Do you face Creative Limitations?

Published on 9 / 17 / 2024

Early into college, I secured a wonderful job as a magazine designer. Though thoroughly qualified and excited for the position, it wasn't much later that I faced creative distress. The thought of all the possibilities of creativity drove me crazy. I spent long nights re-arranging the same elements around the same spreads and examining font after font. I checked and rechecked the alignment, hoping something would jump out. For someone as innovative as me, having designed T-shirts and newspaper pages, designing magazine pages was something I never expected to cause such stress. I was driven mad by my own creativity.

After the in-class discussion about creative limitations, I wish I could tell myself to embrace the edges of the page. Understand the limits that exist-- the mere outlines that make the artboard, the necessary text and images, what didn't work in past designs-- and spring forward. We discussed how perfectionism is a leading cause of such distress, and this certainly ties into the countless nights I spent working on the magazine.

Perfectionism is undoubtedly my creative limitation. I am capable of unique works, it's just my OCD that can throw my confidence out of its steadfast churn. As someone mentioned in class, pushing through the recognized frustration is a surefire way to fix issues of creative limitations.

But no looking back! I am here and I am ready to be creative. I will push the limitations of this blog with all that I do. And I hope maybe YOU can be inspired to do so too.

View the works I completed for the magazine here.