Creativity Under Pressure

Tight deadlines, big projects, fast turn-arounds - I'm your girl. I love the adrenaline rush of producing creative work under constraints. I feel like super women when I can nail a challenge; especially when there are high stakes and nit-picky stake-holders.

But over the years of working on a variety of projects and with lots of clients, I've realized there are times when this pressure is NOT conducive to a good outcome. Pinpointing those upcoming stressful situations unfortunately have been hard to realize and distinguish early on in a project.

When I feel like a project is spiraling in the wrong direction, it often has little to do with the work, it's because we haven't laid the groundwork for design and jumped in too fast. Not only can this be frustrating, but it's hard to pull back, start fresh and get on good footing. Sometimes this can cause me to feel out of control which in turn causes me feel frustrated and foggy. This, I promise you friends, does not help in deciding between serif and sans serif fonts or just the right shade of blue.

So why am I sharing this? I had an epiphany the other day. And to be honest - it's so simple it's ALMOST silly to share. But, sometimes the best advice can be the simplest so here goes...

When starting a new project I share a project proposal which walks through the process I will take to accomplish said project; whether it's a new logo, print marketing, whatever it is - I share my high level steps from our first brainstorm to our final design rounds and all the steps in between. Regardless of the size and scope of a project, or turn around time, the projects which have brought me the most joy have been the ones where the clients listen to the process, asks questions and connect with the process. On the flip side - when a client brushes over the process and says "I trust you... do whatever you think is best" - those are killers.

Good business marketing design is not about creating something that just looks good. It's imperative that it connects with the ethos of a business and just can't be made in a bubble - even a really pretty bubble.