I wrote this post while listening to this song. Hit the play button and enjoy!
“Good artists copy, great artists steal” - Pablo Picasso
This famous Picasso quote is the premise for Austin Kleon's renowned book - Steal Like an Artist. Based on his 2012 TEDx presentation, Kleon shows us how to “steal” ideas from around us and combine them with each other (along with our own ideas) to create something entirely new.
This is a small book, but with a huge impact. I read it in just over 1 hour, but I'm sure I'll take your tips for the rest of my life - I'm not kidding!
This a brief summary of each lesson and how you can implement them in your life as a dashboard designer or any creative role in general.
1. Steal like an artist
It was Mark Twain who once said:
“There is no new idea. It's impossible. We just took a bunch of old ideas and then put them into a kind of mental kaleidoscope.”
Nothing is original. Every creative work has and always will have been influenced by something else.
What can you do?
Instead of trying to be original, focus on how you can remix, transform and improve existing ideas — building on them.
Create your art from things you see every day. Steal ideas from your friends, family, colleagues, music, movies, books and anything else you can find.
2. Don’t wait until you know who you are to start
Whether you're writing, creating a new product, or strategizing to solve a problem, the only prerequisite for starting to create is to forget who you are.
What can you do?
Copy your influencers early on. Touch the minds of those you intend to copy and find out who inspired them. Study your influencers' influencers.
Eventually you will adapt these ideas to your own approach and you will have evolved from the copy. Once your own style is formed, others will start copying you.
3. Write the book you want to read
There is a misconception when it is said that you should write a book based on the area you are most knowledgeable about. As an expert on a given subject, the book will be a good read, right? - Not necessarily.
What can you do?
Many of us are often knowledgeable in areas of little interest to the mainstream—perhaps our professions or things we learned in college. Instead of succumbing to a book on these topics, write the book you've been dying to read.
Your genuine enthusiasm and passion for your subject will make you dig deeper and create something greater than you initially thought possible. Your remix of ideas will make more sense than yet another professional book reiterating what many have said before you.
4. Side projects and hobbies are important
Practice "productive procrastination" by working on side projects and hobbies that take your mind off work and don't have a purpose of making money.
Hobbies like these act as a form of meditation and give your brain a chance to rest and recharge.
What can you do?
Take time to do nothing. Some creatives get their best ideas during simple hobbies like taking a walk, playing video games, or even cleaning the house. As artist Maira Kalman says, “Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.”
5. Do a good job and share it with people
At first, obviously, you'll have a small audience. Enjoy. In this phase, you have the chance to experiment with different approaches without having the pressure of being someone renowned within the market in which you operate.
What can you do?
Create great work, constantly improve it, and share it with as many people as you can. Take advantage of reviews as a way to improve your product or service. Look not only at the big players in your industry, but also in others. They will help you gain new perspectives and improve your work even further.
6. Geography no longer rules us
The more you travel, the more knowledge you acquire and, the smarter and healthier you get.
What can you do?
You don't necessarily have to leave the country to find inspiration. Go to the beach, drive to a nearby town, hop on a plane to another state. Being on the move will help you leave your comfort zone and make new mental connections.
7. Be nice (the world is a small town)
Focus on making new friends and ignoring enemies. It's easy to get distracted and tempted to respond to negative comments, but it's counterproductive. Avoid getting into unnecessary discussions. No bullshit on Facebook.
What can you do?
Surround yourself with people who are creative and successful in a certain field. When you're surrounded by the best, you adapt more easily to their level. And when I talk about surrounding yourself, it doesn't necessarily have to be something physical. I, for example, love watching Erico Rocha and Gabriel Goffi's videos. They are not part of my social circle, but I have them as mentors and I try to absorb as much of the content published by them as possible.
8. Be boring (it's the only way to finish a job)
People who are productive usually (generally!) lead more boring lives. Creativity requires energy, so you must take care of yourself. Maintain a healthy diet, exercise daily, meditate, and get a good night's sleep. Predictable routines, good health and energy levels allow you to be more productive.
What can you do?
Create habits. Organize a to-do list in a way that you like and complete. Have you ever heard that talk that a task performed for 21 days in a row becomes a habit? - Then let's get the things done!!
9. Creativity and subtraction
We are falling victim to information overload. It's the cell phone notifications that keep popping up on the screen, the Facebook news feed that looks like a black hole, that short Snapchat video that ends up holding you for well over 15 seconds.
What can you do?
Create boundaries to remove distractions from your everyday life and stay focused on work. Need to focus on something? Put your phone in “airplane mode”. Smartphones are a trap. It's practically irresistible not to click on those 12 messages received on WhatsApp. Leave out the unnecessary and focus on your goal.
Bonus
Creativity is not simply a personality trait you are born with, it is a conscious habit. Use Austin Kleon's 10 Secrets and start building a creativity routine.
- For more tips follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- You can check out my portfolio on Tableau Public.
- Do I wanna Know? - Arctic Monkeys, AM (2013) - Their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, became the fastest selling debut in UK history, earning them an entry in the Guinness Book Of World Records. They beat out Definitely, Maybe by Oasis by selling 363,735 copies in the first week and 113,000 on the first day.