Creative bulletin n.186
What is the difference between something we like and something we don't like? Between something that "works" and something that doesn't work?
I asked myself this same question at nineteen, when my Design professor handed me back my very first submission saying: «It doesn’t work». That evening I sat for hours staring at the sky above the university, trying to understand what he meant. And even when you grasp it, it’s difficult to explain: sometimes the fault lies in a lack of balance of the elements, sometimes it's just a matter of color, sometimes the idea is simply not there.
It's not something you can think of, it's more like when you're eating something good and you nod your head in agreement, or when you're having a good time with another person. I like it/ I don't like it. And you have to make attempts to get there, observe and then observe some more, taste and taste again, you have to desire to love what you're looking for, to have a warm desire to find something that will stop you right on your track to say: «Oh, shit. I like this!»
🐈 What I’ve learned this week
I was hard on my creative team. They sent me pitches I didn't like and I turned them down. They didn't follow the directions I gave them and I felt helpless, with nowhere to go. I didn't yell but ... Boy if I wanted to 😅 And while I thought: «Why can’t they be more creative?» I saw the problem.
🌈 Creative takeaway: be an example of what you want
Am I actually creative? Yes, I made intùiti, Fabula, BAD etc. But what about now, in my everyday life? What example am I setting for my junior team? In the attempt to learn how to delegate I stopped contributing, I became the asshole, demanding client, the one who sits at a restaurant and can’t wait to say: «This is average. Learn to cook better». So how can someone be inspired by me? The only thing that I can inspire is the will to get pissed 😂
What I should've shown them is the love for what you do, the desire to go further, to get your hands dirty and feel alive. Instead, I persisted in asking them to do work I no longer wanted to do. I didn't convey the joy of discovering and expressing yourself while working, of finding your own voice, of recognizing yourself, so much that you never want to stop.
Fortunately, creativity is also about getting lost and finding yourself.
And I already have some ideas ✨
With ❤️,
Matteo
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