SKINNY-DIPPING, ANYONE?
Tiffany Kosel, Crispin Porter + Bogusky
As a creative director with Crispin, Porter +
Bogusky (CP+B), you might think Tiffany Kosel
wouldn’t have time for a creative block. But, she
remarks, it has been known to happen. When she
was an art director in the Miami office, Kosel found
skinny-dipping to be the ultimate rut-busting exercise.
“Well, we were right by the ocean so we went
skinny-dipping,” Kosel says. “That was a good late-night
release. Whatever it takes, I guess.”
Now that she is based in Boulder, Colo., Kosel
has been trying more conventional methods for
breaking out of a rut. “I’ve been snowboarding a little bit,” Kosel says. “It’s only 40 minutes away
so you can actually leave. A lot of people are bike
riders, and I definitely don’t do that. I have an affection
for gossip sites. I also go to dictionary.com or
thesaurus.com—that’s probably the number-one
thing I do—taking a couple of words within the brief
or within what you are trying to say, and defining
them in different ways.”
For those fortunate enough to have coworkers,
asking for help with a project can be the catalyst for
breaking out of a rut. “Sometimes having someone
who is a great creative—that hasn’t seen [the project]
and hasn’t been as involved with it as you have—can
help break you out of a rut,” Kosel says.
I QUIT & HIT THE SHOWERS
Chris Blanz, Cabedge
There was a time when Chris Blanz found himself
doing the same thing over and over again. Not in a
Groundhog Day sort of way. He was just stuck doing
the same projects, with the same fonts and colors,
day after day. So he complained to his wife Kim.
Her sage advice? “She said if I didn’t like what I was
doing, why keep doing it?” Blanz says. So he quit—which then meant she couldn’t hold it against him.
More recently, Blanz says he usually will try to
get out of a rut by more conventional means. After
all, he owns his own company now. These days, he
likes to get wet. “My best advice is to stop thinking
about it and take a shower,” Blanz says. “Sounds
crazy, but trying to dig too hard for that perfect idea
tends to build up stress. A steaming shower relaxes,
but the real trick is that in the shower, other than the
foggy shower door, you don’t have any way of recording
great ideas that pop into your head. Maybe it is
less about relaxing and more about Murphy’s Law.”
And speaking of water, Blanz says if you can’t
get soaked, then try drinking it instead. “For one,
those good ideas always seem to hit when I have to
go. Sure, I could go to the bathroom, but I wouldn’t
want to lose the good ideas that inevitably pop in
my head when the pressure is building, so I keep
working. Eventually a potty break is a must and in
those relaxing moments of relief, it is inevitable that
another idea or direction usually comes. Also, the
body—particularly the brain—is mostly water. If
your brain is a shriveled-up raisin, it probably isn’t
working as well as it should be. Water can help that.”
IDOL-IZING & MOUSE HUNT
Jay Thatcher, Thatcher Design
Jay Thatcher, principal of Thatcher Design in
Nashville, Tenn., is a one-man band—so he doesn’t
have the luxury of getting stuck, at least not for
long. But before he went solo, Thatcher was an art
director at a fledgling design firm and later with a
national retailer. Perhaps it’s his background as a
drummer that prompts Thatcher to drop projects
he’s working on into his favorite songs.
For example, he says, he spontaneously rewrote
Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life” by inserting the product
name in the opening verse: “This is the Bible for the
brokenhearted, (bow, wow). … I actually did this
out loud during a meeting, which didn’t go over so
well,” Thatcher says. “So I recommend you be aware
of where your outbursts of creativity come out. But
it gets you thinking about your project in a fun way
and forces you to turn a phrase a little differently, or
think of your project in a different light.”
Thatcher also says sometimes giving in to an
unexpected distraction or a mindless activity helps
him come back to a project with a fresh perspective.
“When I was freelancing out of my home, I went
to grab lunch in the kitchen, and I saw a mouse go
under the oven,” Thatcher says. “I implemented
Operation Cook Pizza in an attempt to sweat him
out. I e-mailed other designers about ideas for the
unwanted visitor. They jumped in with creative
input, warning me about the possibility of WMDs
(white mouse droppings) and ideas of how to, let’s
say, extricate the rodent.”
The injection of adrenaline got him thinking
about the project he was working on with renewed
vigor. For example, “How many different ways
can I illustrate this message in both content and
technique? Warnings of WMDs triggered alliteration
ideas and unconventional uses of everyday
phrases,” Thatcher says.
Oh, and in case you are wondering what became
of the mouse? You don’t want to know.
SHOP ’TIL YOU DROP
Yang Kim, People Design
When Yang Kim, vice president and creative director
of People Design, wants to break out of a rut,
she heads to the mall. It’s an unorthodox approach
for getting unstuck for sure. After all, not many
designers will inundate themselves with the very
thing they’re trying to emulate or avoid. But she says
the sensory overload tends to clear her head and can
often give her a fresh perspective on a project.
“The important thing about breaking out of
a rut is to clear your head,” Kim says. “Immersing
yourself in an activity where you don’t think about
your project—the rut—is the key. So, an easy thing
to do for me is to take a break and go shop or
browse. Hopefully money doesn’t change hands—for
the sake of your wallet. The mall or shopping center
is exhausting. There’s so much to look at that you
can get lost in it.”
“Certainly going to see beautiful objects is inspirational
and arguably better, but if the goal is to clear
your head, then it doesn’t matter. I tend to drift into
looking at how a sign was hung, how large graphics
were made, packaging, etc., instead of looking at the
items for sale. Also, going to stores like Apple or a
modern furniture store is inspiring in itself. Seeing
beautiful objects, for me, leads me to push myself to
do equally great work.”
ANSWERING THE CALL OF
DUTY, DANCE PARTY & TIGGER
Christin Gnad; Sullivan, Higdon &
Sink Communications
Christin Gnad, art director at Sullivan, Higdon &
Sink (SHS Communications) in Wichita, Kan., has
found multiple ways to break out of a rut. However,
dancing is a thread running through many of her
escapes. For example, impromptu dance parties
are commonplace when she works from home. “It
started when I was in college, and that seemed to be
the only thing that would shake off the stress and
free my mind up for some fresh ideas,” Gnad says.
“All I have to do is pop in some old-school Paula
Abdul, Shakira, Reggaeton or some kind of R&B/Hip-Hop jams and the dance moves come out. Now
if it’s pretty late, there are some odd dance moves.”
But Gnad’s craziest rut-busting activity was her
stint as Tigger. Tucked away in a closet at SHS was
a Tigger costume gathering dust. One day, Gnad
decided Tigger should make an appearance. So, she
donned the costume and began making her rounds.
She even sat in the lobby and read a newspaper for
a while with it on. Needless to say, she broke out
of her rut—and no doubt helped a few other folks
break out of theirs.
In addition to Tigger appearances, Gnad likes
to “take five” with her fellow coworkers by answering
the Call of Duty—the game, not the National
Guard. Gnad says the team grew tired of Foosball,
and it was their logistic specialist who suggested they
try Call of Duty. Turns out it’s been a good teambuilding
exercise. Gnad, whose character in the game
is Shotgun Sally, says the game is good for clearing
the mind and gets her ready for work.
