity from a different perspective
can inspire you and help you think different
and in ways that you could incorporate into your work.
Three, don't follow trends.
Now I feel this may be a controversial point to make.
If you want to take pride in your own creativity,
develop your creativity and create more fresh work,
you should avoid following trends.
I believe following trends is lazy.
There's nothing unique or exciting
about doing what someone else did simply for the sake of it.
One may have created something for a specific purpose,
and executed it in a way that suited that purpose.
The trouble with trends is that they soon ubiquitous
and lose their value and meaning,
so become cheap and less special.
Innovate, don't imitate.
When developing your creative and design,
you will be solving specific problems
and looking for creative solutions
for specific qualities that come out of a brief.
Every brief will be different
and trends tend to be a one-size-fits-all solution.
Avoiding trends is going to encourage you
to think of new ideas and take a more fresh approach.
Now, this is not to say you can't take inspiration
from what you see in culture,
but avoid imitating too much.
Aim to think differently
and seek meaningful and relevant solutions.
Avoid making work that you think looks cool first,
but rather seek to make work that works really well
and reflects the values and qualities
from the grassroots level.
If you can make that look cool, then you're onto a winner.
Four, stop repeating yourself.
If you feel you're lacking in creativity,
you may be doing too much of the same type of work.
Move out of your comfort zone and attempt something
that is the total opposite of what you are doing.
Sticking to a particular style, maybe familiar,
but monotony can be draining
and diminish your creative flair.
Try not to repeat yourself, mix things up
and experiment with new styles.
Whatever style you're using, ask yourself,
what would the complete opposite look like?
If you do a lot of 2D work,
what would the 3D equivalent look like?
If you do a lot of slick digital work,
try a more handcrafted approach.
If you do a lot of static work, try animating your work.
If you do a lot of logo design work,
well, why not try your hand at, say illustration.
If you do a lot of digital screen work,
try your hand at something more tactile,
like screen print work.
If you do a lot of slick minimal work, use more texture.
If you're inclined to do safe work,
try and be bolder and riskier,
you can always rein it in and dial it down later.
Think what your opposite is and have a go.
This will only encourage you to explore a new look and feel
or approach to your work,
where you may stumble upon something fresh
and find yourself in a new and exciting place creatively.
Which brings us to the last point,
five, learn a new skill.
After doing things a certain way for a long time,
we can often find ourselves niched in a particular style
or using the same method and tools.
Exploring new ways of doing things can encourage creativity
and will often require you to learn a new skill.
Don't be afraid to expand your skillset
and step out of your niche.
If you do a lot of 2D work,
look into learning 3D software
to bring a new dynamic to your work.
Blender, for example, is a free open source program
to help you with 3D artwork.
If you do a lot of digital work
using typefaces and vector graphics,
look at using a graphics tablet
to give a more personal touch to your work.
Create your own type faces, illustrations, and icons
that you can incorporate into your work.
If you do a lot of screen-based media,
then perhaps look at ways
to create using more tactile mediums,
like paint, ink, or screen print.
These methods provide a more hands-on experience
that may just rekindle your creative flame.
Set yourself a challenge
where you may do something over a set period,
like a 30-day challenge.
At first, you may find it hard
and perhaps wouldn't be that good at it.
You may even want to give up.
But if you continue every day and see it through,
you will soon see real incremental improvements
and progress, which is really rewarding.
Learning a new skill will encourage you to think
and do differently.
It opens you up to new possibilities
and can add to your professional repertoire,
therefore, increasing your creative opportunities.
So I'll say it again,
creativity is a journey, not a destination.
It's about getting back to the grassroots
and getting up close and personal with your creative side.
Get off the computer,
explore different styles of design and try something new.
If you keep walking down the same street,
you'll never know what's down the other streets.
Stop what you're doing and think,
how can I do this differently?
Explore a different aspect of design and challenge yourself.
Remember what brought you to design in the first place.
Let the uniqueness and freshness of your ideas run free
and you'll find your creativity continues to build
and develop.
So what are your thoughts on creativity?
What do you do to build on your creativity?
Have you tried any of the techniques
I mentioned in this video?
Be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section.
And if any of you have any other questions regarding design,
be sure to pop them in the comment section
or email me at creative@garethdavidstudio.com.
And I'll look to get back to you with a fair answer.
Also, be sure to hit that Subscribe button
as there will be more design Q&A videos like this in future.
Until then, have fun guys
and I'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)