Building something out of nothing
I am horrible at writing fiction. Always have been.
Back in grade school, fiction writing was always wide open. Any topic. Any characters. No rules. You were bound only by your imagination (which is a very big and scary space for some of us).
It was too much creative anarchy. I need a few rules. Like the rules for the 48 Hour Film Project: perfect. My paper doesn’t NEED lines and my jokes surely don’t have to make sense. But music without a beat is like running for miles in the middle of an ever-expanding desert. When do you quit? Where are you going? How do you find your way back to your car once you’re worn out?
How do you build something out of nothing? Heck, even MacGyver needs his paperclips, coconuts and things.
I bring up fiction because it’s beginning to parallel with my work in web design. I’m losing my touch. That voice in my head heckles everything I do. Every layout feels so cliche, or ugly or uninspired. From an information architecture/user interface standpoint, my designs are still organized and usable, but aesthetically, the art and colors are all complete crap.
Am I retiring? Probably not, I love it too much. I’m focusing more on development, or even being an interface guru or something slick like that. But if my life depended on it, I could still churn out a decent layout. Decent would be great.
Am I putting too much pressure on my new design job at work to turn everything around for me? Likely so.
Am I glad I didn’t stick with graphic design? Oh absolutely.
Reflexbluestocking 2.31.2008 12:05pm
Remember, Jon. Good designers borrow. Great designers steal. You can do it. :)
Kristin
Jon 2.31.2008 2:39pm
I meant to include that quote in my post too! Bah :D I think I will learn new meanings to that phrase soon.
jot. 2.38.2008 9:25am
yeah. graphic design is an abyss into which all creativity and energy is poured, never to be heard of again. web design is definitely the better of the two, in my own humble opinion.
Jon 2.08.2008 12:58pm
Interesting, Jot.. Because I didn’t wrestle with creative block much at the Pman. I certainly hold web design closer to me than print, and you vice-versa. Coincidence?
Lesson learned: Don’t think. Just create.
Reflexbluestocking 2.30.2008 8:27pm
Jon, I just visited your company’s web site. It cracked me up. Feed off the creativity that already exists there. There’s nothing better than a creative group of people for idea-bouncing.
Jot: seek counseling, dude.
Kristin
Brilla.org » Blog Archive » Life & times of J. Culver, vol I 9.49.2008 1:12am
[...] designed a web site. No kidding. It’s cliché and overdone and for the first time I’m happy with it and can’t wait to see this little bastard go [...]