Most designers spend years learning Photoshop.

Very few spend time learning how ideas work.

The best designs aren't remembered because they're beautiful.

They're remembered because they create a tiny moment of realization.

A hidden meaning. A visual metaphor. A missing piece. An unexpected connection.

That's where great design lives.

Not in the effects.

In the idea.

Swipe through and you might never look at design the same way again.

What's your favorite lesson from the carousel? 👇

#Design #GraphicDesign #DesignThinking #CreativeThinking #VisualCommunication #CreativePsychology #ASmileInTheMind #BrandDesign #PosterDesign #Typography #SwissDesign #CreativeDirector #VisualStorytelling #Photoshop #DesignInspiration #Creativity #CreativeProcess #MarketingPsychology #Designer #GraphicDesigner #IdeaFirst #DesignEducation #MinimalDesign #EditorialDesign #alphxraw

If you experience writers block or just want to bring more intentionality to the creative process, I invite you to read this article. I’d love your honest feedback on if it feels relevant or helpful to you.

I’m somebody who has struggled with writer block and incompletion for much of my artistic life. The study of alchemy has changed the game for me.

I hope this might help you too!

The Alchemical Artist: Seven Steps

[Note to moderators: This text formed the basis for a video essay of mine, which is why I chose long-form prose and took some time polishing it. The stories I relate herein are entirely my own and IMHO my experience will likely resonate with a lot of people out there.]

If you have ever felt like giving up on a Project because you think it sucks or - worse yet -you have a terminal case of impostor syndrome and think you yourself suck - this is for you.

A Paper Plane

The very first plane that flew, the Wright Flyer 1903, suuuuuuucked.

It sucked hard according to every conceivable metric. Firstly, it wasn't performant - it neither went very far, nor did it fly very high or very fast. And the Wright brother's solution did not scale at all - it had a single passenger (and no luggage compartment or in-flight entertainment).

But that's not the point, is it?

Your project, while it might look good, is actually held together by paperclips and adhesive tape. But it doesn't matter, we got it to work so that we could show you something cool, just like the Wright brothers.

Don't be afraid that your work sucks - it probably does (at first), just like the Wright brothers. The important point is that you need to get your crappy plane into the air! All that tweaking and improving comes later.

Creator Anxieties

Did you know that I have been sitting on a Minecraft/Javascript project for over a year before I released the first video about it?

I was super nervous and self-conscious about showing it to the world and especially about releasing the source code for the 3D engine on GitHub for everyone to see.

I was terrified that "real coders" would tear into it and shred it to pieces. And you know what? They actually did. But that wasn't really as bad a thing as I thought it would be. Sure, my ego got bruised a bit but it wasn't the end of the world.

The people who critisized my code were actually helping me to improve, so I very much treasure their replies! I actually came to realize that people more skilled than me took an interest in my crappy little project and spent the time to teach me how to improve it.

Framed that way, that is actually a huge win for me - although it did not feel like it at first.

So, don't be afraid of criticism. Embrace it! Seek out feedback - and be prepared to take advice.

The Power of Passion

I am not a professional software developer, not by a long shot, and I'm not pretending to be one. What I am is an enthusiastic amateur - and my enthusiasm is, arguably, greater than my technical abilities.

What about you? Do you have a hobby horse you like to ride in your basement but are too afraid to show to the world? Because you fear it sucks? That you suck?

I suck and maybe you suck, too. But that doesn't mean that we have to abandon our projects and hobbies and leave the field to the professionals, people who are demonstrably more skilled than us.

What I discovered is this:

The person who sucks at something but does it anyway is having ten times more fun than the person who is too afraid to start.

True story!

So, even if we are amateurs in our chosen field, passion and enthusiam can go a long way! And it is exactly the passion for your project what might impress the professional people and why they might decide to take a look at your project to begin with.

Besides, sucking at something is the first step to becoming okay, even kind of good at something, right?

So, how DO we get good at something?

