1. No matter how much I work on an idea systematically, I often am struck with last minute inspiration. So, despite refining an idea and attempting to work it through to completion, I often wind up scrapping things at the last minute because a better idea smacks me in the face. Often, my new inspiration uses my working idea and takes it in a different direction.
This is exactly what happened to me while working on my final project for Words and Images in the spring. The deliverable for the final project was a pitch book; throughout my work on the project--designing and redesigning a logo, picking treatments on which to use the logo, creating mockups, etc.--I had intended to turn in a traditional pitch book, much like the process books we had been creating all semester. Each element of the pitch had gone through a relatively straightforward process, with what I considered to be a normal evolution from idea to execution; even if my final logo looked nothing like the original one I had designed, it contained the same inspiration and context.
As I was crankily beginning to assemble my final pitch book, I realized that my lack of inspiration and motivation was coming from my lack of interest in creating a traditional pitch book. I was trying to incorporate aspects of my inspiration--children's science textbooks from the 1950s and 60s--into a form that didn't highlight them. So, with 8 hours until the project was due, I decided to scrap the pitch book I had been so diligently assembling and create an imitation science textbook to pitch a rebranding. And I loved the result (still do).
This is an example of my experimentation coming at the end of the process. I didn't deliberately experiment with form, but when inspiration struck, I ran with it. This doesn't always work, of course. And, for me, work-work-working on a idea is the most reliable way for me to find inspiration.
2. Sometimes inspiration comes from failure. You may have an amazing idea that doesn't solve the problem at hand; figuring out why an idea fails can help you figure out what would work. This approach might also help you break out of myopia. You keep working and working on an idea and it never seems to work. Look at WHY it's not working, or HOW it's not working. Answering these questions might help you find a new starting point, or at least point to a potential direction for your existing idea.
3. As cliche as it sounds, "necessity is the mother of invention." Having ideas that you might not necessarily have the technical skills to execute can provide an opportunity to try a different way of acheiving the same goal. Can't make it in Illustrator? Try drawing by hand. Can't draw? Try collage.
Anyhoo, those are my thoughts for tonight. Sorry for no pictures :)
No comments:
Post a Comment