Many times I find myself thinking back to early influences and things I did at a young age that somehow birthed this creative curious spirit I celebrate each day. I think about when I would sit in my room and draw cartoon characters over and over again. I think about how I would write radio scripts and get my friends to record various parts on my TalkBoy. I think about how I was determined to learn guitar and borrowed an acoustic from an old lady and taught myself basic chords. I think about how I would doodle and draw and cut out pictures of album art of underground bands. I think about how I would wake up early on a Saturday morning and make a huge bowl of Fruity Pebbles or Cinnamon Toast Crunch and watch cartoons so I could study the way they were drawn.
When I was young, I was curious. I had no technical skills, no formal training, no clue what I was doing. I just loved certain things and Perseus them. I followed my heart and it led me down a path. I trusted my gut and learned every step of the way. I believe we need more curiosity in our daily lives. The past few years I spent focusing on the technical side of design, which isn’t a bad thing, but I keep feeling this pull within myself to rediscover curiosity. I realize this means reverting back to a child like approach to thjngs. My gut will guide my technical side and my path will have a deeper foundation in technical things, but that yearning for curiosity will guide me to something new and while I’m rediscovering myself, maybe I can inspire someone else as well. Either way, my childhood curiosity is something that has made me who I am today and I’d like to revisit this approach in design. Starting now.
How does this happen? I’m printing out and visualizing things that inspired me as a boy. I’m pulling out all my toys. I’m researching old cartoons. I’ll wake up early to draw. I’ll stay up late to sketch new ideas. I’m revisiting places I once knew. I’m taking time to enjoy the experiences of new things as well.