On a day in August 2020 I had the idea of also starting such a Poster-a-day thing, which probably every graphic designer has done at some point in their lives.
In the past years of my studies I had some struggles with creative anxiety again and again. In order to beat these uncertainties, I wanted to find out how creativity and idea finding really work and whether I can somehow consciously steer the whole thing. Naturally, I like to have things under control and it made me mad that this creativity just didn't want to be controlled. Here today, there tomorrow, gone the day after - this moodiness was really a pain in the ass.
So I needed to get on its track somehow, started without a big plan and as it turns out I really had a blast most of the time. The rules were simple: 1 day – 1 poster. No longer and no later editing. That’s why you're probably wondering here and there: what the hell did she do there? That blank sheet every day turned out to be incredibly appealing and I could hardly wait every day to start with the new poster.
After 6 months I ended up with 100 posters, obviously the daily one didn't work out so well and I had to take breaks here and there. I experienced highs and went through deep valleys of self-doubt. In the end, I probably learned more about myself than about creativity, but at least I guess we’re a little closer now.
The process of almost every poster startet in bed. During the project, lying in bed at night just before sleep was always about scrolling through experiences, feelings and everything the day was about. I always tried to find the story that had the most in it, that was a bit funny or weird.
When finally found the topic, I thought about a first idea for the picture, that most of the time led me to at least a beginning that I could start on the next morning at my desk. And in some really rare cases, magic happened overnight and presented the idea on a silver platter.
But actually the sudden flashes of inspiration like in the shower rarely work for me. Although some ideas came on the fly when walking around outside, the real productivity mostly happens when sitting at my desk and dealing with the matter at hand. It’s not only the desk, sometimes I sit on the couch, outside on a bench or in a café, the most important aspect of sitting is probably that I had a pen and a piece of paper at hand while thinking. Some ideas were hidden in the seemingly most meaningless scribbles. I just had to look carefully and discover them.
On a day in August 2020 I had the idea of also starting such a Poster-a-day thing, which probably every graphic designer has done at some point in their lives.
In the past years of my studies I had some struggles with creative anxiety again and again. In order to beat these uncertainties, I wanted to find out how creativity and idea finding really work and whether I can somehow consciously steer the whole thing. Naturally, I like to have things under control and it made me mad that this creativity just didn't want to be controlled. Here today, there tomorrow, gone the day after - this moodiness was really a pain in the ass.
So I needed to get on its track somehow, started without a big plan and as it turns out I really had a blast most of the time. The rules were simple: 1 day – 1 poster. No longer and no later editing. That’s why you're probably wondering here and there: what the hell did she do there? That blank sheet every day turned out to be incredibly appealing and I could hardly wait every day to start with the new poster.
After 6 months I ended up with 100 posters, obviously the daily one didn't work out so well and I had to take breaks here and there. I experienced highs and went through deep valleys of self-doubt. In the end, I probably learned more about myself than about creativity, but at least I guess we’re a little closer now.
The process of almost every poster startet in bed. During the project, lying in bed at night just before sleep was always about scrolling through experiences, feelings and everything the day was about. I always tried to find the story that had the most in it, that was a bit funny or weird.
When finally found the topic, I thought about a first idea for the picture, that most of the time led me to at least a beginning that I could start on the next morning at my desk. And in some really rare cases, magic happened overnight and presented the idea on a silver platter.
But actually the sudden flashes of inspiration like in the shower rarely work for me. Although some ideas came on the fly when walking around outside, the real productivity mostly happens when sitting at my desk and dealing with the matter at hand. It’s not only the desk, sometimes I sit on the couch, outside on a bench or in a café, the most important aspect of sitting is probably that I had a pen and a piece of paper at hand while thinking. Some ideas were hidden in the seemingly most meaningless scribbles. I just had to look carefully and discover them.
