Who am I? What have I learned?

Clip from Disney's "Alice in Wonderland"

1. It Aint What You Do It's the Way That You Do it

I mentioned in a post earlier in the week that I am exploring how best to describe what it is that I do. I know it sounds ridiculous to be pondering this question after more than 35 years of doing what I do but I have rarely had to it explain to anyone until recently.

After twenty years, my family moved out of New York City to a small city in North Carolina called Greensboro. Here I didn't know anyone and no one knew me. I found it frustrating not being able to articulate what I do. It's particularly embarrassing because I'm always telling my clients: if people don't understand exactly what you do, how it is different and why it matters - they can't recommend you.

But, like a fish in water, if you have ever tried to take a step back and look at yourself or your business you quickly discover that the obvious is rarely obvious to you. And the 'literal' is even further from it. So I went on a journey to rediscover what I do through the things I have learned...

Clip from Milton Glaser "One Thing Leads To Another"

2. One thing Leads to Another

Working with me is a bit like going on a journey. There are many possible paths to start from. We can start from any one of them because they all connect in the end.

Over the years, I have learned to do many different things and that is partly why defining what I do is often a challenge. I don't do the same things for everyone because their needs are different and as a result people only ever see part of what I do. I get called everything from 'designer' to 'our IT director' to 'brand manager' to 'mind reader' to 'magician!' lol! Although many of these might speak to aspects of what I do, none really explain what my work is - or how and why it all connects. Perhaps a little more background might be useful.

My father was an MIT ( 美国麻省理工学院 & 美国斯坦福大学 ) engineer and physicist and my mother was an artist, writer, pianist and a modern dance teacher. I studied Graphic Design at The Glasgow School of Art and have mostly worked for myself, except for my ten years or so with Milton Glaser at Milton Glaser Inc. in New York City. I consider those NYC years rather like a yet-to-be-recognised-PhD with its foundation in Philosophy and emphasis on Design in its deepest sense, combined with being in "Fantasia" where I was the sorcerer's apprentice.

3. Be a Generalist

Milton taught me to treat style with skepticism, avoid specialization and aspire to be a generalist.

Like Milton had on a grand scale, I've worked with ...film, animation, graphic design, photography, videography, documentary making, editing, special effects, publishing, magazine design, book design, interior design, exhibitions and installations, fundraising, social media, strategy and content creation, app design, museum design, restaurant design, corporate identity, branding, way-finding, signage, stage design, costumes, furniture design, copy writing, coding, storytelling, advertising, merchandise and packaging, communications and writing, websites and world-building ... etc etc etc ... the list goes on, and on... and on! So much so that it is easy to get lost in the woods let alone see the wood for the trees.

Being a generalist doesn't mean anything, but it makes you resilient to change, efficient, and more capable.

In my work, all the things that I can do come together in different combinations to express the personality, capabilities and aspirations of my clients, and to lay the ground for their next step while creating the framework for what they are aiming for.

Creating a cohesive whole is key. Many organisations can't see the value of a cohesive whole when they are distracted by tight budgets, short cuts and isolated priorities. Often their attitude is "put money and effort into that thing over there, but these other things over here are not important and don't matter."

But everything matters.

Because everything is connected.

Being a generalist is rare these days, but it does one important thing - it makes it possible to be efficient and still treat everything like it is part of a whole. Every part gets to have the same quality and is connected by the thinking threads behind everything else. This ensures continuity, quality, expression and emotional connection with the audience doesn't waiver. Nothing disappoints or confuses the audience.

As a generalist you are capable of creating a cohesive whole, a visual expression of the entity that engages with and holds the attention of audience, employees and stakeholders.

Trust grows because it relies on this consistency and continuity.

Affection, excitement and engagement lie in the richness of the personality developed.

4. Be A First-timer Every Time

I approach everything as if it was for the first time. Because when you do something for the first time you put more energy and enthusiasm into it, you pay close attention because everything is new and unfamiliar and you don't want to mess up. This energy and focus translates into a kind of razor-sharp learning and uninhibited ideation that is lost if something becomes 'professional practice,' or ...old hat.

I want to know everything there is to know about my client's work. I like to understand it inside out and from as many perspectives as possible.

There is a wisdom in approaching each new project as if you know nothing and want to know everything. You bring an invaluable fresh eye to everything. Nothing is ever dull or uninteresting. Everything is soaked up. Anything is possible. Hurdles don't exist and there are no limitations because nothing has been done before quite the way you will do it.

5. Distill Personality from Inside and Out

Personality is central to my work. What I do communicates and connects through personality.

It doesn't matter if my client does the same thing as another client or a completely different thing - the key is in the personality(s) of the leadership. No two organisations are the same because no two people are the same. The measure of the individual is what shapes the arc that connects everything, and makes the work I do for them distinctive.

