How To Build Your Creative Confidence

Have you ever thought you’re just not the creative type?

We’re here to tell you that everyone is creative. Yes, even if you think you’re more analytical — we all have the capacity for imagination. You rarely hear a child tell you that they’re not creative. So what happens between childhood and adulthood where we lose our creative confidence?

Legendary designer David Kelley likens this fear of creativity to a phobia of snakes. It’s scary because of the unknown. It’s what can feel like a big void between the creative haves and have nots. But like all phobias, with a little love and patience, they can be conquered.

We are taking you through the ways you can build your creative confidence back up.

Embrace Failure 

There are no easy answers when it comes to creativity.

Which means that failure is always a possibility. This means that we have to shift the way we think about failure to build our confidence. Try reframing failure as not the end, but an opportunity for growth.

If you’re interested in the creative process you can check out our Design Revisions blog. It’s a great insight into how our creatives view the design process. This shows how we are always receiving feedback (not criticism) and how we turn it into action.

A great way to get over the idea that your ideas will fail is simply coming up with more. This stops you from getting too emotionally invested in one idea and can also lead you to some unexpected places.

Try this formula to create a winning idea:

A standard idea.

A completely off the wall concept

Your (Or your agency’s) preferred idea

This is also a great way to get out of your comfort zone. You’ll never be struggling to come up with a creative solution ever again. You might be surprised just how often the off the wall concept inspires greatness.

Work With Others

Creativity isn’t about working alone.

Think about all the art in the world. It’s not a fixed amount, but an ever growing stream. This river is something that is always shifting, carving new paths and expanding. We simply add to it.

This idea of collaboration is so important to building any creative confidence. This doesn’t just mean within either your workplace or peers, but with the world. There are plenty of great ideas out there if you know where to look. We even rounded up some of our favourite Australian creatives earlier this year which is a great place to start to get the creativity flowing.

Having a network of creative energy that you can dip into is crucial for building your long term creative confidence.

The Creative Gap 

If you already work in a creative field you would already know that progress isn’t always a straight line — if ever.

Ira Glass, best known for his work on This American Life speaks about the idea of the creative gap.

 

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But it’s like there is this gap. For the first couple years that you’re making stuff, what you’re making isn’t so good. It’s not that great. It’s trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it’s not that good.” 

 

This is where a lot of creatives can feel like they are trying to reach an impossible peak. There is a great, yawning divide between what you want to make and what you can currently do. What does Ira recommend? He says that the key is to simply keep going. It’s “only by going through a volume of work that you’re going to catch up and close that gap. And the work you’re making will be as good as your ambitions.”

Pretty great advice right?

 

It’s time to embrace your inner creative and get those ideas out there.

You never know where they might lead.

Do you feel ready to use your creative potential? Come and talk to the team of award-winning creatives today to get your branding journey started today.