Sometimes us designers get so caught up in our client work that we forget to make time for ourselves. In recent weeks this dreaded feeling has been creeping up on me which forced me to remember some of the wisest words I have ever heard when it comes to any art related field. Over the summer I was on a tour of the Disney Yellow Shoes Marketing office in which I was inundated with inspiration. Everywhere we walked and every office we peaked into, there were drawing, paintings, posters, storyboards etc. I even got to meet the oldest living Disney illustrator whose work is flawless. Now, although the visuals were nothing short of memorable, what really stuck with me was what the Creative Director Will had told us.

Everyday he goes to work and has to create art with other people, for other people. He said that within this process it can become easy to blur the lines between what is yours and what is not yours. It is difficult to avoid this trap because it blurs ever so subtly to the point where the artist or designer becomes offended (wether expressed or not) if others do not like what they create. This can be a paralyzing state for creativity because of a thing called ego, however, Will presented his remedy to this crippling state of mind.

Everyday when he goes home, he routinely puts aside a set amount of time for his own artistic pursuits. Within this time there are no deadlines, no other people, no pressures, no expectations, no right, and no wrong. It is a healthy place to create for oneself and truly unwind. If this is not just here and there, but strictly everyday, you will find your professional demeanor to become more relaxed and easy going because your ego will subside from such an outlet. You won’t have that little uneasy feeling when your work is rejected or tweaked because at the end of the day, the work you do at work really isn’t yours. Yes, your innate creativity fuels such projects – but that is as far as ones attachment should go, or else you risk that unhealthy inner frustration which will eat away at you due to the slightest changes. It isn’t easy, and I think only a few people have a real mental mastery over such challenges.

There is no quick fix for such a challenge, but the best way to begin working on this issue is to start today! All you can do is work at it. So do yourself a favor and carve out a space to create for yourself! Maybe learn some new technical skills?! It is easy to say I will do it when I have the time, but, you may never have the time unless you purposely make the time.

What works for me is a drawing a day because it keeps me sharp, conditioned, and routinely going back to the basics. The downside of being a Graphic Designer is that working on the computer is limiting and can become monotonous and draining. So for me there is nothing like infusing a good days work with traditional material.