CBX Designer Offers Tips on 'Staying Creative While Staying in Place'

NEW YORK, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The solitude of quarantine may be stressful, but it presents opportunities to reconnect with the joy of creativity, advises Joe Violante, Executive Creative Director at CBX, in an essay for Graphic Design USA.

"When Zoom is your only way to commune with your colleagues, what choice do you have but to look within?" writes Violante, who has more than 25 years of design knowledge and experience in branding, packaging and corporate identity.

In the essay ("Staying Creative While Staying In Place"), the Westchester County resident  points to the massive contrast between the pre-pandemic workplace and life under lockdown. 

"As head of our creative studio in New York, I'm accustomed to spending my days in our 'brand rooms' riding the energy of in-person collaboration," he writes. "I'll dive into animated debates, hang sketches and designs on the walls and exhort everyone to push the limits of their creativity. I have come to cherish such collaboration every bit as much as the sight of one of my own ideas brought to life on a package or in a logo."

But these days, Violante, like many of us, spends his workdays at home with his family. In the essay, he draws on his personal experiences of this shift to offer tips for staying creative.

Faced with a sense of unease (as when staring at a blank canvas), creatives could easily give in to resistance—procrastination or losing oneself in tech-driven distractions. Going for a contemplative walk, Violante writes, could be a better alternative. "When you put down your phone or TV remote and embrace what's happening within yourself, you reconnect with your creative wellspring," he explains. "It's the first step to bringing fresh ideas to your personal and professional work."

Another productive option is to take advantage of this time to revisit classical works of art and design—everything from the Bauhaus to Pablo Picasso to Calder. For Violante, that means dusting off an Andy Warhol art tome, putting on Bob Dylan's 1975 classic "Blood on the Tracks" or watching documentaries about groundbreaking artists and designers.

"You're bound to stimulate your own creative impulses," he writes. "If you're a talented illustrator, that could make you more likely to skip the stock images and create something truly original for your client."

Lastly, Violante urges creatives to pay close attention to how the pandemic is affecting them emotionally. "I've been thinking much more about humanity writ large—the beauty and challenge of our lives," he writes. "Sustainability, too, figures more prominently for me as I contemplate the future of our troubled planet. Others I have spoken with describe being more cognizant of history and of the struggles our ancestors overcame."

Consumers are feeling the same way. When the pandemic has faded, the designer concludes, they will respond to brands that are altruistic, beneficial and truthful—and creatives should already be thinking about how to tell those stories.

The full column is available at http://gdusa.com/blog/how-to-stay-creative-while-sheltering-in-place

About CBX
CBX is an independent agency specializing in brand strategy and design services, including branding, innovation, packaging and retail design. Founded in 2003, the company currently employs nearly 100 creative and support staff at its New York City headquarters and Minneapolis office. Its client list includes Mondelez, Kroger, Keurig Dr Pepper, General Mills, Hain Celestial, and Merck.

Press Contact: At Jaffe Communications, Bill Parness, (732) 673-6852, [email protected], or Elisa Krantz, (908)-789-0700, [email protected] 

SOURCE CBX