Holistic Creativity

How specialization can limit a specialty

These days, all my creative energy is funneled toward one very specific vein of creativity: visual. As a graphic designer, I am always looking (and paying close attention) at art, design, textures, type, color, patterns, advertisements, opening credits and nearly everything visual. But this isn’t the end of my creative observation, nor is graphic design the end of my creative expression.

I’ve said it before, there is a lot of value in doing one thing and doing it well. Still, doing that one thing may start to suffer if it really is the only thing you do. As a creative professional—even one with a specialty—it is essential to allow one’s self to absorb more than that one thing to which one specializes in (whew!). I guess what I am trying to say is that creative energy (if you will) flows from so many places; it would be foolish to aimlessly create without letting that influence seep in.

Graphic design and visual art is not where my “creative career” began. In fact, I was always a terrible artist as a child (not that it ever stopped me). I began as a musician. I learned to play the drums when I was a kid and later the guitar. I played in bands, performed and wrote music, made recordings and was always working to polish those skills. In order to improve as a songwriter and musician, I, with my friends, would listen to music with a picky ear, looking for masters of their art. And to this day, music is a big part of my daily life; although I listen much, much more than I write or play anymore.

In high school I took film studies and video production classes and developed a love for film. I never became a great film maker, though I wanted to for a long time, but to this day I consider myself a great film watcher.

Now days, I spend most of my time making visual art and graphic design. I take the occasional photo, make a short every once and a while and even pull out the guitar and sing some of my old ‘hits’. I feel good about that. I feel that I have sort of ‘fallen’ into my place as an artist. Yet I cannot ignore the influence that other mediums of art have played in my selection of this focus, nor do I avoid absorbing the context that comes from an eclectic collection of creative hobbies.

All art is better understood when placed in context. It makes sense, then that art is better created when created in context. As we take in good art from a variety of veins—good books, good music, good films, good painting, etc.—we as artists can put our art into the context of our culture, something that can make all the difference in the realm of graphic design.

As I got to know the students in one of my foundations art classes, I wondered if those with obviously shallow tastes in entertainment would make it to the upper division courses. Just as I supposed, most of the less culturally aware found it hard to stick with it. Not to say that I am “Mister Culture”, but I do try to be selective and I feel that it has helped me succeed.