HOW TO BE CREATIVE--sketchbook--

CREATIVE WORKPLACE- is the “studio” still important?

If you can choose; to work in an open space with meeting table, books, creative people and big win-dows with nice view over the ocean or work in your basement flat? We all would have said “Yes, please” to the first one. Then again, in our increasing virtual world with clients who don’t really care if you are in Ethopia or Stockholm, just do your work, upload it via ftp programme and have a meeting about it at Skype.

Does it really matter? Is the studio still important when you can save money and time by working at your home? There is a constant change in the world, and the virtual world will affect us more and more on com-munication, creativity and our work. There are now 7 billion people in the world, and the creative industry are more popular than ever, which force people to work together and collaborate more because they share their space with each other.

INTRODUCTION

"THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT CREATIVITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT HUMAN RESOURCE OF ALL. WITHOUT CREATIVITY, THERE WOULD BE NO PROGRESS, AND WE WOULD BE FOREVER REPEATING THE SAME PATTERNS.1”

1 http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6980.Edward_De_Bono

-Edward de Bono

-Edward de Bono

Creativity is defined as the use of imagination or original ideas to create something.12 To be creative, people need to be inspired and be able to think of new ideas, be unique and have fun at work. Most creative people are fun lov-ing people who see their work as their life. The workplace should inspire people to be creative and also lead to productivity.

Creative people need more than white walls. The walls in a creative workplace are the walls for inspiration. They are not white, but they have colors, posters, messages, your own work and others work on them. How you feel about where you are sitting and the surroundings in which you are gathered for a particular acitivity is central for your en-joyment of the task in hand and the performance and level of effectiveness as it. The more inspirational your workplace is,the easier it is to break the creativity block and discover new ideas

2 http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/creativity?q=creativity

CREATIVITY

ILLUSTRATION : ANETTE MOI

Your workplace and the atmosphere surrounding you determine the way you work and explore your imagination Satatchi & Saatchi in China states that it is their job to create magic for their clients. The environment must reflect and facilitate that. The of-fices need to be creative and inspiring.

What if you don’t have money for a creative and inspiring office? Money is definetly an issue for the workplace, especially in the capital cities where you barely can pay your mortage or rent. There are many people who make their own dedicated designing space in their flat. A separate sphere of working space, even if it is just a dedicated base-ment, office or bedroom corner will be very impor-tant to establish your own place and focus into the work being made. If you don’t have a dedicated space, and work from home you will have more freedom and in the creative industries freedom is important. Many people work better during the nights, and to have opportunity to work late eve-nings without going outdoor is freedom

A DEDICATED SPACE CAN BE YOURBEDROOM CORNER

“AS I´M JUST AN ARTIST WHO DOES HUGE INSTALLATIONS, SCULPTURES, LARGE PAINTINGS AND PROJECTS, I NEED A BIG SPACE”

- Skinner

Artist Skinner says “As I’m just an artist who does huge installations, sculptures, large paintings and projects I need a big space” 1There is no defini-tion for what makes a great workplace, it really depends on the person and the job to be done. We are all different and it’s a big difference between a graphic designer and an artist. If you are an artist who do installations and large paintings you need your dedicated workplace. A graphic designer doesn’t need the same space as an artist. In our increasing virtual world we will see more and more web-based work and less from the classical medi-ums that require dedicated spaces. Do you need anything else than Adobe programs and a Mac? The creative industries are more and more affected by computer-based work.

Handmade work require a dedicated space, while the new techniques require a laptop and the Ado-be programs. The society will become more and more addicted and estrablished in computer based ways of communication and creativity. Carlie Armstrong thinks the society will muddle the way art has been practiced, perceived and discussed in every way and will start to shift into the world of entertainment rather than solely “art”. (Email inter-view with Armstrong, 16 November,2011)

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She states that art has always been a practice based in personal inspiration and (mostly) non-ver-bal forms of communicating. She feels the outcome can be that artists will become like djs, constantly remixing eachothers work until there are too many similar variations that the sentiment will be lost.

To create work from an uninspiring space (i.e.: a bedroom) you need to be a dedicated person, but in those cases the work itself can be more inspir-ing because it needed to be made, regardless of where it was made. The work was born from a stagnant environment, but it took instead from the energy of the person creating it. It is all about you, the creator of whatever you do. Some people can find the focus and energy to create a masterpiece in their bedroom, other people would be too easy distracted and would need a dedicated space for work. Is a separate room or building necessary for a “studio”?

IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU

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3 Email interview with Skinner , 25 November 2011

IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU

A dedicated space is a place to think and a place to make. It is important to balance work and home. If you are working from your home it can be dif-ficult to distinguish work from home. As designer James Goggin says “ It can be too easy to keep working on something after you’ve had dinner, whereas you would think twice about going back to an outside studio.” It is important to have some travel distance between your work and home, whether its 25 metres or 30 miles. If you only stay at home it is more difficult to stick to the 9 to 5 regime, but often creative people do better work at night when its quiet. Then again, staying at home and working at nights is quite unhealthy at the end. The 9 to 5 regime is important because it is as equally important to ignore work as to be obsessed about it.

