Creative Versus Technical

I consider myself a creative person. In fact I would even give myself the title of Creative Consultant. That's my title at PCC and I think it fits well My mistake, it's not my title there, it's actually Media Consultant, but it should be Creative ;) . I enjoy coming up with new ideas, I enjoy having those moments where images and ideas pop into my head and I'm left wondering where these ideas came from and wondering why more people don't have that. I met one person in particular in the last few years of my life that has caused me to be more thankful, more appreciative of being creative. This person told me that they don't get images in their head, that they don't just see things when someone describes it, that they don't have new ideas, that it takes work for them. I was surprised by this, I never thought other people didn't think like this... up until that point.

All that said, I believe I am creative. I believe that one of my gifts in life is to be creative. Creative in marketing/advertising, creative in communication, creative in how I live my life, creative in how I raise my kids, creative in how I love my wife. I believe my creativity needs to flourish through everything I do... NOT just my computer.

In recent weeks I have had a certain someone call me their IT Tech Guy. This grates on me. "I am not an IT Tech Guy" I told this person. My teeth grind when I hear someone call me that. I told them, "I'm your creative consultant/director, I just happen to use a computer for a lot of the art and design that I create. I am not an IT guy" (No offense to you IT guys out there, you have a job I don't have patience for).

In a recent article from Collide Magazine they wrote about how to become a better designer, "SHARPEN YOUR EYE: Technical skill isn't all it's cracked up to be... Artists see the world in unique ways and then create art so they can tell others what they see. Artists see emotion, color, texture, movement, and depth where everyone else just sees a quaint European village, an old guitarist, or a bowl of fruit on the table." Read the Full Article Here

Anyone can learn technical skill. Anyone can take time to learn how they're computer works and all the software you have with it, but are you creative?

Later today I'll be sharing some tools with you on how to be better technically and tools on how to be more creative.

Cheers,

Matthew A. Hawkins