----- When Was The Last Time You Did Something For The First Time? -----

I think that's the first time I posted a title that long.

Coolhunter posted an inspiring, short article with wise words.

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

When did you actually do what your first impulse, or that nagging, persistent feeling is asking you to do?

It is easier to stay where you are, do what you know about, be safe, not push. Take the same route, order the same meal, hang out with the same people, do the same job.

But if you do not constantly test your boundaries, you will never find out what you are capable of.

If you always go over where the bar is the lowest, you will never know how high you can jump.

We say: Jump now!

NOW is the absolutely most perfect time to try those new things, to explore new cities, to taste new foods, to start a business, to write a book, to enter a marathon, to go skinny dipping, to start playing squash, to start a blog, to give that dinner party, to propose.

Now is the time to find out what you are here to do. How much can you do? What can you achieve?. How much fun can you have? How much can you give?

Now is the ideal time to experience your life. To LIVE your life. We all know this is not a rehearsal, yet we live as if it were.

And we are not talking about pushing so that you’d be approved by others. Or achieve their goals or what they think you should be achieving. Or pushing beyond your healthy or safe limits.

But we are talking about using all of your talents, skills and abilities now. Because now is all any one of us has. And because that is why we are on this earth. To live our own lives fully.

And when we do, we will find millions of new reasons to be grateful. We will find hundreds of ways to give more. We will find out how wonderful life is.

Because now is all any one of us has.

----- Relighting the Spark: Powering Up Your Creative Process -----

http://www.aiga.org/relighting-the-spark-powering-up-your-creative-process/

• Two very important questions were posed at the beginning of the session: How do we think outside the box? How do we generate new ideas?
• Creative process is comprised of three elements: observing, reflecting and making.
• Ideas to being like fragile babies that have to nurtured and cared for.
• If an idea cannot be explained in thirty seconds, the idea needs to be reworked.
• Keep your eyes and ears open; inspiration is everywhere. Limitations and deadlines are your friend, whether they are ones imposed by the client or self-imposed. And last but not least, NEVER settle for mediocrity.

Ever had a creative block? One that really makes you want to shred your brains into pieces so you can just unblock it? One that bothers you physically not just mentally. It's irritating; isn't it? You doodle nonsensically on a plethora of anything: notebooks, sketchbooks, napkins, tables, your hands, arms, etc; gestate until only a single idea forms. Pharmaceutical industries should invest in the next cure-all pill to unblock all creative blockages. Because I'm experiencing one, a friend sent me a link to Pentagram's own Michael Beirut's article titled, Why Designers Can't Think, entailing the problem behind every new potential, talented graduate who can only produce visually-driven work. By expanding our knowledge, having an insatiable curiosity, and willingness to learn outside the field, we are avoiding a creative block and the next trite and weary idea.

Why Designers Can't Think

"Now that “good” design is available to everyone, the definition of “design” is slipping away from the elite that has always controlled it and into the hands of the people buying it. In other words, it means a lot more than it used to."

What is Design?

I found an interesting article, written back in 2004, about the 21st century definition of design, and how it has evolved away from its origins. If you have a moment, read it. Now, is there a translated version for my dad to read, and for every other person who doesn't understand the virtue of design.