rules of creativity /08
RULE 08: FOCUS (AGAIN)
Focus your skillset. Be the best at something - anything. Even if it is very focused and narrow, you have the opportunity to be the best.
This rule is very difficult for me. I follow my curiosity here and there. After going deep into something I drop it and go deep somewhere else. Then I feel guilty for not sticking to one thing. I am a graphic designer, although, professionally, that has been in the backseat for a while. I am an industrial designer, but not classically trained, so my product sketches and 3D work are not on the same level as traditional industrial designers. I have worked in the fashion industry for a long time designing accessories but technically I am not a fashion designer. I have worked as a hand-letterer and illustrator, but I have not been consistent and I don’t have a specific style like illustrators tend to. I draw and paint somewhat regularly, yet I don’t consider myself a fully evolved fine artist. And of course, I am obsessed with photography, especially film photography, and can make a pretty decent photo, but I am far from a true photographer.
So, I have a couple of theories about this.
First, there is the common T-shape designer. Maybe this is me. Broad in my interests and skills (the top horizontal line of the T), but deep in one particular discipline (the center vertical line of the T). This is a good thing, this is something to strive for. Having enough knowledge to hold your own in a wide variety of interests while being a true expert in one of those interests is absolutely great. So, where is my deep interest? What am I truly an expert at?
The second theory is all about embracing my journey. Not trying to push myself into a mold, but actually standing back and looking objectively at myself. I imagine this as a complex Venn diagram. Five or six circles overlap, all with some shared space in the center. This intersection in the middle is where I am. All of these experiences, all of these skills, everything that I experimented with and learned from, all together in one heavy, deep, complicated blob.
So… where does this leave me? Well, feeling like I am trying to create an identity based on a skill or job title. Does not sound too healthy to me, how about you?
