“Creative Freedom” is an Oxymoron
During my career as a designer I’ve often been bestowed the great and wondrous gift of “creative freedom”. In my earlier days, I waited and waited for this day to arrive…for this was when I was finally going to show the world what I was made of. When that day did come, the excitement and jubilation quickly dissolved as I sat there staring at a blank canvas, panicking and shaking with intimidation.
As I grew as a designer, I became more wise. The illusion behind “creative freedom”, is that it is very hard to be creative with total freedom. The freedom tricks you into thinking you can really truly break new ground, while at the same time not requiring you to. Without constraints you’ll default to the familiar. It’s safe, tried, and tested.
I’m a big fan of Pablo Picasso’s quotes, and this is one of my favorites:
“Forcing yourself to use restricted means is the sort of restraint that liberates invention. It obliges you to make a kind of progress that you can’t even imagine in advance.” - Pablo Picasso
So next time you’re blessed with creative freedom, give yourself some constraints. Find things about the project requirements that take away options from you. Instead of making a list of things you *can* do, make a list of things you *can’t*. In design (and in life), big reward comes from stepping out of your comfort zone.
