Working as a creative without collaborating very quickly leads into doing the same work over and over. Collaboration is the key to shaking things up, finding new inspiration, and growing yourself as a creative.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Creatives have this crazy high tendency to put out work that is very similar to what they spend their time watching/listening to/experiencing. In high school I was huge into Foo Fighters, Gears of War, and any stereotypical action movie. If I told you I designed a poster, you can probably already imagine exactly what it looked like: 90’s grunge, destroyed fonts, and a lot of red, black, and white.

Luckily we’re all a bit more sophisticated now than we were in high school and developed our own style. It is definitely not a stretch, however, to say that there is a huge impact from the media you consume on what you create. Sometimes it comes out in typography or color choice, other times in how we present our work.

When we acknowledge this fact, we call it inspiration. However, a large portion of inspiration isn’t acknowledged, it just flows from our subconscious into our work. As with anything, controlling this can be hugely useful.

When we get into a routine and start consuming the same types of media, having the same experiences, and never really exiting our comfort zones, we tend to consistently produce the same work. Consistency is good, but part of what makes a creative creative is making new things, putting out new ideas, and providing new perspectives.

COLLABORATION: THE INFINITE PERSPECTIVE MACHINE

Anytime we step out of the routine, we’re providing an opportunity for new inspiration. One of the best ways to go about this is to collaborate with other creatives. When we collaborate not only are both parties stepping out of their routine and out of their comfort zone, but their experiencing the style of another creative that has a whole different set of inspiration than their own.

Now everyone involved in the collaboration is in a great context for inspiration, and the ideas that come from it can breed more inspiration. When you get into these collaborative situations it’s really amazing how far you can get from your usual work, but still be creating with your own style.

This idea plays off of the fact that humans are by nature very social. Even the introverts of the world benefit from some amount of time creating alongside other people. Some people might only want to collaborate once a year, others want it all the time. What matters is that at some point you are disrupting your routine so instead of having one static style, it is progressing and developing over time.

STOP WORKING AND DO SOME WORK!

Getting out of the office (or your normal work coffee shop or whatever) and away from obligatory work to create something that’s just for you (or you and whoever you’re collaborating with) is great too. There’s the added benefit of discovering new aspects of your style without having to make it so someone else ‘gets it’. The things you discover about your strengths, your style, and your perspective will come in handy for paid work later on.

Doing passion work while being open to collaboration can be great for finding new people you work with well. A lot of creatives have talents and passion that is more or less hidden because it doesn’t come up in client work. Stretching those muscles every once in a while can help communicate who you are to those around you.

So get out there, get some friends, make something, and see yourself grow as a creative. Or don’t, because we all regret those days we get out there and make something of ourselves.