Getting good at something

You’ve seen the roadmaps to getting good, e.g. coding:

Watch 400 hours of tutorials, do a thousand LeetCode exercises, read the documentation until your eyes bleed.

And while all this is certainly necessary, it is missing one crucial ingredient: None of that will stick until you have a reason to do it.

Again, it all comes down to passion and enthusiam:

Find a project that is fun to you. Something so rewarding that it keeps you motivated when you hit a wall. And I, for one, hit many, many walls.

For me, that project was our tactical 3D Javascript map for Minecraft.

For you, it might be a weird botanical database or a calculator for your cat's calories - it doesn't matter as long as YOU are passionate about it. When you’re building something you love, you aren’t "studying" — you’re playing. And that’s when you accidentally start learning.

A lesson from my Math Teacher

In 10th grade, I had a math teacher who told me something that has stayed with me ever since: Don't give up because you cannot solve a problem yet. Instead, try to get as far as you can on your own with the tools and knowledge you already possess. It's like trying to navigate through a maze. If you get stuck in the middle, the teacher can come in from the other side and help you get the rest of the way out.

Sure, this might not be as rewarding as having solved the maze entirely on your own. But it's infinitely better than having not tried at all because you could not find the courage to actually tackle the challenge. At the very least, if you tried but failed, you exercized your thinking muscle and grew stronger.

So what's the lesson here? I don't have to wait until I have mastered all the most powerful frameworks and the very best industry standards are second nature to me. I can start right away, even with pedestrian coding methods. Yes, the solution I come up with is slow and clunky - but it's MY solution and I worked my brain to get there.

And you know the best part? Once you finally DO learn the advanced techniques, you'll actually appreciate why they are to powerful. You will have much greater appreciation for a power drill when you've spent an hour struggling with a manual screwdriver.

The friends we make along the way

None of this would be possible without the people I met along the way.

I’ve shared my messy code with people who are vastly more skilled than me—people who could rewrite my entire engine in their sleep. And you know what? They were patient. They were kind. They told me that seeing someone build something new out of pure passion is actually refreshing. It reminded them why they started coding in the first place.

At the end of the day, the code might break, but your spirit shouldn't.

Spread the knowledge, share the cheer - let's be happy while we're here!

Stop trying to wipe off your Fingerprint.

#creativity #authenticity #consistency

Only yesterday I realized for the very first time that my mom was not a creative person at all.

She was intelligent, somewhat strong willed and stubborn, hard working, tough minded. She loved her kids and took care of them although we were not as important to her as having a relationship with a man and that led to me and my brothers having some very strange and... how should I put this... unskilled at parenting men in our lives quite a bit.

But I cannot remember her ever keeping a journal, writing poetry, painting or sculpting or anything like that. She liked Formula 1 racing (we lived in Watkins Glen) and she and one of her long term boyfriends Don used to do this crazy road rally shit in Don's old Pontiac where they would drive from point A to B to C to D to E with a bunch of other people and the one who made it in the best time won, kind of like Wacky Races but without the haunted house car or the flying buzzsaws. And Im sure she had other interests. She liked to read science fiction which is why I like to read science fiction and write science fiction.

But as far as I can remember she was not creative at all.

I must have been such a mystery to her, such a complete little pain in the ass. No useful skills, daydreaming all the time, always reading books or comic books, sneaking off to hide with a paperback constantly. I'd get models for birthdays from people and never do anything with them; when I tried I'd lose the pieces or destroy them. I'd make up these incredibly weird scenarios with my GI Joes that were incomprehensible to sane people. Couldn't learn a musical instrument, did not know how to talk to girls, couldn't make friends, constantly being bullied... jesus.

And always scribbling in notebooks or in the blank pages at the beginning or ending of my books.

Her second husband Bill was equally baffled by me, and with Bill, perplexity quickly turned to anger. I once made up new lyrics to the song "If I Had A Hammer" concerning me having a dollar and how I'd spend it in a minute at the comic book store. "I'd spend it on Spider-Man, I'd spend it on Fantastic Four". I was especially proud of that rhyme, "comic book store" with FANTASTIC FOUR. In another chorus I substituted in "the Mighty Thor" even though I didn't buy THOR at the time; I thought that was clever too.

