Creative Process
Five Lies Creatives Believe
Having been involved in the world of “how-on-earth-do-things-get-made” for a while now, there are some patterns I’ve noticed within the minds and lives of artists - especially those creating within organizations. When these lies become a part of the way we see the world, they become artificial boundaries that limit our ability to engage and create.
Here are five believable lies that seem to be common:
1. I am what I make. This lie tells us that our value as a team member - nay, as a human being, is dependent upon the perceived value of what we make. This one is a sinister little devil because most organizations are set up to reward those who live out this lie to the extreme. That makes it tougher to opt-out without opting-out.
2. Why try? I’ll never be as good as (insert accomplished artist here)… This lie tells us that unless we hit some invisible standard (and probably unrealistic) standard we’ve set, nothing is worth making. We fail to realize that (insert accomplished artist here) probably felt the same thing from time to time.
3. I’d might as well just give them what they want. This lie tells us that challenging clients or managers is useless because they’re only going to tell us to do something “compromised” anyway. The assumption underlying this lie is that striving for our best work is only valuable if the work is accepted and praised.
4. Because of my abilities, I am entitled to (insert benefit, award, promotion, peer approval, etc. here). This lie causes us to turn inward and withhold ourselves from the creative process. It’s a “my way or no way” kind of thinking that ultimately results in us eating our own heart. (Quick tip: except for your bookie, no one owes you anything.)
5. Risk is bad. Certainty is good. When a culture of fear emerges within an organization, whether it’s fear of failure or fear of success, it squelches personal and organizational innovation. All brilliance demands risk. It is the novelty of the connection that is the very definition of brilliance, and the closer “to the expected” an idea is the less likely it is to be brilliant.
So…these are a few of mine. (All of these, by the way, have been present and accounted for in my creating life from time to time.)
Can you add some to the list?
Tags: best of, blocks, complexity, Creative Process, dissonance, engagement, organizations, Productivity
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Another lie:
“I love what I do so I shouldn’t be paid well for it. Being able to do what I love for work is all that I need.”
This contributes to the ’starving artist’ (if you are one) and is not a sustainable business practice! It will take time, but get out of this lie as fast as you can. Especially if you’re just starting out in you field.
How about “no one understands me” or “no one ‘gets’ my work”?
This is relevent to any designers or artists. I admit I let myself fall into that one sometimes. Really, it’s about marketing and focused activities - working for or finding the right people who do ‘get’ me rather than complaining that the completely inappropriate audience doesn’t.
#1 The client is an uneducated philistine that must be tolerated. I find that many of my clients offer up great advice on their projects and many people have an intuitive and creative nature that we can learn from. They often do not have the language and “art-speak” tools to communicate their ideas well, but if we listen closely and ask the right questions we can learn from them.
#2 The client is always right. Any of us over the age of 30 that ever worked in retail or food service may have heard that phrase and we may try to apply that to our current creative work and business practices. When it comes to design the client is not “always” right. Managing our clients and finding diplomatic resolutions to issues that arise will always be the number one challenge for any designer.
Creativity comes from pain and suffering. Half-truths are dangerous. Great art can and has come out of painful experiences as well as joyful experiences. I do believe, however, that dissatisfaction on some level is a healthy, positive driving force behind creativity.
The creative environment is competitive no doubt and it is up to the creative individual to decide how long he or she should stay in a work environment. It is easy to collect a paycheck and do whatever the client wants, but that gets old quick and all of a sudden new talent… low paying talent comes along and snatches your job. Best thing is not to keep all your eggs in one basket. Have a variety of clients so you are exposed to different projects. I like number 3 a lot!! Watch our for big, big egos… worked for many higher ups who had to be the one with the idea. Easy way out, let ‘em have it!! Young talent will always be the puppy. Say their work is great and their on top of the world. Love that! Upper management can milk that for what it’s worth. It is the nature of the business.
Thse are fantastic, all. Keep them coming. (I think my favorite thus far is from Becca, “The client is an uneducated philistine that must be tolerated.”)
I said we’re looking for lies here, people…