Shining the Light on Creativity (an article in Casual Living)

What is an average workday like for me? That’s a pretty tough question, but I did my best to answer it for a recent “day in the life” profile in Casual Living Magazine.  Of course, no two days are exactly alike, but answering questions about my daily schedule did prompt me to think a bit about my typical design process and workflow.  It isn’t always easy to come up with new ideas on demand, but I have found that it is possible to get into a creative state of mind at some point each day… as long as I choose to make it a priority.

As mentioned in the article, I personally feel most creative in the morning, so I am generally more productive when I structure my day to utilize those early hours for conceptualization and free thinking.  As soon as I sit at my drawing table and clear my mind of projects that need follow-up, or the many tasks on my to-do list, I am able to start sketching and allow ideas to flow.  I always have time for email and project management in the late morning or afternoon, and spending those first few hours at work sketching and creating starts the day on a positive note, which in turn allows me to accomplish the later tasks more effectively.

I could ramble on about my “best practices” for design and creative thinking, but you can read more of my thoughts in the article. The early conceptualization phase of my design process is always a work in progress though, so I would love to hear from others who have found effective ways to access their creativity each day. If you have a great idea, or just something simple that works for you, please share it in the comments.

Page above from the April 2015 issue of Casual Living Magazine.