Last time I posted on the blog I talked about how I like to keep it simple. Realistically, you probably just remember my hair. (Still working on that video I promised). Today I’m talking about the creative process, why it’s important, and how factors in my life helped me come to that realization.
The myth
As a creative, it’s very easy to use the classic excuses: you cannot keep an order to creativity, designers have to do their own thing in order for their ideas to thrive, and so forth. Not true. Having a process and staying organized can be hard work for some, but it makes life a lot easier for everyone. Process can actually help your creativity thrive and make sure that you aren’t doing any extra, unnecessary work (BONUS!) which saves time and money. I’ve heard that some employers appreciate employees who save them time and money . . . but who knows.
How I discovered the importance of process
For me, it all started when I was just a little guy and discovered that I had OCD. I would wash my hands multiple times, not step on cracks in sidewalks, turn light switches on and off twice to make sure they were truly off—all the fun things that come with OCD. (Don’t be jealous.)
As I got older I learned to control my OCD and work with it. The best thing I got from all of it was a sense of order and process. Everything I did had to have its own order: my morning routine, bedroom setup—it all had to be a certain way. This translated into my design career. When I studied at BCIT I learned the true creative process and—because of my obsessive tendencies—I followed it with every project. This helped me manage the overload of work and projects that we were assigned (it was a lot).
Process as a designer
As a designer, you are always working with a team so it’s important to follow a process. How can you begin designing for a project if you don’t have the content you need to include yet? How can you get the content you need without interviewing the client first and getting some of their thoughts down? By jumping into a design without any of this info, you could end up having to redesign the entire project, making twice as much work for yourself. You could end up becoming attached to your first design, but the direction goes somewhere completely different. That can put a damper on your excitement and overall creative mentality for the project.
TL:DR? The gist of it
Process is essential for so many things in life. Having OCD helped me develop my own sense of order and process. When it comes to design, process keeps everyone in check and on track for completing what they need to get done on time and on budget. It may seem complicated, unnecessary, or daunting but in the end it actually makes everything less complicated—allowing you to use your creativity to the fullest.