Creativity Isn’t a Gift. It’s a Lens You Learn to Sharpen.
Do you think creativity is something you’re just born with?
Maybe some of us start out seeing the world a bit differently. Picking up on patterns, colours, a sharper sense of observation or a curiosity that doesn’t turn off.
But is that enough? I am not sure it is.
Imagine if branding, architecture or art was a sport... we all know to be the best it is all about repetition. You study it. You try. You miss. You try again. You surround yourself with people who live it. You push the boundaries and over time you will start to carve out your own way.
I remember in highschool, I got my first PC...it was magical and opened up a my mind in a way I never experienced. I would spend hours redesigning terrible logos that I'd seen in my favourite magazines. Those logo's to me had weird font selections, bad flow and colours that could be more complimentary. I totally believed I could do it better. I was a little obsessed. And even though the logo's never saw the light of day, those early attempts helped shaped me.
Looking back over my early career in design I did my fair share of “bad”...before anything decent showed up. But that's the creative process. Creativity isn’t a magical gift, it slowly sharpens.
One of the best bits of advice I ever got from an OG in my first ad agency gig, was this:
Open a book.
Point to a word.
Use that as your starting point.
Build a design, an idea, a concept around it.
Just that single word and your brain.
And sometimes, that one random word unlocked something I never would’ve arrived at logically.
We all start somewhere.
Most of the time, that “somewhere” is kind of shit.
But buried in all of that...is the beginning of your voice.
Creativity is a habit.
Creative Jumpstarts I Still Use
The Random Word Exercise
Open a book. Point to a word. Build a brand, design, or idea around it. Forces lateral thinking. Kills perfection. Unlocks surprising results.
Redesign Something You Hate
An ad. A logo. A menu. Anything you think is bad. Redesign it—not to improve it for the client, but to sharpen your instincts.
Write Before You Design
One paragraph. Or a messy sentence. Find the story, the feeling, or the tension before you even touch the visuals.
Steal from Somewhere Unrelated
Don’t look at design to solve design problems. Look at music, architecture, childhood objects, overheard conversations. Let them translate.
Make Something No One Will Ever See
No brief. No client. No strategy. Just make it for you. The pressure falls away, and that’s usually where something interesting begins.