Time away from work gives your mind clarity. There is distraction everywhere, based on how focused you are on your work. But the distraction at home is a crucial factor of people not being able of doing good work there. You also have to be really good at managing your time and are very disciplined to make it work. People who are really into what they do, love what they do will be passionate enough to do their job no matter how their workplace is. Of course, a nice and inspiring workplace will make the process a little easier and can un-clutter the mind of the maker.

ILLUSTRATION : ANETTE MOI

TECHNOLOGY MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO SEND WORK

FROM YOUR WORKPLACE IN HAWAII TO YOUR CLIENT

IN SWEDEN.

“DEDICATED WORKSPACE IS EVERY-THING. CREATING THINGS WITH OUR HANDS IS EVERYTHING. KNOWING ALL WE CAN ABOUT THE MEDIUMS WE CHOOSE IS EVERYTHING. “

- Carlie Armstrong

In this increasing virtual world, less people actually meet their clients. They use Skype for meetings, send emails and use ftp program to upload their work to the web. Why is a studio important when you can meet your clients via Skype and they can see all of your work online? You’re clients do not care where you are in the world. Marijan Bantjes says that all of her clients imagine she is in New York, when she really is in her home studio in Canada.( Brook & Shaughnessy, Studio Culture, 2009) The virtual world makes it possible for her to work alone and in a geographical isolation. Most of her work and communication is done by email. As for clients and work, there is a whole new world out there and they usually now can reach you through email and Skype. And the great thing is that you have a freedom that allows you to be creative when you are creative. Often you are creative during nights, not days, and by working from home this is not a problem. But Marijan confess that it does get a bit lonely working at home.

THE VIRTUAL WORLD

“IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A COMMUTE, WHETER IT´S 25 METRES OR 30 MILES. IT IS A PSYCHOLOGICAL AIR-LOCK BETWEEN HOME AND WORKPLACE.”

Matt Pyke, designer at Universal Everything

The lack of dedicated spaces will help shape creative collaborations that otherwise wouldn’t happened if people were kept separately in their studios. It is very common that people share studios to save money and also to be able to collaborate together. It is not unlikely to find photographers, illustrators, graphic designers and architects under the same roof. Creative collaboration is a positive affect of the lack of dedicated spaces.

If you work from home you can, as Marijan Bantjes, get an isolated and lonely. It can be eas-ier to get new and useful contacts and friends. Working with others gives you the opportunity to undertake bigger projects. You can learn more and be more efficient with each process from designing to invoicing. By working in a crea-tive community you are more likely to grow as a designer and person.

The surroundings, just like a garden, are crucial to the development of growth. It is easier to grow in a dedicated workplace. You have more pos-sibilities in a dedicated workplace and can learn from other creative souls around you. The social part of being a part of a studio will develop you as a designer. You will be able to try out new techniques and skills that require the dedicated space.

As a designer and a creative person we always want to learn new techniques and skills. We are curious and restless, and working in a space that allows you to be creative and learn things will make you grow. There is a different focus and energy when you work from a studio. The studio is designed for you to do your work and the surroundings are cheering you and inspiring you to do your thing. Some people can create a masterpiece from their bedroom, but we are all influenced by our surroundings.

THE SURROUNDINGS ARE CRUCIAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROWTH

The workplace is your playground. A creative workplace is important, but I do think it’s a great difference between a graphic designer who often only need a laptop and an artist who needs bigger space to create their work. I think work should be fun and enjoyable and I feel very lucky to be creative and be able to do what I love to do (and get paid for it!) If you love what you do I think you will be able to have a focus and energy on what you do wherever you do it? I think the progress would be a lot easier and more effective if you have your dedicated space. There will be easier to focus and less distractions around you.

In our increasing virtual world, it’s more difficult to be unique. I think by working with your hands and knowing all you can about the medium you chose will be unique in the future.

THE SURROUNDINGS ARE CRUCIAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROWTH

ILLUSTRATION : ANETTE MOI

“IT DOES GET A BIT LONELY”

MARIAN BANTJES, ABOUT WORKING AT HOME.

I yearn to have my own real design studio in the future, as I love to do new things and try out new techniques. You can never learn too much. My dream is to have a design studio with two or three of my friends. To be able to “be your own boss” and create your own vision for what you think is important would be fantastic. I understand how people need to work from home in the beginning to either save up money or work freelance while they are applying for jobs. This is something I probably also have to do, but the distractions at home will not make it easy and will be an motivator to work really hard to get out and in a dedicated space!

A workspace is important and we should not rely everything on the new technology. In a dedicated workspace you will have the possibility to create with your hands, which is very important. A creative person need inspiration and that is why a creative workplace is so important.

WITHOUT CREATIVITY THE WORLD WILL STOP

WITHOUT CREATIVITY THE WORLD WILL STOP

SOURCES

Brook, T. and Shaughnessy, A. Unit Editions, 2009 Stu-dio Culture: The secret life of the graphic design studio

McCallam, I., Collins Design, 2010, Where We Work, Creative Office Spaces

E-mail interview with Carlie Armstrong (16th of Novem-ber, 2011) and Skinner (25th of November,2011)

http://www.workplacepdx.com/

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/creativity?q=creativity

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6980.Edward_De_Bono

ANETTE MOI, 11038200, LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY 11/12