6 things to fuel my design thinking
Self-indulgent perhaps, but necessary!
It is hard to block out the noise just inside your own head let alone the fragmented state of our online and ‘busy’ culture. It is so popular and alluring but really hard to sustain the mental load of it everyday, especially if you are called to create daily. This isn’t an anti-tech post though, in fact I LOVE technology but we do need a balance from always being tethered. I am guilty of getting out my phone in those quiet moments instead of a book many times or imagine just simply waiting and watching if you arrive early to dinner or school pick-up? I often feel inspired by my Internet browsing but can easily fall into a wheel of comparison which feeds terrible inaction, anxiety, and procrastination.
One of my dear friends shared with me a little while back that she has started to take a Kindle with her more when she’s out and about. I think we could be more selective with what we consume in all those in-between moments of the day (I am telling myself here). I know many of you have shared spending 30 minutes to an hour doom scrolling only to look up feeling like you have just been robbed of that time!
So, in today’s post I thought I would list some of the key things I have always done to give my design thinking and big picture visioning a boost. I need to get back to all of these tasks along with some nice long walks and perhaps plan a holiday to regroup and make a game plan. It really is like training for a fitness goal, there needs be a clear point you want to reach and have carved out some deliberate actions that will help you get there but sometimes far easier said than done! In no particular order here are six things I care about and do to fuel that side of my brain, or to stop it fixating on a problem or thoughts that need to be halted in their tracks! I had a few more activities but I know what you would be thinking, no Miranda TLDR!
1. Podcasts, a quality one and very sparingly
I am very deliberate with the types of podcasts I listen to, I don’t listen to them often, and there are not many on my favourites list. I haven’t been exploring too many (frankly its overwhelming) and I am sure there are so many good ones out there I have missed but I am selective. I have got to know that the podcasts I listen to always spark a thought or help me work out a problem, or see things with a new perspective. I find the storytelling aspect of incredibly creative people sharing their career journey thus far relaxing and always walk away feeling something new. Favourites include Design Your Life with Vince Frost, Design Matters with Debbie Millman, and Design Better, co-hosted by Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter.
2. Exercise (dance or strength training preferably – not long distance running please!)
I have tried long distance running many times but it really isn’t for me. I can remember having to run around Curtin Sqaure in Carlton seven times as a kid for school cross-country and it was brutal! My brain wanted to be anywhere but there running continuously without any breaks, nothing really to focus on (yes, I know my breathing would be a start) and I just didn’t like it. During the COVID lockdowns I can remember wanting to run, putting on a really hectic workout playlist and just bolting down the street like a cat on a hot tin roof. I think that was a symptom of the time and I still haven’t been able to ride an exercise bike again after peddling out my frustrations at the end of the day listening to about 10 tracks very loudly by Sia with Thunderclouds appearing regularly for exercise and cooking! Point is, I need silence sometimes but most times I thrive with music and movement. I grew up dancing but not working towards doing it professionally, but I don’t have to turn every hobby into a job! I know it helps me be completely in the present and for frankly the endorphin release is just intoxicating. Do you like to dance?
3. Non-committal swirls
Training in studio arts in high school and later on at TAFE and university, I was always encouraged to take part in a life drawing class or study still life as a form of art fitness I guess. Both activities are great to practice the natural movement of a form, observation, and the practice of looking. There is also the notion that an artist always has a visual diary on the go to document ideas, internal torments, and musings as a daily practice but the reality is quite different to sustain. I have found the daily practice of drawing really hard to keep up with it as my life has got busier with more responsibilities and work. But, each time I set up my inks to paint or run a workshop and perform a range of technical demonstrations, I am reminded how good it feels and what it unlocks in me! So, what do you do that takes less commitment then you ask. Continuous line drawing observations are easy and you can do them on any surface, think Picasso style illustrations or blind drawing. My favourite though is a black Posca pen and filling an entire A4 sheet of paper with swirls, lines, or a continuous line drawing of a still life vase of flower(s).
4. Gallery visits
A few hours at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and my mind feels like it completely resets. The simple act of being in a gallery space (might even be a regional visit when we escape the city for the day) and looking at some art slowly restores my mental load. To analyse the experience feels hard to articulate to be honest but I suspect it goes down deeper than I might think. Perhaps, it’s partly nostalgic and fueled by formative experiences being around Southbank in Melbourne and going to the opera and the ballet with my Nan from about 5 years old. I wish I could tell her now how much she had influenced and nurtured my creativity! I like to spend time in the members lounge having a hot drink and they usually have an Anzac biscuit to much on too. They regularly curate the art in this space and even repaint sometimes which makes it feel different and anew. When the weather is nice it is great to sit outside in the gallery garden with a range of unusual sculptures ingulfed with a 180 degree spread of inner city skyscrapers, and at night it is a completely different an quite magical atmosphere!
5. Croissants and design books (these are together and could be replaced by good cake and coffee)
I don’t know what it is but the act of buying a very nice croissant and a design book/or browsing one I already own (particularly on a weekend morning) feels really special! I think this might be closely tied to my many years of teaching in the city and doing this on my lunch breaks and walking all around Paris in 2013. Even if you don’t want to accumulate a large volume of paper-based texts, why not just pop to your library or borrow one from a friend (but make sure you give it back in a timely fashion!). I haven’t made the leap from lovely print-based coffee table art and design books to digital yet – I really like touching them and love desktop publishing too much!
6. Cleaning and reorganising (sometimes listening to said podcast or a good song)
Before we chat about keeping things nice, I think we should address the elephant in the room. Reorganising and keep the spaces where you dwell neat and tidy is essential and basic living practices for a healthy lifestyle. I agree with you that it does feel great to have a Spring clean multiple times in the year, and I have always enjoyed rearranging furniture, especially after all the lockdowns (not fully recovered from being in the same space 24/7 though). However, I can relate to the sudden feeling to clear or reorganising that pesky messy drawer that seems to have no order or clear purpose than being a dumping ground for random things without a home. So, if you’re not using cleaning up as a way to procrastinate and ignore what is on your mind – it can be great for percolating ideas or thinking about a solution to a problem. The act of doing a mundane task you know well and don’t have to actively think about every movement like vacuuming, wiping down surfaces, hanging out the washing, or doing the dishes gives your mind some space to ponder. I have even heard people say that they like to daydream when they are at the kitchen sink cleaning up.
I am very interested to know if you do any of these or what do you have in your own pick me up creatively toolkit? Meanwhile, I would like to learn how to shuffle. I can do the Charlston and move like someone who went to rave parties in the early 2000s but think I could work on that more! Suggestions?
