"In creatives I trust"

In creatives I trust.

Continuing on our Creative Courage article series, Senior Designer Scott Oxley discusses the people who’ve inspired him, and had a lasting impact on his creative career.

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Walt Disney; Tinker Hatfield; Alan Turing; Es Devlin; Brian Wilson; Sir Alex Ferguson; My Dad; Phil Jackson; Nile Rodgers; Ruth Carter; Zaha Hadid and John Blackwell Jr.

It’s only when you’re tasked with writing articles like this do you get the chance to take a step back, look at the people you admire and realise the impact they have on the way you view the world. In my case, all the people I admire are creative in their own unique way.

From brilliant musicians to inspiring leaders, innovative architects to amazing engineers, there’s lots of brilliant words already written about this group (sorry Dad, not sure you’ve made the cut on Google) so I won’t try to better them. But what I can talk about is why they’re special to me, what impact they’ve had on my career, and the way I view creativity.

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say a feeling of fear and uncertainty in this industry can be a common one. It’s a fierce opponent that I don’t mind admitting has got the better of me on occasion. However, time and time again I get back up, dust myself off and get ready to go toe-to-toe with my old adversary once again.

Why do I do this? Because I’ve grown up reading, watching, listening to, and being inspired by this amazing group of people who have had great ideas and had the courage to see them through. They felt the highs by experiencing the lows and used those moments to drive them forward.

Without vision, ambition, creative thinking and problem solving, we’d have no Disneyland. We would have no Pet Sounds album, no treble winners, no Last Dance to get us through lockdown, and my mum wouldn’t have got that snazzy new bathroom she wanted.

Their desire to push both themselves and those around them are qualities I find really inspiring, and their influence has had a big impact on where I am today. Without them, I’d have listened to that tutor at university who questioned if I’d make it as a designer. I’d have stayed comfortable in surroundings that didn’t push me, and I’d have made easier decisions in life that would have given me much less of an exciting challenge.

These examples have all become role models in my subconscious. They’re proof that anything is possible, but they’re also a reminder that it’s not always easy. It’s comforting to know, and I should remind myself of this more, because part of the creative process is to ride the wave, have faith, and trust that it WILL be worth it and it WILL all come good in the end.

This creative bunch are the people who have solved problems, thought outside the box and helped to shape popular culture as it is today. It is the creative thinkers and doers who continue to be the ones who navigate the challenges that today’s world brings. And, in a time where our education system seems destined to move further away from creative subjects in favour of more traditional topics, the learnings to be taken from creative people and how they have become successful I find as inspiring as ever.

So, there it is, a brief insight in to those who inspire me, how their courage has continued to shape my career and how their experiences can be an example to us all.

In creatives I trust.