Allow me to introduce to you Zachary Foster, the digerati ninja. Zachary is new to the LifeChurch.tv team, but not new to LifeChurch.tv. Zachary and his family have been around the church for many years, and have volunteered in many different capacities. You can learn more about Zachary and his family at his blog, DoYouFoster.com/blog.
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As a Digerati Ninja, I have to be trained in a multitude of techniques. Like my clandestine brothers, I need to call upon all sorts of “weaponry.” My weapon of choice is my sword – my creativity. When I come across a problem my creativity naturally jumps out of its sheath and into my hand, and I attack it! Of course, the sword is also the one that can do me the most harm. My sword can turn on me in an instant. Where once there was an idea, a visual in my brain… it can be gone in a blink of an eye. Of course there are things you can do to try to spark a creative fire again; sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t.
What happens when you’ve looked at all the cool new websites, or visited all the design boards, or read the latest news and nothing comes… a total block! This is every ninja’s worse fear, to run into battle without one’s sword.
So where does a ninja go when he needs to sharpen his creative edge? How does a ninja hone his creative sword? They say iron sharpens iron; well the same is true for artists. I find that there is no better artist to inspire than God.
Now, there are simple things that we all have done before. Go outside and sit in the quiet of the day; break out the journal and see what comes to mind while we unplug and focus on our problem. But what happens if you need something more specific?
Looking for a color palette for you design? While online tools like Kuler and ColorBlender are cool, all they are doing is imitating nature.
Try looking at color pallets that God uses throughout His creation (Flickr is great for this). Allow your eyes to see His colors.
Looking for layout help? Try looking to basic design fundamentals, the golden ratio or symmetry. You’ll see God’s hands all over it. Look at sea shells, vegetation, or space and see how they follow these rules. Allow your eyes to see His patterns.
Looking for unique shapes? Want a different way of seeing that same old object? Google ‘microscopic nature images’ and you’ll see pollen in a whole new way! Allow your eyes to see His shapes.
Looking for a good way to brainstorm? Need to generate layouts on a paper? Look to the Bible… yeah the Bible. Genesis 1. In the first chapter God creates the world… what does He do first? He sets His boarders using light and dark, water and sky. He is sketching out his design with a big old fat sharpie! He doesn’t even think of tackling the content and Adman on day one. Like all good sketching He holds out on the fine details until the end. Allow your brain to see His methods.
While it’s great to stay on top of the latest trends, and to race after what is new, I can tell you that every day I’m learning that there really is nothing new under the sun. And I am at my best when I open up my eyes to the trail the Creator left for us to follow.
Do you have any thoughts on how to see the trail God left for us to follow?
You laid that out beautifully. Well written. Love the line ‘Allow your brain to see His methods..’
I’ve got a lot of ‘creative design’ biz dev stuff to get done this week —I fwd your post to my team (yes, at work!) to give them our fuel for launch this week.
Truth is so plain. Most of the time hard for me to see. Thanks for showing some light on this one for me!
I’m a painter, and when I need some help with shapes and layout, my four year old and I go outside and sit on the grass and look up at the clouds. Talk about finding shapes in nature!
Great post!
James-
Thanks for the kind words. It’s funny, this week is my last week at my old job, and man I need some creative inspiration! So in re-reading the post it totally help me too!
Jeff-
too cool…I totally forgot that one! Nothing like a kids mind to help us see things in a new way!