All Eyes On Design
Design is everywhere, shaping our world in countless ways. At its core, design is about problem-solving and creating solutions that improve our lives. It’s not limited to aesthetics; it encompasses the functionality and experience of everything we interact with daily. Design is in every aspect of our lives whether we notice it or not.
We depend on creatives to constantly reach new levels and to push the focus forward in a contemporary way. Creatives come in many forms and all hold fundamental skills in their industry: Graphic Designers, Visual Artists, Fashion/Interior Designers, Web Developers, Writers, Musicians/Composers, Video/Film Directors, Actors, Architects, Culinary Artists, Pastry Chefs, and much more. Every film, song, dish, or piece of art contributes to human expression.
Imagining a world without creatives is like envisioning a canvas without colour, purpose, or emotion. Creatives play a critical role – without them, our world would be remarkably different. Designers transform ideas into a tangible experience. They are natural problem solvers and use their passion to present information simply. Many people don’t understand how much design shapes our lives. Nothing wears out a designer more than classic assertions like “All you do is make things look nice.” In reality, that’s only a fraction of what creatives do. We narrow down the strongest concepts to present to clients; strong design often goes unnoticed as it seamlessly integrates into the environment. Poor design catches attention when it causes frustration and disruption.
Getting an idea rolling can be tricky. Sometimes ideas come at you from anywhere and spark creativity when you least expect it. We make our ideas real through the struggle and pursuit of bringing them to life. It’s essential to allow space to sit during each phase of the creative process, and one phase isn’t any less important than the other. They are all stepping stones to the final concept. The passion shines through in the hours dedicated to a project; something you can’t fake. When working on a project, you have to become an expert at that topic. While this can seem daunting at times, the creative process varies for each person.
The Creative Process:
Preparation: It’s important to be in the present moment with the task at hand and try things that may not work.
Evaluation: Here, you critically assess the idea. You analyze its potential impact and how well it meets the goals or solves the problem.
Implementation: This is where you put the idea into action. It involves developing, refining, and executing. It may require prototyping and revising based on feedback.
Review: You review the final concept after many previous versions. Through the process, you learn from the experience.
I’ve been creative all my life, but the key lesson I’ve learned is that there is no better practice than rolling up your sleeves, sitting at your desk, and getting to work. In the beginning, you often chase your heroes. In the design world, I’m a big fan of David Carson, Made By James, and Damonxart. Ultimately, while you can feel that you’ve fallen short of your heroes, you can end up creating something novel in the world (you only get that through practice!). Make your talent undeniable. The things I worked hard to get good at created a strong foundation to build and expand upon. I believe a lot of success is achieved through luck combined with hard work. You can’t control the luck part, but if it lands, your work and ethic can open the doors to opportunity.
