If you
clicked the link to this blog you are probably a creative, and you are
familiar with Sagmeister. Either that, or you are curious about who this
person is and what advice he can offer. If it’s the latter, you are in
for a treat. I admit that I did not know who this was before the
interview, but he absolutely blew my mind with insights in to being
successful and developing your creative abilities throughout a career.
I
have taken his interview on 30 Days of Genius with Chase Jarvis,
extracted the information, and used it to answer common questions by
readers just like you, who are looking to take their lives to the next
level, or at least a different level than the one they are on.
Please enjoy.
How Do I Stand Out?
In
order to truly stand out you need to have your own style, and that
takes time. Personal style is something that sounds intimidating at the
beginning, something you are striving for from day one, but it is not
something you can force. As much as we push for it, it is something that
will slowly develop over time. The more you create, work, re-think,
re-do, and experiment, the sooner your style will develop. I truly
believe it is easier to develop your style today than it ever has
before. With so many outlets to display your work, you are able to
receive enormous amounts of feedback in a very short period of time.
Being critiqued, seeing your work through others’ eyes, and having the
ability to create consistently will help you zero in on your style. You
will develop what makes you art different from everyone else’s, but you
won’t get that without creating. The more the better.
Do
not allow artistic “rules” to box you in. There are techniques and
strategies that have been used for decades that are irrational and even
dumb, yet no one wants to question them. If you want to avoid blending
in avoid following the rules. Create for you, create for your audience,
but don’t create for the rules. The heart of an artist is to be
different, stand out in society, but so many times they fall in line
when it comes to the thing they should be most creative about. They may
not sit in a cubicle, work from 9–5, and wear a tie, but there are many
artists that will confine their creations just as much as if they had an
office job. It’s a shame.
I
can see it in their faces. They want to be different, they know it is
the right thing to do, and they just won’t allow themselves to do it. I
received so much support for the things that I did differently, like
taking year-long sabbaticals, because even if they didn’t allow
themselves to be different, they wanted to see it done, and they
appreciated it.
How Do I Maximize My Creativity?
There
is no clear path for anything in life. Similar destinations, varying
paths. Even for becoming a professional artists. Some do school, some
don’t. Some bounce around jobs, some stay in one. You must find what
works best for you, then make sure you do it.
I
maximize my creativity by exposing myself to as much as possible.
Different cities, jobs, techniques, perspectives, everything. For a
while I was even trying to come up with something completely new and
different with every project, but that is impossible. The artists I see
that push that as their focus are the ones that are either taking
decades-old techniques and passing them off as new, or are stealing from
their contemporaries. You can’t come up with something brand new every
single time, but do not take that statement as an excuse to stop
growing.
There are two things that I do to help stretch my creativity regularly.
1.
I think about the project from the point of view that has nothing to do
with the project itself. Through the eyes of someone completely
disconnected, or through an object that is completely disconnected. What
does a shoe look like through a Coke bottle? How would a bee see a book
cover? It really helps get out of creative funks and start looking for
the “different.”
2.
Taking time off, but with a plan. I make a list of things I want to
explore, rank them in order of interest, then set up a schedule to
learn, dissect, and create. It is vital for me to set up a schedule. I
tried it without a schedule at first and I found myself being pulled in
any and every direction the wind blew. Clients would call me up and I
was working again! I had to stop it completely, and the schedule saved
me. I use it until I am working on so many new projects I don’t need it
any more. If I get stuck on one project, I have a handful of other ones I
can jump to, so I never get frustrated. What usually happens is working
on one project will trigger something for the project was stuck on.
After the sabbatical, I can approach my old work and clients with fresh
eyes, fresh ideas, and new strategies. It has been amazing for my career
and my creativity.
Figure
out the tricks that allow you to create the best, then use them.
Develop a pattern and a habit that gives you the greatest creative
production, then repeat it.
Misconceptions
Artists
feel like we are so different, when really, we are not. Our outlet may
be different, the type of job, but we are all very similar. Things that
make us happy, sad, and scared, are things that make most people feel
those same emotions. Embrace your feelings, recognize them as something
that is not unique, and then create art around those feelings, knowing
that they are for you AND someone else.
There are people out there that
are feeling the same way you are, let them see.
Recognize
that money will not make you as happy as creating quality work. The
years I have been most financially successful, I have not felt as good
as the years I felt we created the best work.
Quotes
“If we can, we design something that helps somebody or delights somebody”
“All of the stuff I looked good in was boring. All the stuff I looked shitty in was interesting.”
“Think about the project from the point of view that has nothing to do with the project itself.”
Stefen Sagmeister Links
Website — this is one of the coolest websites I have ever seen!
Chase Jarvis Links
Joey Links
