Ð Mixed Media Fine Art

Scene from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

graphite & charcoal

Grief

graphite, vine, & colored pencil

German Reichstag Building in Berlin,

graphite Composition within a composition. The lower-right corner of the frst (top) composition provides the subject of the second (bottom) composition.

Beauchêne’s Bike Wheel A deconstructed, rear bicycle wheel reconstructed as a kinetic sculpture mobile.

Define. I Understand what I need to Do. I have grown to love the Creative Brief. It is invaluable to sincerely take the time to understand the client’s needs, wants, & expectations. Essentially asking oneself, “What is the goal here? What are we trying to do?” is paramount. From a clearly defined design problem begins a creative journey to the perfect design solution! Approach. I Prepare & it makes a Differfence. I do loads of research on the front end when facing a new design problem. I get a good feel for the client & take their social temperature. Myriad other factors play into crafting the perfect design solution, but research is ubiquitously My Creative Process My flow | in six steps helpful. Each client & design problem present their own distinct research needs.

Ideate. I Welcome any Idea.

The roots of my Wildgrown Creativity concept are my ideation process. Rapid-fire word listing, brainstorming, mind maps, doodling are some of the tricks up my sleeve. Drawing on the research I’ve curated & driven by the question, “What if...?” At this stage, any idea could be the idea that leads to the perfect design solution.

Revise. I Do not Fear Change.

I have never understood unchecked resistance to change. Making necessary changes can be mentally & emotionally challenging, but it can (& often does) reap a valuable reward. The same is true for my designs. Making changes based on the feedback is an integral part of ensuring I present the best design solution to the client.

I have made a companion process book, Designing Design, to break this process down with specific regards to one of my projects. In this book, read a detailed outline of these steps for the product set packaging design solution for KC Coffee Co. If you would like to, you can view it online via Issuu by using this link.

Reflect. I Listen to all the Feedback.

As important as research & feedback are, if you don’t take a moment to absorb it all, you miss out on the benefit of those processes. Feedback from advisors & clients is integral to solving the design problem. Feedback’s clarity falls on a spectrum. Marinating a moment with the critiques leads to the best revisions.

Present. I love to Show & Tell.

Presentation counts! If I can’t be enthusiastic about a design solution I created, how should I expect the client to be about it? I tend to find joy in finding solutions to problems. When a design solution perfectly addresses the design problem at hand (& any that come up along the way), I can present it with confidence & pride. Problem solved!