Creative Manifesto

1. PREPARATION: THIS STAGE IS WHERE THE CREATOR GOES OUT AND ABSORBS INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR INTEREST OR PASSION:

This is the part where MORGAN goes to the local art district downtown with the intention of gaining inspiration from the awesome, vibrant murals. He grabs his sketchbook, hops out of the Uber, and goes on this inspiration stroll. He smiles slightly and nods at the awesomeness exuding from the art pieces scattered all over the building’s walls and street corners. He is impressed. He is inspired. He pulls out his phone and takes pictures. All of a sudden he realizes he could never do work as great as what he is seeing. He requests an Uber home, and quietly cries in the car. The Uber driver maneuvers his pupils toward the back seat every now and then, while his head and face remain on the road. He offers MORGAN a Chic-fil-A branded napkin. MORGAN takes it, thanks him, and whispers “allergies” under his breath, but loud enough for the driver to hear.

2. INCUBATION: THIS STAGE IS WHEN ALL THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE GATHERED IN THE PREPARATION STAGE STARTS TO COME INTO PLAY. THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THE INCUBATION STAGE IS THAT TO A CERTAIN EXTENT IT IS NOT REALLY UNDER YOUR CONTROL HOW LONG THIS STAGE WILL TAKE:

This is the stage where MORGAN thanks the Uber driver and goes home. He looks at the pictures he took. He browses Tumblr and Instagram, checking out the work of artists and designers. A bit discouraged by the awesomeness he witnesses, he sketches somewhat of a graphic logo design for a client before taking a much needed nap. Maybe he’ll have inspirational dreams and he can awake and finish the sketch. Maybe not?

3. INSIGHT: THIS IS THE IDEA OF THE “AHA” MOMENT. ALTHOUGH IT IS PROBABLY THE SMALLEST PART OF THE FIVE STEPS, IT IS POSSIBLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS. THIS MOMENT MOST OFTEN HAPPENS WHEN ONE IS DOING SOME KIND OF LOW-LEVEL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

At this stage, MORGAN awakens refreshed and ready to conquer his creative mythical dragons. He grabs a bite to eat and gets back to the logo. Ideas start to pour and he is on the roll. So many ideas. He’s excited. He can’t take his hands off the sketch pad. As the ideas pour, his beer decides to join the “pouring” party as well. It spills all over the sketch page. Great!

4. EVALUATION:

THIS STAGE REQUIRES SELF-CRITICISM AND REFLECTION. THIS IS WHERE YOU FIND THE IDEAS WITH THE MOST MERIT AND THE ONES THAT ARE WORTHY OF WORKING ON FURTHER:

At this stage, MORGAN blow-dries the page and gives it time to dry. The beer-spill actually adds to logo’s aesthetic. It works. MORGAN decides to draw designs within the spill lines and erase some of the bold lines he had previously drawn. He digitally renders the image for further editing and intense beer odor purposes.

5. ELABORATION:

THIS IS THE STAGE WHERE YOU TEST THE IDEA AND WORK ON THE IDEA. THIS INVOLVES THE LATE NIGHTS IN THE STUDIO. THIS IS THE

MOMENT THAT EXCEEDS THE “AHA” MOMENT:

MORGAN has done it! He’s completed the work. After careful examination of the art piece, he prepares to send it to the anxious client. He spends a little more time making sure everything about the logo is on point. He sends it to the client days later in the desired formats. The client receives it and is very impressed. Months later the client calls MORGAN and lets him know that she might be facing a lawsuit from a fairly popular brand for incredibly obvious brand likeness. MORGAN never wins.

***

Unfortunately there is not a clear-cut path for creators to follow. I guess that’s why we’re called creators. We often have to network, loop, swoop, pull, cry, fail, bang our head on the wall – our way into a career space. No offense (a little offense) doctors and lawyers, but you have somewhat of a linear system of steps to go by in your field. Artists? Nope. We have to figure it out and hopefully before we’re old and painting on street corners.

Even The 5 Stages of Creativity* list (Taylor, 2015) isn’t a sure system. In some cases, step four could come before one and step three could come last. The only thing an artist is sure about is that he/she is unsure about it all. We don’t think outside the box, we take the box, mistakenly spill beer on it and keep creating.