So there are so many boring parts of my job. Conducting market research. Collecting data analytics. Mapping out customer journeys. Strategizing the best and holistic ways for people to rocket their brand to stardom. But my true love in this business is creativity.
The Unglitch went into a mini-re-brand this summer. Mainly because I, the one-woman creative director went through a bit of a mid-life crisis. Do you ever get stuck in a rut you don’t know how you got in because you control 100% of how you got there??? It happened. I got burnt out. I never get burnt out! For the previous 6 years “busy” was my love language. Why in Year Seven did I fall into The Pit of Despair?
If I reverse engineer it – I know exactly what happened. To give you a little back story. In short, I’m a weirdo. In going over the “Things Only Highly Creative People Would Understand” checklist:
They have a mind that never slows down. Check!
We weirdos challenge the status quo. ALWAYS!
They feel deeply. Regrettably…
They live on the edge of joy and depression. Mmhmmmm…
They connect dots better than others. Well, shucks, now I’m blushing.
They are addicted to creative flow. And here is where we left off…
2021-2022 has been my most client-packed time. I’ve worked with a range of industries. More than any other year. But I became a pushover with the influx of clients. I let a lot of clients dictate the creativity of the projects too much. I even had some clients who told me to tone down the work into something more “vanilla” (literally the words used by one of my clients…). What!? Am I in the Twilight Zone?
I love Chris Do’s (founder of The Futur), quote: “Tell me what you want OR tell me how you want it done. But don’t tell me both – because then you negate my ability to contribute to the project in a creative and meaningful way.” Ain’t that the truth!
But when a client tells me they want a basic logo, basic website, BASIC, BASIC, BASIC… I cringe.
So an epiphany happened recently. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. And I’m going to stop pretending to be. And some basic clients are downright my cup of Cyanide. So here’s my invitation. I’m sending it out to the world addressed to those who want to build their brand in a wildly unique way. Not in cookie-cutter website templates, but in smashing custom web experiences. Not in thoughtless images and text but in actual graphic design. Not in methods you can get from any marketing Joe-Shmoo out there. But in an explosion of PR. Surrender to the creative. Surrender to no B.S. Enter The Unglitch.
Jacquelyn Out.
Very cool post for sure and I have to admit I do get into the ruts myself. I have always find ways to get me motivated and for whatever reason this year has been particularly hard 😉 I have bookmarked this to come back to s thank you!