Leaving the land of pixels for inspiration
Building a career as a creative in the agency world means spending a lot of time in front of screens. We bounce between our core tools, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and dev tools, but rarely do we find time to pull our heads up just to grab our sketchpads and Sharpies. Much less step back and actuallyuse our hands to craft something.
I am a firm believer that in these non-screen related working sessions, new ideas form faster. They also provide a creative mind with moments of revitalization. Just the mere crafting of something new with your hands, using physical tools, and problem solving without the use of a keyboard can make the next time you saddle up to your Mac actually exciting versus painfully laborious.
Even just the workspace will change you. My streaming Pandora is swapped for the crackle of an old radio with a broken antenna. My posture changes as I am literally moving again. I find myself adding fractions that don't involve bleeds and live area. It's in these moments of physically crafting that unrelated yet current problems find their solutions. As if your subconscious needed this blood-flow to pull together the answers for your next campaign.
I've always loved this quote:
““He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.””
Throughout my career I've tried to find ways to involve my professional work with moments of actual craft. They don't always line up perfectly, but when they do they are both refreshing and invigorating. The creative mind will always need to make. Like an itch that doesn't really go away. Next time you find yourself stumped or beat up on a project, stop clicking away, for the answers probably aren't on the screen in front of you.
A few of my projects from the past year:
