The following lessons are part of my “ReInventing Series” of posts from TEDxPennQuarter:

Reflect, Sketch, Plan, Iterate, Mentor

Chris Bernard shared some interesting reflection on the “Reinvention of Visual Design”, but more importantly some tips for being a successful creative.

• Take Time to Reflect — It’s no coincidence that many of the greatest minds and leaders in history kept journals. This practice allows you to put your thoughts and ideas on paper and reflect. Articulating your thoughts is a critical step toward bringing them to life!
• Sketch – As we go back in history, a common theme across cultures is the use of “sketching” to communicate thoughts and ideas. We are naturally visual learners, and this process of sketching out ideas allows for both ourselves and those we are trying to motivate to map out all of the aspects and angles of a concept. (Something cool Chris shared were early napkin-sketches of major US companies!)
• Plan – Dwight Eisenhower once said, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” With a game plan at hand, you have a reference for where you are, where you want to go, and what needs to be done to get there!
• Iterate – Don’t spend too much planning, though! Start simple, get it out there, and iterate like a mad man! The earlier you expose your project to the outside world, the quicker you can get feedback that will invaluably shape what you’re doing for the better!
• Mentor – I’ve always heard that you should have 3 mentors, and mentor 3 others. We need to share what we learn, and the process of mentoring exposes our thoughts and ideas to somebody that can bring a fresh and new perspective to what we do!