I think I'm in love.
I can't stop staring. I may turn away from the object of my affection for a moment or two but my eyes are inevitably drawn back to gaze upon my love. It's hard not to want to show everyone this thing of beauty, this wonderful thing, this thing I just created. This is truly ground breaking, this logo, this amazing logo I just created.
Love is fickle.
Creation is an act of passion. Wherever inspiration comes from, and it is a gift when it shows up, it comes with a flood of endorphins. When I am working on a new design - in particular a logo design - I always fall a little bit in love.
However, if I can tear myself away for a few days from the object of my love, something weird happens. While I had just been so obsessed only a short time ago - now when I look upon my love, I do not feel the same. Now I notice problems - a serif out of place, a jarring color combo, elements not quite in alignment - it could be one thing or many. The endorphin rush has continued past, and my view has cleared. I can now see the flies in the ointment, and while there is still a flicker, I do not feel the same about my love as I did before.
Editing is where the art happens.
Inspiration can be wild and wooly and full of emotions. Creativity should be unhindered by rules or expectations. Ideas flooding onto the page, free flowing synapses connecting and producing with no restrictions. But once that moment has passed, the intellect regains control, and you can then do the real work - the editing.
Unlike the object of a real love affair, you CAN change a logo design. And there, my friends and readers, is where the magic actually happens. When in the midst of a creative session when inspiration rules, ideas flow without judgment. But an experienced designer knows that those ideas are not complete.
An editing process must proceed after the creative session to tailor the creative to fit the parameters of the project. The editing process could mean tweaking the original designs, or melding two ideas together, or even dumping ideas that are not working in favor of new concepts. Yes - eek! This might mean dumping the object of my passion into the creative dustbin. But that's ok, because the thing is this: I always start falling in love again during the editing process.
Passion creates - but editing creates art.
It's extremely rare that a creative idea is born fully formed - creative concepts always benefit from the editing process. And effective editing requires perspective.
CREATE = PASSION
WALK AWAY = GAIN PERSPECTIVE
EDIT = FALL IN LOVE AGAIN
The thing is, I was never really in love with the original concept. Sure it felt like love alright, but with perspective it's obvious that it was only an infatuation. To really be in love takes time.
