A while back I wrote about being a chameleon and started off by addressing my lack of style in the way I dress. In reality, it is not truly a lack of style as much as it is that I want don’t want there to be any barriers between me and my clients, so I dress like them.
I’ve held this practice for years. Never one of have a closet full of black t-shirts and jeans to match, I dress conservatively at work so that I can easily go meet with anyone at any time and look appropriate. Yes, it can be and often is very square.
This basic way of thinking applies to other parts of my life, too. I’ve gone down his path for very specific reasons.
I never dated another design student while in school. I spent so much time with my classmates, that I wanted a break from them. Needed to. I never wanted to spend all my time talking about design; There is a bigger world out there. Yes, my wife did teach art, and I relish conversations with her on aesthetics and other issues around making and appreciating art, but that is little of what we talk about. We mostly talk about life.
For the past 25 years I have chosen to live in suburban west Houston. It is amazing to see how things have changed over the years; our area that was once quiet and rural is now bustling with commerce, traffic and tons more people. Living out here has been deliberate. There are more trendy places to live, places where I could be closer to more culture, but living in the ‘burbs definitely keeps me grounded. Also forces me to seek out new things to see and do. A very different mindset than when you constantly are immersed in that lifestyle.
Why is a creative person forcing himself to live an “ordinary” life? It is very much by design, and largely because I never want to loose touch with the real world, not live in the ones we create. I want to be grounded. I want to have the perspective of someone NOT in the business. I want to be the audience.
Rory Sutherland and Dave Trott continuously rail on Twitter about how out of touch the advertising industry is. They could not be more right. Last weekend the Houston Ad Fed held their award show and I reviewed the many of the winners online this past week. There was beautiful work, don’t get me wrong, but how effective/affective was any of it? The work spoke to me as an ad man, but how much of it resonate with me as a consumer? I’ll bet you know the answer.
As a creative practitioner, you should feed your head constantly. Actively seek out things that inspire you and get your juices flowing. Just never forget, you’re not working for other creative types — you’re working to make some change for people who are not like you. They won’t analyze or spend time with the work the way you do.
Don’t loose touch with the real world. You may not live in it, but your work will.