There’s something about hindsight, isn’t there? The other day I found myself reviewing the first post on the blog. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in the past two years. Lately I’ve been thinking about this space and the creative force behind it. I’m always searching for inspiration, whether in music, film, art, story, or makers. I often complete edits late at night on the couch and find myself watching Netflix. Recently I stumbled upon the documentary series called Abstract. I was watching the episode on graphic designer Paula Scher. (This series is similar to Chef’s Table but for spheres within the art industry. I couldn’t recommend it enough.)
There was one line from this episode that stuck with me. She states, “I’m driven by the hope that I haven’t made my best stuff yet.” As a creative this has resonated deeply within. It has been easy in the past few months to feel overwhelmed and playing the constant game of getting caught up. As the business has grown, certain things have had to adjust including this space. It has lead to a production of content that can feel less than showing up with the best.
Upon watching this documentary, I couldn’t help but be inspired. Looking at capital campaigns and stunning designs Paula and her firm have created. The ways she has played, pushing typography to it’s limits and letting words say and mean something intrinsic, something beautiful. It awoke within me why I love design in the first place. Paula’s work for the New York arts, from The Public to handpainted maps, and Citibank logos, she has pushed the boundaries of what it looks like to merge design and the nonprofit world. This week we’re processing through moving forward as creatives. What does it look like to have a cohesive brand, but to see it evolve, grow, having ebb and flow over time? How do you dare, show invention, and push the envelope? What does it look like to back away from the endless streams of content, our screens, and creating through the sketchbooks and color swatches we once loved. We’re looking to different sources of inspiration and making plans to improve this space like never before.
More than anything, we’re focusing on making tomorrow better than today. We aren’t out to top ourselves and making something better than before. Rather we’re embracing the freedom that comes with creativity. The feelings and rush of delight that came with splashing paint on a canvas for the first time. It was wild, beautiful, and unconstrained. We find hope because we know we haven’t made our best stuff yet.