Creativity and design
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Andy Rutledge has a great article in issue 254 of A List Apart. He makes a clear distinction between useful creativity and unchecked self-expression.
Creativity has nothing at all to do with self-expression or flamboyancy. Aside from the simple ability to create things, the most important feature of creativity is a highly developed perception filter that is somewhat less common than we’re led to believe. [It’s] an inborn capacity for thinking differently than most, seeing differently, and making connections and perceiving relationships others miss.
Personal preferences have almost no place in commercial design simply because it is not our own reaction that matters, but that of our clients and their audience. When students make the common complaint “I’m unable to be creative because of all these constraints” what they’re really saying is that they want to be free to do whatever they want, regardless of the project goals and parameters.
Well, welcome to the professional world. Our job is to identify the boundaries in which we have to work, whether its a company’s brand identity guidelines or a certain technology’s limitations. The beauty of it is that we never have to start with a completely white piece of paper wondering which of the infinite number of paths to take. In the fine arts, a blank canvas is the beginning of a journey of self-exploration. In graphic design, its panic inducing. If you’ve correctly worked with your client and done the research, then your goal is clear, your boundaries are clear and your target audience is clear (hopefully).
Now build something that makes everyone smile, not just yourself.