A muffin for my muse
Mark had a piece of strangely orange pumpkin muffin almost in his mouth when Stacey gasped, “I figured it out!”
(long pause)
“All right stop, collaborate and listen!”
It’s exactly what you think. “Vanilla Ice and design are the same thing!” Mind blown. Pumpkin muffin consumed. We went through the motions of trying to recite the rest of the lyrics. I could only remember the swim team-ified version we created as Williams College freshmen in 1997. We got some pastries to chase the muffin and Stacey told me that I should both write about her discovery and use her as my muse for everything in life.
Interesting concept.
Muse is a fantastic word.
It’s so seductive. Who doesn’t want to be a muse? Who doesn’t want to have a muse? We all have designer’s block. Sometimes when it’s hard to figure out what to create it’s most helpful to riff off of something created by someone else. These works, when executed brilliantly, honor their source, and when done poorly make that same source feel ripped off, robbed. Design as a discipline doesn’t give enough credit.
Yesterday I was watching a Skillshare by Catherine Madden* and at one point offhandedly she referenced How to Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. I like following the trail of references so went looking for the book and though I haven’t read it, the back cover gives a nice gist of what I presume is inside, a ten point action plan to amp up your creativity. I had one of those moments where you see someone put a piece of work into the world that’s very similar to an idea you’ve had.
I thought, “Shoot. Was that the idea I should have pursued? Did I miss my opportunity? Should I have made that something?”
I wrote my own list like Austin’s in 2008. It was a manifesto to myself that I never intended to share, but since Austin made it a back cover I was inspired to make mine a back cover.
“All right stop, collaborate and listen,” isn’t a summary of design, it’s more specifically fitting for a group ideation session.
This kernel from my muse wormholed me on a procrastination journey through first lines of songs that fit different parts of design.**
User research. “You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar.“
‘Don’t You Want Me’ by the Human League
Synthesis. “Hello darkness my old friend / I’ve come to visit you again.”
‘The Sound of Silence’ by Simon and Garfunkel
Prototyping. “Gives you something you can do with your hands.” Miranda Lambert — Me and your cigarettes.
Please note, I was trying to get Garth Brooks in here somewhere because I’ve touched him (his left foot with my right hand) but no such luck.
End wormhole. Begin meta thought.
Maybe there is more to the Ice Ice Baby | design parallel than that first line about ideation.
It’s common knowledge that Vanilla sampled the bass line of Queen and David Bowie’s 1981 song, Under Pressure, for his hook. In design, we are always sampling, re-mixing, thinking of things in parallel with each other, getting inspired by our muses. Often times my own work doesn’t shine until someone else twists or validates it to interesting. We’ve all seen the loudest voice get the credit. What’s good group work? How do you have a productive collaboration?
We’re uncomfortable mashups.
Let’s lay into it. Here’s an exercise for new partners to flex their roles when working on a collaborative project. It’s called Make Muffins. Essentially, partners improvise their way through the process of making muffins based on the five different roles outlined in the zine. Here are some shots of the page-by-page view and the full sheet if you would like to print it out and try for yourself.
In sum, it’s always good form to get eat muffins with your muse.
Notes:
*Catherine Madden is teaching a Pop-Shop course at the d.school this Winter with Alli McKee on Visual Thinking** Please note, I’m only considering first lines, not the entirety of the songs.
