Take time to notice something.

I think this can go back to the old simple saying of "stop and smell the roses."

Most of us can lead some pretty hectic lives. Work, family, commuting, friends, hobbies and the countless things that can go on within each of these areas and combinations of said variables. That in of itself can produce some crazy moments in our lives. Often these moments end up more like spans of time, much to are chagrin.

So while we hop between these different variables we already have little time to smell the roses already. We are doing something unprecedented in human history. We are able to fill these spaces...these pauses in our day with more stuff. All thanks to technology, more specifically the mobile device.

Let me say this. This blog is not a "Technology is ruining us and making us worse people. Smash your iphone immediately and go live out in a forest and be one with nature" type of articles. I love technology and it is amazing. It often gets hated on and falsely blamed for things that are simply out if its control or even more simply. It is the future...and people are scared of a future that is different then their present.

We are constantly inundating ourselves with more stuff. These small pauses in our lives are being filled with surfing the web, connecting, sharing etc etc. Now this is all good and bad. Again...maybe this is the wave of the future. Maybe people are evolving and peoples brains 50 yrs in the future are different then ours currently.

But as of now. I do believe these breaks in life are very important. I am convinced that these pauses are when we have our best moments. We tend to notice things a lot better when our attention is not somewhere else. Maybe it is a book idea, new painting perspective, an improvement to a system, invention, music etc. It is funny, how often do we have some kind of great idea or perceived great idea while we are taking a nice hot shower. Why? Because we are having a break! Our mind gets to wonder and take advantage of having nothing to do.

We should try our best to not fill all the pauses in our day. You never know when your first or next big idea will come to you. It would be a shame if you missed out because you were trying to fill a boredom gap in the day.

Stop and smell the roses...enjoy the pauses and notice something.

Sometimes the idea sucks.

An area that I find creatives struggling with is the topic of good or bad.

Just for example sake, let us look at creating a brand, writing a story or creating a piece of music. That way we have a breadth of "creatives" to talk to since we have all been there...no matter what you do creatively. Knowing if what you are doing is good or not.

My best piece of advice is to make it public, publish it, show it on the internet...exhibits etc. No one gets to decided what is good or bad. People/consumers...aka the market, gets to decided what is a good/bad idea.

You could create the most beautiful piece of art, music, what you think is awesome logo or creative writing piece. But if no one else likes it...is it actually good?

This is where we start to dance around the bigger question of...are some creations inherently good regardless of what people think. Yes and no.

Just the same...just because a lot of people likes something does not mean it is good.

"But you just said..blah,blah,blahblah."

I know, it is a bit of both.

I do believe that certain creations...stuff that is truly unique, things that changed the way culture does/sees things...something paradigm shifting. Those have inherent qualities for whatever reason that will forever make it good and very hard to slip through the cracks of the market. Mozart's music, The Mona Lisa, Evard Munch, Shakespeare, Hemingway, Socrates, Dickens, Picasso, Einstein etc. These people have created unique things, ideas, positions, art that never existed before them.

"So just because it never existed before and now it does means it is good?"

No, of course not. But those same people also had the market on their side. Not only did they make something new but that new thing was wanted/needed.

This is why I say we do not get to determine what is good and bad. It is up to everyone else to let us know if sucks or not.

So we must make our work public and get as much feed back as possible. That way we can determine if the idea/thesis sucks.

The hardest part about this is patience.  Sometimes the timing is poor and the market doesn't like it or need it now but maybe they do in 5,10,20 yrs. Sometimes it takes awhile to get enough eyes on it. So waiting, learning and understanding feedback is very important.

Now some amazing stuff will slip through the cracks. Shit happens and the chance you are next ground breaking artist,musician etc is slim to none (sorry).

The hardest part for many of us is simply putting our stuff out there in as many spots as we can and getting feedback to know if we can hack it. This is all up to you and what you do. Learning how to feel things out etc.

Keep making awesome stuff, keeping publishing and let the market decide what is good.

I can get down with this.

The design community is subject to the cycle of trends just as much as any other community. I hate trends and think that they lower the creative ceiling. (At least being a slave to said trends).

One of my favorite things going around is custom lettering and attention to typography. It seems to be almost a fight against the many years ruled by the king Helvetica. Now do not misunderstand. I love Helvetica and use it a decent amount myself. But it is great to see a change coming to the current status quo.

Many hand lettering is done on paper, sketching out letters, inking and refining the lines. Then importing the finished letters/type into Illustrator and vectoring the logo making is crisp, clean and highly usable since it is now a vector. Now you have all the tools available to you in the digital realm to make changes and edits to further explore the mark you are creating. All while preserving the handmade look of the original drawing at the same time. 

This really speaks to my background. I grew up drawing and am pretty handy with a pencil and pen. So being able to combine these two worlds to create unique logos and types is really a dream come true.

To see larger companies start embracing this look and breaking from the blocky, sans serif type choices is refreshing.

I would love to see this not as a trend that is destined to die. But more like another tool to add to the toolbox. Offering another look and possibility when working on brainstorming sessions.