Have you seen the ad, “Big Black Box?”
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da69xnn-xGM
It became such a hit back in the day that even the teachers would tell you to climb into your box if you didn’t behave. The Afrikaans phrase became timeless. “Klim asseblief in die boks… “
In the end this ad accumulated more meaning to what the creators actually intended. Thesis writing stuff.
As creatives, we have been categorised as out of the box thinkers – mind you – no one else but ourselves gave this stereotype to us. Almost every job offered has this as a prerequisite bullet point.
While job searching a while back, this had me thinking if this out of the box thinker box is really a box I would like to climb into.
So, what am I, out or in?
I’m not quite sure, and I’m also not sure if any of the companies who did state that they wanted these out of the box thinkers were actually committed to this prerequisite either. This has become clear when interviews arrived.
So, then I had to really think about it. Should I stay in the out of the box -box or should I climb out of this box – box. So many boxes, I cannot keep up.
I have come to the conclusion that, ultimately, because there is no creative who is out of any box and that the out of the box tick is also just another box to climb into, maybe then , it’s just about how you decorate and present your box?
Here is my decorated box in bullet point format:
· A stickler for process and frameworks.
· Communication is key. I meet deadlines and if there might be a reason not, I communicate this in good time. That’s why traffic managers love me.
· Dedicated to the cause. Morals or no morals.
· Curiosity killed the cat… I don’t think so. Because of my curious nature I have turned myself into a motion designer and a UX visual designer.
· Don’t be a dinosaur, stay relevant, I consider junior designers as an asset when it comes to trends and new software.
· “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but often times better than a master of one.” I have a dabbled in almost every field of graphic design. print, web development, content creation, photography, iIlustration, UX, motion and the list goes on.
· Foundation is key. I have a solid, conceptually crafted and design principled foundation. What does this mean? In effect, all the design fields are built on design thinking and good design, especially the UX field. Having this foundation, moving into these fields is an easy transition to make.
· My box is not always perfect. I strive for perfection but will admit that I’m not.