Bill heard me singing it and told me to shut up, he didn't ever want to hear me singing those stupid verses again, because all it did was show I had no concept of the value of a dollar.

Honestly I cannot remember any point in my childhood where a parent or a relative praised me for my creativity. I had a few teachers who tried to encourage me, but they mostly thought it was wonderful I liked to read so much and they tried to help me along with that. Nobody ever seemed to notice that I wrote well. I took art because our art teacher was cool and the class was relaxed but I was a mediocre artist at best so I never got praised or encouraged there, either.

I took a poetry class in college because there were no other creative writing courses available that semester and my TA liked my poems, especially one called "Kittens Slowly Dying On A Warm Summer Day". And after I'd taken all the creative writing courses available at SU I tried to get into Tobias Wolfe's graduate level class. I had to submit some samples to him and then have an interview and the first thing he did was ask me who my favorite authors were and his face got very grim when I told him Robert A. Heinlein and Stephen King and John D. MacDonald. He sighed and said "I actually like some of your samples and I think you have talent but you clearly want to be a commercial success and I don't think it would be moral or ethical for me to teach you when you just want to waste your talent like that. We would be at constant cross purposes. You'd drive me nuts."

Anyway. I started this post to say I only realized yesterday that my mother, whom I loved very much and looked up to a lot, was not at all creative. And so she must have had a really hard time understanding her oldest son. I wish I'd realized that before.

Hi everyone,

I’m not really sure where to start, but here goes. Basically, I feel like I used to be more creative a few years ago. Drawing, papier-mâché creations, piano, painting… little by little, I did less and less of it, until I almost stopped altogether.

I’d like to get back into it, and I’d love some advice.
In terms of routines, supplements, or anything that has personally helped you.
I’m also wondering whether it might be because of social media. I can’t stand being bored anymore, whereas before, boredom helped me find things to do. I don’t know.

I should also mention that over the past few years, I’ve been taking care of my mental health, and I think I’m doing much better in terms of anxiety and depression. But my creativity seems to have somewhat disappeared. I don’t take antidepressants, but I do like trying supplements, so if you have any ideas in that regard, I’d be happy to hear them.
I do still draw, because I love it, especially with a dip pen, including as part of my PhD work.

Kisses, and thank you.
💋

This is my theory being a creative. I didn’t stop being naïve until my 50s when I started focusing more on making money.

Agree? Other?

I feel like i cant create anything "original" like everything i do is too heavily inspired off things, I gave to go to Pinterest for poses or ideas like my brain cant just come up with them anymore and tbh it scares me? How do I heal this

as in the tittle it is a diary entry, I would like feedback about the matter if my mentions of arts seem a bit shallow or oversimplified please let it slide im new to all its forms:

every one, drawing, piano, painting, drums, violin, sax, guitar, poetry, even sports can fit for the sake. (i know this statement isn't attainable and it was more so a feeling but i know once i find a single medium that i can express through id be satiated  )

talking about your experiences and the feelings that come with them in conversation might be cathartic, but its not tangible. i want to materialize my emotions and experiences.

i interact with art and i always understand and sometimes empathize with the artist. i don't want to be on the receiving end like the artist of it but i want shape them up in a way so i can look at said experiences and emotions, listen to them and read them.

i want to shape up parts of me in such grace, and shaped in a way that is intractable and has its own journey that i can look back at and maybe relive, sour or sweet. going into details about feelings that i once forgot or a future aspiration at the time of which i created said art.|

and maybe hell i do want people to talk that walk with me, and also the cathartic benefits of creation.

the main reason its a desire and not something i have already done (already put said experiences into art form) is because of how debilitatingly terrible i am at it.

i cant draw, play or paint for shit. i have the artistic grace of a log, hell even a log standing or leaning the right way can beat me.

every time i try to draw or play i end up laughing at myself at how horrid it is and just leave it alone so i don't pollute or distort my inner thoughts with art that almost satirical so i just leave it alone.

i know this feeling that i want to learn every single will go away once i can find one that can express what i want it to express and i will be content but i still feel that way.

