Art Diary #7 – a quick note
I’ve just reread some posts and something I thought I should point out is that non of this happened in as logical a manner as these entries suggest. Shenandoah are following the Agile Scrum approach to business which is a remarkable system and I think will work well for us but it can sometimes feel like its trying to force the creative process rather than nurture it. To anyone who doesn’t understand it that process can sound like mumbo jumbo excuses for an easy life but its actually about understanding the strengths of the two halves of the brain, how they work and interact and using that to your advantage.
Deciding that today I’m going to design x .. rarely means that you’ll have the results there and then. You have to go through the initial solo or group brain storming process of asking the right questions and finding some, usually more obvious, answers, and then .. then you step away and do something else. You might have to be patient .. go for a walk, have doze, do the ironing or washing up .. but that’s when the magic happens. Eventually.
I don’t get to watch much TV but here are couple of quotes from Madmen that are spot on.
“Just think about it deeply, then forget it…then an idea will jump up in your face.
“You came here because we do this better than you, and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are.”
.. unproductive until they are .. that short phrase disguises a deep appreciation of how to foster and encourage creativity and should be plastered on every producers wall.
And I can just picture some of you shaking your heads at my silly excuses but it works for everyone. How many times have you been dropping off to sleep and suddenly had a great idea? Been walking home from work and find yourself inventing the most amazing bass solo! It’s the same thing. There’s a very real science behind it.
Oh no!
Don’t get me onto science and creativity. Next I’ll be talking about our appalling government controlled vote appealing education system thats churning out kids without the skills necessary for the 21st century. But I won’t go there.
So here’s a question for you. This creativity malarkey .. is it all mumbo jumbo?
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2 Responses to “Art Diary #7 – a quick note”
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Mike says: Nope… not mumbo jumbo.
I do layout work for direct market clients. I charge by the project and not by the hour partially because I learned early on that many clients don’t understand “thinking” time when they’re paying by the hour.
Besides, I don’t even want to be in the position where I have to force the best ideas out on a scheduled timeline.
Nor do I want to have to keep track of those random minutes where an idea might start to form. (For me, the shower is a great spot for ideas to start flowing.)
As a wanna-be musician, I’m still waiting for a great riff to come out of the blue. But if I recall correctly, didn’t Paul McCartney get “Yesterday” while waking up or in a dream?
Anyway, I can’t wait to see what this game looks like. This type of game is sorely lacking on the iPad.
Cheers Mike. Nice to know I’m not alone.
Best thing I found for music (though I might not be a good endorsement) is walking .. something to do with the rythmn really helps.
Nope… not mumbo jumbo.
I do layout work for direct market clients. I charge by the project and not by the hour partially because I learned early on that many clients don’t understand “thinking” time when they’re paying by the hour.
Besides, I don’t even want to be in the position where I have to force the best ideas out on a scheduled timeline.
Nor do I want to have to keep track of those random minutes where an idea might start to form. (For me, the shower is a great spot for ideas to start flowing.)
As a wanna-be musician, I’m still waiting for a great riff to come out of the blue. But if I recall correctly, didn’t Paul McCartney get “Yesterday” while waking up or in a dream?
Anyway, I can’t wait to see what this game looks like. This type of game is sorely lacking on the iPad.
Cheers Mike. Nice to know I’m not alone.
Best thing I found for music (though I might not be a good endorsement) is walking .. something to do with the rythmn really helps.