The Magic

Insight into my creative process 








The creative process is where “the magic” happens, but the longer I study design, the more I realize there really isn’t any magic to creativity at all. Creativity is an active process, one that requires constant effort and consultation. This video diary is a humorous outline of how I uncover magical ideas, and the steps I go through to bring them to life. 

A lot of people think that being creative is like a lightning strike, that it hits you when you least expect it, and that it's so rare it probably won’t ever happen to you. This is a LIE!

I’m about to walk you through the ultimate guide for creating anything you could ever want, and I know it works because this is what I do!



Step One: Brainstorm


I always start my design process by creating a giant, mega list of everything I have ever known. I like to start by listing every type of person I can think of; Stunt doubles, morticians, angry middle-aged playground moms - you get the gist. Everyone has a problem in life, and if there is a problem, you can design something!

 


Step Two: Research


You might think you know everything about everything, but I promise you, there's more. Research is where the magic first starts to happen. Sometimes I find out crazy things, like how cornflakes might have been invented in hopes of curing masturbation, or that you can use fruit to power a car. The rabbit hole of research is endless, like one crazy treasure hunt.  



Step Three:
Rejection 


Just when you think you have a genius idea, you have to share it with someone, and once you share it with the world, something is bound to suck. This can discourage you, or it can steer you towards something awesome. All of my best projects had ideas that were rejected many times.



Step Four:
Make that sh*t real  


Time to make a logo, but never just one. Time to make patterns, illustrations, packages, books, websites, flyers, apps (i’m out of breath), and advertisements. Present them to the client, redo them all the next week. This cycle of design could go on forever, or.... you could hit greatness!


Step Five:
The factory 


This stuff didn’t just appear out of thin air, I had to build it! With my bare hands! I had to cut on a straight line, measure twice, and print out drafts over and over to get it just how I wanted it. While tedious, it’s pretty epic to see this strange thing I conjured up in my mind sitting on the disturbingly messy desk in front of me.



And that’s it! The true magic of being creative is that if you work super hard, it's with you all the time. No lightning strikes, no divine intervention, no late-night epiphanies. Being creative is just a bunch of really, really long lists. 


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