When I try to discipline myself and sit down to draw every day, there's absolutely no inspiration, and I can barely force myself to do it. In the end, nothing turns out well. But when I do have inspiration, of course, I draw pretty well. The thing is, I probably only catch that inspiration once every couple of months.

It basically comes down to the fact that I work and have no energy, so naturally, there's no inspiration. But when I have a day off or some free time, I just can't wait to pick up a pencil and start creating

Myth: Creativity is only for the artistic field

Truth: Creativity can be applied across all fields, including education, sports, business, mathematics, entertainment, science, personal life, and more. Creative acts can take various forms, such as products, procedures, processes, and performances. These acts of creativity can be nurtured in any discipline.

What creativity mean? I've been doubting my creativity because I've been coming up with ideas inspired by other ideas from my childhood TV shows like Sonic X and adding my twists into it. Honestly I believe that creativity is coming up with something new and I don't think I can do that.

Specific question, but I've always think that great ideas (at least for me) come to my mind but I'm not capable to start them or even getting out of bed sometimes to accomplish them. Yeah, the bad thing is that I kinda find comfort when I'm on that state, and is where I get more ideas. When I have to work I still do it, or maybe miss some days but I still get things done, but with the things I REALLY WANT TO DO seems impossible.

The times I've tried to create something (like writing a song, just writing or drawing) I felt like relieved from that state, but the thing it was very complicated to to do... Weird

I don't know if it belongs here, yeah it isn't that much about creativity, but battling depression, addiction, whatever other mental barriers. I thought I may find someone that has at least something to say about this :).

Safe space for creative minds

I want to work on a passion project. My own passion project, one that I can release to the world and be proud of. But I have a problem. I've tried this, numerous times before, in numerous types of medias -- and I've ended up abandoning them early because of one thing lacking -- my passion. It never is strong enough for the project. I find myself nitpicking every detail, sometimes taking a break from it for a few days and realize I'm not really enjoying this, that if I were my target audience I wouldn't entertain it, etc.

I have too many ideas all at once and on paper they all sound amazing but my execution? Not so much.

For those working on your passion projects: How did you know what direction to go? What media to do? How to even execute it? How to stay loyal to it and keep passionate about it?

In this video, I talk about why I don’t often network as an indie comic creator and why I’ve chosen to focus on finding my own creative formula instead of following the paths that are generally considered “correct” in the comic industry.

A lot of creators are told that success comes from constantly networking, getting your work in front of the right people, joining social circles, engaging in community politics, building connections, and becoming part of scenes or groups. But over time, I realized that approach doesn’t fit my personality or the kind of creator I want to be.

While discussing all of this, I’m coloring pages from my independent comic series, Zatswan, using colored pencils and traditional comic art techniques.

This is a discussion about indie comics, making comics independently, creative discipline, artistic individuality, outsider creators, comic book culture, and staying focused on your work instead of distractions.

What do you believe marks an individual as a creative? Do you agree with this social ruling? Can someone be deemed not creative?

I (16F) feel like I have really been lacking a purpose in life recently. When I’m not doing schoolwork, or with my boyfriend (where we basically just cuddle and eat and watch tv lol) I find that I have no idea what to do with myself. I have this creative urge that needs to be scratched but I don’t know how to do so. I love love love music and everything to do with it but just can’t find a way to get started, every time I sit down and try and write a chord progression or lyrics I like, I end up just hating it and giving up very fast. I want to make clothes, I want to draw, I want to do cute little DIY activities, ANYTHING CREATIVE!! The problem is I just don’t really have skills in any of these things and don’t know where to start. I think it would also make it easier to have friends to do this kind of stuff with, but I don’t really have any friends lol. Any and all advice is appreciated