I've been inspired by the way Erwin McManus has articulated the creative process over the years. I recall a particularly moving presentation he made at Story Conference in 2012, where he drove home the point that everything that is visible, started in the invisible. Everything that has been made, started as a thought.
As a designer, this hits close to home. I’ve always seen design as the vehicle that brings a thought to life, as the conduit in which ideas become reality, as the proof of the invisible.
I think there is an important distinction to be made between creativity and design. Many people get the two confused or assume they are the same thing.
I hold the belief that creativity is what happens before design can even begin. Creativity is often the invisible. Design, by its very nature, is more than just a thought, it is a real thing.
Although many designers lack creativity, a good designer is a creative one. Furthermore, a great designer knows how to tap into his or her own creativity and that of his or her team.
As designers, I feel we have the responsibility to reach into the future, into the invisible, and bring back with us a better reality.
We’re responsible for making the future. Lets make it a good one.
Photo by Vincentiu Solomon on Unsplash
