Words for Thought

Design isn’t surface. | Simon Dixon

What would you create if you were free from doubt?

We Are We Are Not

How to Locate Creative Clues to Complete Creative Projects — Joel Primus | Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Filmmaker.

The poem <n>What's Left</n> by <n>Jan Schreiber</n>.

**Simon Dixon on Starting Out
**
"Shape your approach:

Where do your passions lie?
What kind of work excites you?
What suits your working style?
What skills do you already have, and what do you want to build?
What environments help you thrive?
Do you have long-term goals or motivations?

Knowing this will sharpen your focus and help you express what makes you distinct.

Create a great folio:

Think of your folio as a story, not just a slideshow.
If you haven’t made the work you love yet, start now.
Study how top studios present their work.
What does your folio say about you?
If you were hiring, would you choose yourself?
Scroll through 100 folios. What makes yours different?
Score your folio out of ten, then subtract three. Where can you improve?
Edit hard. Keep only your strongest, most original work.
Show why your ideas work. Highlight the thinking, not just the visuals.
Share your process without repeating the brief.
Focus on what worked and why.
Avoid default mock-ups. Find more meaningful ways to present.
Prove how your creativity solves real problems.
Make your value clear. What do you bring to a team?
Let your personality come through but keep it relevant to your style."

Starting out chronically shy in social situations, it was hard to imagine speaking to people in groups. Never mind in front of large audiences.

I had a few stinkers. Early on, I endured a torturous 30 minutes on stage with complete brain fog. But I survived.

So I practised.

A few minutes at a time. In elevators. Buying coffee. Chatting with cab drivers. Micro bursts of connection.

Then, I rolled it into small moments with groups. A few tiny evenings. Panels. That became talks. That became keynotes. And talking for a living became part of my life.

Being open and present as a creator can feel unnatural and uncomfortable. But it’s a skill you can develop over time.

I started to speak about what I do but found it easier to talk about what I believe. Not what people told me, or what I saw, but what I felt was real to my work and the people I collaborate with.

Over time, feedback shaped me too. Meeting people. Talking after sessions. Travelling. Listening.

Hearing how an idea landed or helped someone see things differently. That helped me grow as much as the work itself.

Now, I see it as sharing knowledge, not performing.

The introvert in me will never love it. But the part of me that loves sharing knowledge now embraces it.

I don’t need to do it. I don’t need to be someone else.
But I do love the connection it gives.

You Only Need to be Good at One Thing — Joel Primus | Entrepreneur, Speaker, and Filmmaker.

Samuel Ross on selling A-COLD-WALL*, building SR_A and advice on careers and business

Experience things differently.

If you only look where everyone else is looking you’ll see what they see.

If you use the same tools
share the same memes
watch the same shows
follow the same lists of hacks
you’ll think what they think.

To find your different
you have to experience different.

Let yourself wander off the main path.
Look sideways.
Look deeper.
Look beyond.
Goof off.
Mess things up.

Because the things that shape you are rarely found in the usual places.