Q3 | Will asks: How, for you, does great design come about?

Is it a very methodical process, dominated by procedure, or does it happen at 3am on a Sunday morning?

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Another good question. Short answer: It happens at 3am on a Sunday morning. Or 4am. Or 5am. Or on a Monday morning. Etc etc.

Longer answer: We kind of cover this in our standard "creds" presentation at work, Neil covers it if you download his presentation here and Michael, brilliantly, covers it here.

We get asked how we work every week and I think it's the hardest question we get asked. It's a hard question because there isn't really an answer. Creativity, as Michael pints out, does not happen like this.

There isn't really a determined path. There's sticking on walls. There's discussion. There's arguing.

There's more stuff on walls. And yes, often there's a moment of inspiration that comes from nowhere at 3am on a Sunday morning.

You can't really explain that part in a PowerPoint presentation. Maybe a better way of explaining it is this story (urban myth?) about Picasso.

"Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

“It’s you — Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist.”

So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the women his work of art.

“It’s perfect!” she gushed. “You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?”

“Five thousand dollars,” the artist replied.

“B-b-but, what?” the woman sputtered. “How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!”

To which Picasso responded, “Madame, it took me my entire life."

Comments

[mofe]

The story in the very end is quite interesting. It indicates the behind story that people who working in the creative industry get more pay , which some people think that is so unreasonable.
Nice story!

[jon]

that is a great story/quote