reading time: 2 minutes

I'm often torn between designing shapes and things versus abstract motifs. The former feel fun while the later soothe my spirit so it’s hard to pick just one of the two.

During my first years as a graphic designer I've sacrificed many creative whims and spurts in the name of cohesiveness, style and time management - and that happened both because I was stopping myself and paying attention to well-intentioned but ill-fitting advice. Looking back the result was overwhelmingly disappointing from a personal point of view. It stopped me from experimenting to the fullest extent of my capabilities - and to vent, because sometimes I vent creatively, if that’s even a thing.

Do you know when you see something done by someone else, either a detail or a technique, and you have to try it in your style just to see how it turns out?

That’s precisely what I mean. However as I mature as a designer and narrow my field of expertise I feel increasingly freer to explore all my creative desires - even when they feel unreconcilable. I’m also learning to mute outside voices and listen to my gut feelings. By the way, isn’t it weird that gut feelings seem to fail us less than expert advice? And when they do fail us, don’t they seem to hurt or bother us less? That’s because following one’s instincts is deeply linked to the no regrets mindset - if you fail that means you have tried it and you won’t be bugged by endless what ifs.

I don't like all the body of work of my favourite musicians, designers, painters and authors. Yet I admire them the same because even the mediocre projects or my least favourite stuff helped them grow and enabled them to produce their best pieces.⁠

Failure is not just part of the work process but also essencial to one’s progress. It is just like Samuel Beckett once wrote:

‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’

Whenever creating I try to remember that I am not supposed to be better than anyone else or ever be better than the last time - I try to remember that I am supposed to have a nice time exploring my creativity.⁠ ⁠And if I want to do it all, let me do it - after all life is too short for regrets.


Stay tuned,

Cândida.