Transcripts
1. Class intro: Constantly coming up with ideas
can take a lot of energy. And as we're going through different seasons or different
seasons of our life even, it can affect how we feel
about our creativity. In this class, we'll tackle winter and creative
block together. In the first part
of this course, we're going to talk
about creating a cozy work environment that is inspiring and that you really enjoy
going to every day. Even if you don't
have a big office or even a separate
room for your work. Then we'll have fun
with three creative projects to get your spark. Then I will share some tips
that have really helped me in my ten years of running
my own design studio, both as a student, moving country, and
even as a parent, focusing on really
keeping that love for creativity through
different seasons of the year and
through your life. I hope these videos can be a cozy reminder to come back to whenever
you feel like you need a little bit
more creative energy and you come out of the
course feeling really great about your
own creative voice and working as a creative
person in the world. Names Mallen and I work with sustainable businesses to create brands that they absolutely
fall in love with. But I also work with other
creatives to try to create an everyday creative process in life that you actually
really enjoy day to day. The class project
for this course is to do those three
creative exercises, and I hope that
you get as much as possible out of it in a
very pressure free way.
2. Getting comfortable: Where we are working can really affect how we feel
about our work. I'm a huge fan of working with
what you have and being a little bit clever about it and not having to
buy tons of things. Instead of browsing the stores, start by taking a step back and analyzing your workspace
as it is right now. For example, are you comfortable
where you're sitting? Is your chair working? Is the lighting comfortable? Do you have a cozy blanket
if you're cold, for example. Your work setup also extends
to your digital spaces. So, for example, is your desktop quite
clean and organized? Do you have a system
for saving files? Do you know how you can organize your thoughts when you have a new
idea, for example? Personally, I love
using Notion to actually plan out all
my day to day tasks and Milne as a kind of
info dump or way to create mood boards or come up with new ideas for projects. Knowing that everything is
neat and organized and that whenever I'm coming to sit down at my computer to
work on something, I don't have to
feel that dread of having to search
for everything or wondering how much
time I need to spend on actually figuring
out my process for something. Finally, let's talk
about something really fun, which is decor. Making our space feel like
it's representing us, regardless of how big
it is can be a huge way to get inspired and really
feel like it's your own space. Personally, drinking my tea from my favorite cup or having design books around
me that really inspire me or even like a
cute picture of my son on my desk or all things that make me feel really
cozy and at home. Second hand shops can
be a gold mine if you feel like you want
to add something like maybe a framed art piece
that really inspire you or a cute pen holder that is keeping all of
your things organized. And if you're anything like me, taking on upcycling something from a Thrift hop can
also be a great way to kind of disconnect from your other creative work and breathe a little bit that way. Bottom line is that
your space should feel functional and
make you happy. Sometimes all you need is some music and a good
tidy for this to happen. Keep it simple and feel out
what you actually enjoy.
3. Movie night - Exercise 1: Now let's dive into the
three really fun exercises to get your creative spark back. I'm going to call this first one going All Out on movie night. Film is a hugely artistic area
from how a shot is framed to how they're color
grading or even how they're using storyline
to bring the movie to life. Pick a movie or a series that you're super
excited to watch or one that has gotten a lot of praise for
being really artistic. Then bring out all the
stops of cozy PJs, snacks, and a nu. As you're watching the movie, if you find something
that you think could be really
interesting from a visual or conceptual
perspective, take a little note
in your notebook. Personally, I love watching Bess Anderson movies for
this because they have a great graphic
designer who works on everything from their boxes to their signage, for example. This designer is called
Annie Atkins and has worked on the Grand
Budapest Hotel, for example. The idea here is to relax, decompress, and find a new creative medium
to be inspired by. So don't feel too much pressure about
writing things down, only if something
pops up that you feel excited to explore further.
4. Finding purpose - Exercise 2: The next exercise is all
about finding our purpose. A lot of times when we feel a little bit stuck in
our creative careers, it can be that we've
lost the reason that we got into this
field in the first place, besides just paying the bills. In this exercise, the
goal is to have a think about the impact that you
want your work to have. For example, maybe your work can help a certain type
of person feel very included and seen
or maybe your work is featured in a local shop
that you pass every day. I always find it more helpful
to envision the type of impact that you want
to have rather than the size of client that
you want to be working. That said, sometimes
having a specific type of dream client can be a
great motivation as well. Take a few minutes to write down some different outcomes
that you would love to have through your
creative career and through your
different mediums. If you like to take
it a step further, you can even create a
little vision board for.
5. Switch it up - Exercise 3: For this third exercise, we are breaking away from our office chair and stopping
our pincho scrolling, and we're trying a new
medium of creativity. If you're someone who
works a lot digitally, then maybe try
something very physical like painting or crocheting, for example, or trying
clay earring making. The goal here is to explore creativity in a different way. And if you want to
take it even further, you can even take a
class where you get to meet other people and hear about their creative
inspirations. This can also be a great
way for getting out of your house or your office
space and exploring creativity in a way that is
a little bit more pressure free than doing it for
our regular client work.
6. Helpful tips and class project: The class project
for this course is to do those three
creative exercises, and I hope that
you get as much as possible out of it in a
very pressure free way. Before we go, I want to wrap up with some tips that
have really helped me get out of creative block throughout all the ten years
of running my business. The first one is that
doing something, even if it's not your best work is still better
than doing nothing. So if you feel very stuck, you might need to
take a sidestep and try to work on
a different project if you have a lot of work on your plate because sometimes
that is the reality. But then sometimes feeling
like you have to do this perfect work can really keep you from even
getting started. So break it down into
really small tasks, and anything even your best work is still better than nothing. My second tip is to
listen to a lot of creatives about their own
motivation and inspiration, but keep it in a way where it's not getting you into
that comparison trap. So whenever I'm feeling
a little uninspired, I like to go and listen
to podcast conversations with other creatives who talk about their
own creative block, their own inspiration, and their own motivation
and purpose in design. This can be a great
way to kind of widen our perspectives
on what design can be, and it can be really
nice to hear how other people approach
problems like this one. Starting out, I had this
book called Creative Block, which was a collection
of stories from different artists and how
they overcame creative block. I can definitely recommend
it if you just want a light read that is fun and
inspiring at the same time. Number three is getting
out of that desk chair. And that can be about sitting
at your kitchen table, your sofa, anything where you're changing your work
environment once in a while. If you have the opportunity, you can go to a cafe
or a co working space, anything that is going to
work for you as a person in the way that you like
to work and be productive. And my last tip is that sometimes rest is
the best solution. If you're feeling a little
burned out or if you're feeling a little overwhelmed
by your workload, sometimes trying to fix it in the moment is not going to
work as well as we think. Sometimes taking a step back, taking a few hours off or
even a few days sometimes, our work is not an emergency. It can feel that
way in the moment, but we are people who
are trying to create a great impact and doing something positive with
our creative work. But what we're doing also can sometimes need a
little bit of time. So budget that
into your project. Make sure you have enough
time for recovery, for contemplation and giving
yourself that space to come up with good ideas while protecting
your mental health. As you're doing these
three exercises, I would love to hear if you
had any new revelations or great sources of
inspiration that you can share with us in
the class Project tab. Thank you so much
for coming along for this very cozy
creative journey in wintertime and good luck with your creative projects
and your work in general. Thank you so much for watching. If you want to explore
other courses on design, I actually have quite a
few here on skill share. So go and check those
out if you like. And if you have any
questions at all, just leave me a question in the discussions tab,
and I'll help you out.
Malin Lernhammar, Designer and teacher
