The Creative Process

Everyone’s creative process is different. Do you start with a blank sheet of paper, a white screen and stare at it until something pops into your head or jump right in and get going? I like to mull things over for a couple days and start with an idea or vision of what I am going to do.

Sometimes thoughts come to me while I am driving or sleeping and I wake up with a vision of how I am going to do something. My friend says her best creative comes to her in the shower. I also know people like to work in coffee shops with the buzz of people, music and caffeine all around them. I can’t disagree that a good cup of joe always helps get the mind moving. Another colleague likes to share all her ideas and talk through them.

What’s your creative process? Do you start with words, photos or maybe a sketch? If I don’t have a clear direction to begin with, I may need to get inspiration from surfing the web for either stock photos or fonts or just browse other web sites. Books are great, but sitting in front of the computer is just easier since we are all so programmed to multi-task anyway – God forbid we miss an email coming in.

I also have a collection of ‘cool samples’, that’s the label on my bin. I save direct mail pieces, invitations, magazine articles or anything I see that seems to have ‘done it right’ – whether it’s a great headline, a smart way to do a reply card or call to action, or something with fun colors or paper. It’s useful to look through these things periodically and see what others have done.

Then there are those great resources that paper and print reps are always bringing in to inspire us. Some have lovely foil embossing techniques others have crazy one-of-a-kind die-cuts or 10+ color fluorescent UV printing. I love seeing all these fancy techniques and sometimes it sparks an idea. Often, clients can’t always afford these over-the-top extras, but sometimes there is a way to achieve a similar technique affordably too.

The best way to get inspired could be to just get out of your element. Stop in a gift shop, the grocery store or hop on the subway or a bus – just somewhere with a lot of sights and sounds. Just sitting in quiet place – a park or quiet café with just a notebook and your thoughts can be a nice way to clear your mind and allow creative ideas to stream in too.

To me the hardest part about the creative process is the idea. Once something is down on paper or started on the computer, editing it to be a solid final creative entity is easy. Figuring out how to turn on the creative juices is one thing but working on something in progress is another. So start thinking, get inspired and work ‘your process’. Once you’ve identified what your process is, it’s a lot easier to know how to work with it, not against it.