When I figured I could make tiny handmade “box-cards” with gifts hiding inside for my friends—before my 12 yr old self could even understand, what I was actually doing…
I’ve been doing the same with every piece I’ve created since then; whether that means decorating my dining table to have guests over, making sure every website I design feels personal to every user that visits them, or creating a post for Instagram.
I could go on and on about all the fancy technicalities but I’ll save you the hassle and give you what is going to serve you the best: Each time I need to create pretty much anything —aesthetically balanced, pleasing and on point— I come up with the following 3 elements:
is formed by the following elements:
Let me unpack that a bit:
Define/choose a main character, the center of attention, the Leading Lady. The sweet “honey” made to attract hungry eyes.
Example: In this case my visual element, “The Star”, is a graphic of the moon.
Your favorite story! Like Tinker Bell is for Peter Pan. Like the Mad Hatter is for Alice. Visually I choose elements whose only purpose is to use their presence, to help “The Star” shine.
Example: In this case my visual “Supporting Flair Element” are these sparkles.
Your unique take and any element{s} that you’ll need to bring your unique vision to life to help tie everything together.
Example: In this case my “Magic Dust” are these particles + whatever else I need to make it ‘mine’.
I mean, look at how I took all the basic elements {the examples mentioned above} and made them totally my own; do I need to say more?
Personally I like to start by defining what the “end”/ the goal/ the why / the purpose of creating any composition even is, because if I do: I can reverse engineer to the beginning—voilà! everything is easier.
I like to think of every creative piece I’m making as a closed book waiting to be opened… They are waiting for the right person to come, open it and explore “their pages”, having such a memorable experience that inevitable will make them… fall in love with it. I’m making an emphasis on “right person” because as we know, not every book is for everyone.