There is a great deal of mysticism about the creative process. And justifiably so. No one truly knows where great ideas come from. The trouble with this mysticism is that it’s not terribly helpful when you know you have to come up with an idea quickly, say in response to a brief at work. Sure, you can wait for your muse to strike. But how do you know when that will be? Especially if your muse happens to be as mercurial as mine.
Fortunately there is one technique you can use to speed things along. It’s a tip I learned…
I’m not a fan of pitch templates. There is no surer way to deaden the vitality and spark of a creative idea than to compress it awkwardly into a pre-formatted PowerPoint or Keynote document.
The best pitches are those that are as creative as the ideas they’re selling.
Often a truly memorable pitch will derive its form from the content being presented. I remember once pitching a brand campaign to a network of local radio stations. We presented the concept by having a series of albums mounted on the walls of the agency. The title of each album encapsulated a…
I’m on a deadline. One of the most important deadlines I’ve ever had. In May I have to deliver my first book. The book is about creative demons. And the devilish irony is that in writing a book about self-doubt, procrastination, disappointment and constraints, I’ve experienced self-doubt, procrastination, disappointment and a barrage of constraints.
The upside to the agony of wringing a chapter a week out of a locked-down mind is that in my research I’ve discovered some wonderful books. Two of these books happen to be about writing. So today, in an exercise which is, if I’m being honest…
For the last few years I’ve immersed myself in the lives of great artists, writers, performers and musicians. I’ve read memoirs and biographies; listened to radio programmes and podcasts; watched documentaries and biopics. Over time I’ve discovered that almost all of them, no matter their medium, have one surprising thing in common: when their work is going well — really well — they disappear.
I first became aware of this curious phenomenon in an interview with the artist Philip Guston …
When you’re in the studio painting, there are a lot of people in there with you — your teachers…
2020 sucked in so many ways. And yet in spite of all that happened — or maybe in some ways because of all that happened — we saw some great creative work. Here’s my round up of some of the best advertising to come out of one of the most challenging of years.
Inspired by Iceland I think we’ve all felt like screaming sometime over the last twelve months. This cathartic ad from the Icelandic tourist board encourages you to let it all out. And have your scream released into the wild artic wastelands …
Toyota NZ Remember that…
When I design an object and people say, ‘Oh, well done!’, I unfailingly ask myself, ‘Where did I go wrong?’ If everybody likes it, it means I have confirmed the existing reality and this is precisely what I don’t want.
Enzo Mari was not afraid to be considered a contrarian. Along with his pencils he carried his principles with him wherever he went. …
On January 29th 1968 the New York Times carried a review of an album by an up and coming musician. Unfortunately for the aspiring artist it was not a positive one. ‘Alienated Young Man Creates Some Sad Music’ ran the headline, and the article beneath went on to damn its subject with the faintest of faint praise.
Now, I have no idea how you feel about Leonard Cohen. Maybe, like the reviewer, you regard him as a tuneless miserabilist whose words carried him further than his talent should have allowed. Or, like me, you’re one of many millions of listeners…
This month, as the daylight hours diminish, I’ve found myself making headway on the piles of books which accumulate, quietly over time, like colourful stalagmites, around our house. And there is one in particular which has delighted and appalled me in equal measure.
It is a book about books. If that sounds a little dry, you should know that these are no ordinary books. The Madman’s Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching is a compendium of the oddest, most extreme and most alarming literary creations ever.
There are invisible books, books that kill, books made of flesh, blood and bone, books you…
Of all the projects I’ve been involved with since my career in design and branding kicked off some twenty years ago, there are few I feel as fondly towards as the Studiocanal cinema ident. I remember the day we received the brief; the rush of excitement cut through with trepidation at being asked to create a sequence which would run in front of movies for years to come. And I remember walking down the red carpet to the premier of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy at the BFI in London to watch the ident go out for the first time. …
Webinar.
Perhaps one of the ugliest words to have been tumbled out of the lexicon of late stage capitalism. Pre-pandemic few people had anything but the haziest idea of what these three syllables refer to. Now there can’t be many of us who haven’t found ourselves sneakily opening another browser window while someone drones on about Post Covid Marketing to Gen Z’s In The Age of Tik Tok or similar.
And yet … when done well a webinar is the best way we have — for now — of imparting knowledge, inspiration and information to other human beings without needing…
Richard Holman
I write about creativity & the creative process. For more inspiration visit richardholman.com or listen to my podcast The Wind Thieved Hat.
