where to begin
thoughts & tips on starting creative projects
the start of a new project is exciting. ideally you have a clean slate. no client feedback, no conflicting opinions. it’s ripe with opportunity. time is on your side.
the start can also feel daunting. maybe you’ve got the classic staring at a blank page block or there’s external pressure, a tight budget, or it marks a certain step up in your career.
with age and experience this has finally skewed more to a pragmatic optimism rather than overwhelm. it helps when opportunities feel less finite, or when you learn how to create them for yourself.
i’ve also learnt to sit with what i’m now realizing are somewhat unanswerable questions - what’s the best way to start? should i re-invent the wheel? do i need a new system?!
when i’m at this starting block, whether it’s for a new brief, a pitch, an ideation stage for a personal project - these are some of my guiding and grounding principles:
start expansive. remove biases, limitations, pre-judgments or expectations. even budget - don’t worry about that yet.
don’t look horizontally. of course keep up to date with what’s current, but beginning a new music video is not the time or place to be referencing recently made music videos. we don’t want to be regurgitating culture.
seek unexpected references. what can be found flipping to a random page of a magazine? how could a street sign you’re looking at while stuck in traffic become the seedling of a new idea? how might the setting of the historical fiction novel you’re reading be translated into a concept or a set build?
return to the classics. maybe you’re making an ad. but what can you garner from your favourite film or art theory book?
uncover meaningfulness in the message. find points of humanity and connection. what’s the emotional story? what is something oddly specific that’s actually highly relatable.
switch mediums. consider how the concepts could live across different forms. refine and define later.
steer toward the direction you want to work within. have you had an odd fascination recently? is there a designer you’ve been obsessing over for years? use this as a chance to explore interests and build from that.
set parameters, then dive deep (an exercise). if a visual world needs to feel of a certain era, limit research to that era. reference books or typefaces from that time. or: how many ideas can be generated in x minutes? or: what can be made on a single piece of paper? close the laptop.
be absolutely wary of the algorithm. are.na, pinterest, and IG are useful but they can seriously rob you of uniqueness and spontaneity. they’re built to feed you more of what you’re already looking at and recirculate the same images.
seek answers from within. this should go without saying but do not start with google, don’t ask ai or ask a friend before you’ve used your own brain.
trust your instinct. ultimately a unique POV provides a better edge than any other tool. bring your individuality, history, heritage, and personality into it.
none of this is to discount how important and energizing collaboration is or being tuned into reception, context, and audience. but before those stages, ground yourself first.
and don’t forget to walk the ideas out with a good playlist.
best of luck to you!