Perspectives from near and far and in between, is how personality is distilled. Being on the outside looking in and at the same time being on the inside looking out, and being inbetween is the position for a creative, because it allows us to hold multiple and opposing ideas simultaneously - the audience's perspective and the client's among them. Iain McGilchrist explains this more fully in his books, The Matter With Things.

In a creative process that distills, you get to be the fish in, and out of the water, and also the water itself, and the air.

6. Cross Pollinate

I have always worked with diverse industries and find that the more diverse they are the more interestingly the cross pollination of new learning, different insights and alternative perspectives enriches and informs my work for everyone. Diversity of thought and approach fascinates me. That is where seeds of innovation and new relationships are found.

7. Have Fun, Ride The Gift Horse (It might have wings!)

Openness is fun. It keeps you on your toes. It makes you grateful. And it leads to unexpected novel ideas by being open and receptive to the unexpected, inadvertent, inexplicable, serendipitous, accidental, stroke of luck, hidden connection, and or exaptive thought. Chance is indeed a fine thing.

"Always act upon ideas that are whispered in your ear. We might not know where ideas come from but we are wise when we are grateful and recognize them as gifts." I'm paraphrasing the philosophy of the inspiring, fun-loving poet/photographer Duane Michaels. I have never forgotten his advice.

8. Consultant? Magician? Misunderstood Chef?

Clip from Dave Snowden "From Manufacturing Flow to Ecological Effectiveness"

Dave Snowden often speaks about the importance of combining theory and practice, the difference between cook and chef, the value of apprenticeship, and that every situation is different. These all apply to my world too.

Creative work is often misunderstood. Sometimes because of preconceptions, or past experiences. Often because it is seen in isolation, as a means to an end, or a quick fix to a piece of communication - anybody can do that - and even an AI can now - no?

But things are not unconnected and although elements often need to be effective in isolation they are also all part of the whole. Without this consideration someone might make something that passes in isolation in the short term, but damages the whole in the long term - albeit without even realizing. I do worry that this lack of understanding + AI might lead to much more of this happening.

Creative work is rarely what it appears on the surface. My work is not "graphic design" is it not "marketing" and it is not "branding" although it can be all of these and everything in between. You can't learn what I do from a book and you can't replicate it in a recipe. Every situation is different and involves unique and distinct thought that connects to everything else.

9. A Sense of Scale

Sensing out what is needed to achieve someone else's vision involves a mixture of experience, intuition, imagination, practice and time.

Milton would say "inspiration comes from the doing." I love being both physically and mentally immersed in the process. The process is where the miraculous is found. You have to go deep to discover the details that uncover the magic. There is no short cut, superficial quick fix, if you want to get to the heart of things.

The down side is I have no inclination to scale. Scaling doesn't matter much to me (except when I'm paying bills). I don't do what I do so that I am able to scale. I do what I do because it matters. It matters to me, it matters to my family, it matters to my clients and it matters to the community - and that's enough.

Someday I will teach and that will be how I will scale - indirectly - subversively.

10. Keep Paying Attention

Although all of these (1-9) are things I have learned and are in part what I do everyday, not one of them answers the question what exactly do I do. It took discovering the work of Dr Iain McGilchrist, particularly his Hemisphere Hypothesis for me to realize how important my paying attention is what I do.

Clip from Dr Iain McGilchrist "Perspectives on Nature an Reality to Inform Systemic Change"

So, that's it! That's what I do! ... I have learned to pay attention and keep paying attention.

I pay attention with my specific experience, imagination, intuition and reason combined.

I pay attention with respect, affection, interest and admiration for what my clients do.

I pay attention to everything about my client, and everything around them.

I pay attention continuously, over time.

By paying attention to the big picture as well as all the moving parts, I think and work in ways that benefit the organisation and the individuals within it, as well as the wider community.

I pay attention across time so my work evolves alongside my clients and in anticipation of where they want to go. Assets and innovations emerge out of the process. Over time I help move their visions and ambitions from pen on paper to reality. My work is a combination of ideas, strategy and design, with communication rolled in. My work makes a business more tangible, more cohesive, and more relatable for its audience by nurturing affection.

What is the Impact?

I change the relationship you have with your audience, by changing the way your audience pays attention to you.

Simple really.

:-)

Footnote

The three wondrous video clips I have included can be found in full on YouTube. I highly recommend watching them all when you have time.

Milton Glaser (1929-2020) ??One Thing Leads to Another ? Edinburgh Napier University, Chancellor Talks. (2016)

Click here

Dave Snowden ? From Manufacturing Flow to Ecological Effectiveness ? CodeCrafts (2023)

Click here

Dr Iain McGilchrist ??Perspectives on the Nature of Reality to Inform Systemic Change ? CERN, Switzerland (2023)

Click here

Disney's Alice in Wonderland is available from Disney Stream here

#attention #imagination #creativity #philosophy #design #personality #generalist #emotionalimpact #change #relationships with #audience #stakeholders