When a client is looking for a creative firm, process and procedures are not obvious priorities in evaluating performance. The prospect is going to look
What is a swipe file? Also known as a scrap file or morgue file, a swipe file is used by creatives of all types to
There are things we encounter that awake something in us and inspire us: an experience, a revelation, a new insight or piece of information, a
I am a full-time graphic designer/illustrator and part-time design educator, so design thinking is a familiar and routine part of my life. In my experience,
Creativity is an activity requiring both close-ordered, attentive thought and a wandering mind. It begins with a problem to solve or a need to meet.
It’s said that design is in the details. Yet it’s the sum total of the details that makes the design. When you’re in the middle of
We talk about creativity and innovation in terms of thinking outside the box. Thinking outside the box still needs to remain within the boundaries of the
Design your time. Time is wasted when we do the wrong thing at the wrong time. It’s easier to keep your time boundaries and your well-being intact if you plan ahead.
If we approach a design solution as an opportunity for self-expression, we’ll miss the point and risk not solving the problem.
Where an artist can begin with a blank canvas and pursue a serendipitous route to an end result, a designer begins with a set of criterion and remains within set boundaries from concept through completion.
Creative thinking requires us to cease from thinking as we always have. This is neither automatic nor easy because we automatically default to doing that which requires the least amount of effort.
The strength of a design lies as much in the steps taken to create it as in the final result. The process — the totality of time,
Toward the end of my design fundamentals course I generally ask my students how they, having gone through the process of learning design principles and
Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is the laziest form of creativity.
My friend, Mary, was in a community theatre production of The Mikado, and was asked to write her bio for the printed program. This being her first theatrical