Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Creative Mind
The Creative Mind
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The Creative mind
graphic designer.
Unuigbokhai Godswill
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Table of Contents
DEDICATION............................................................................................................................................. 6
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................................... 26
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 40
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Dedication
This book is dedicated first and foremost to God Almighty, my source and
sustainer.
Also, I want to dedicate this book to those out there with a great desire and passion
for graphic design. I want you to know that it is very much possible to be a skilled
and creative designer. If only you would be diligent and committed to it.
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INTRODUCTION
Creativity is what distinguishes one graphic designer from another. It is how you
execute this creativity that determines the level of your excellence and skillfulness.
My name is Godswill, you will get to know more about me later. But for now,
I decided to write this book after being able to move from a ‘bad-designer’ to a
‘skilled and creative designer’, with motivation deeply rooted in the pursuit of
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This book is aimed at answering the big question in the hearts of beginners out
I want to state here clearly and boldly that you too can be creative. We are all born
creative.
Creativity is in our DNA because we were all made in the image and likeness of
On that note, I pray that this book is a starting point for you on your journey into
I would advise you do a quick sweep of this book then get a pen and book and jot
down things.
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CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN?
Graphic Design is the process of representing information with visual and textual
A graphic designer is one who implements graphic design elements and principles,
It would do a lot of justice to explain briefly some of these elements and principles.
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Graphic Design Elements
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Space or negative spaces are the spaces around an element. Which needs to be
Color is an important design basic and it dictates the overall mood of a design.
Typography “Words have meaning, type has spirit,” — Paula Scher. Typography
is the use of text to push out information. It consists of Typeface and Fonts.
See typeface as your surname and fonts as the names of everyone in your family.
There are just three (3) typeface and lots and lots of fonts.
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Types of Typeface:
• Serif
• Sans Serif
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• Decorative or Script
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• Motion graphic design.
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CHAPTER TWO
GRAPHIC DESIGN TODAY
Graphic Design has evolved over the years from just engraved drawings on the
walls of caves by early men to beautifully done flyer designs and the likes,
Graphic design is widely used in advertising and other industries, making beautiful
creatives on everything from posters to t-shirts, record covers, and lots more.
As I would always say, as long as money exists, there would always be people,
businesses, and organizations. And without being told by a magician, you would
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Over these hundred years, graphic design has permeated the space of business and
All you see today that is possible with this skill is but a glimpse of what the future
holds for it. This automatically makes it very important for designers to be creative
The moment you stop to grow and evolve as a designer, you lose value and essence
because this skill has a life of its own, it grows as the world grows and when
Hell yea! You and I know you need a graphic designer even when there is a war.
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CHAPTER THREE
HOW I ALMOST GAVE UP
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In order not to bore you so much about me, click the link below to visit my
portfolio.
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What is Creativity?
Creativity comes from the Latin term “creo”, “to create, or make”. Research dates
the word itself to the early creation of the world, by God’s act of Ex nihilo,
And if the world as beautiful as it is now, was created from nothing, then it means
"...creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is
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This is to say, creativity is the birthplace of innovation and excellence. I would
also want to state at this point that as a graphic designer your creativity is deeply
"Creativity is the ability to illustrate what is outside the box from within the box."
the process of mixing passion with skills, blending principles with emotions.
One can also see creativity as redefining the normal with breathtaking creatives
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How it all started
Mine started some years ago, precisely in 2015. I met Mukthar during my
University days. Mukthar is the kind of designer that makes creativity and ideas
look so simple.
I was already aware of Corel Draw and Paint. At least I could use them to design
some things. But just some few weeks before meeting mukhtar, I had attempted
I did it with all willingness and enthusiasm thinking I was doing something
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To cut the long story short, the feedback I got made me decide never to be a
graphic designer. I was devasted and disappointed in myself because I felt I had
nailed it.
In all these emotions and feelings of regret, I spoke to my mum about the whole
situation and how I was feeling. “it’s fine you know, you just need to know that all
these things takes time and you can do it”, she said with a smile.
That was when I met Mukthar and the following conversation ensued;
Me: Gee! Afa I wan learn cartoon. You fit teach me.
Mukthar: My Guy, that one no be issue na. After School we go run am.
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(Meeting with Mukthar after lectures in one of the lecture rooms.)
Me: No problem.
And that was how my journey started. He showed me all the steps he took in
achieving the black and white cartoon form of Will Smith and then instructed me
to go practice.
He also promised to teach me the colored format once I was able to reproduce the
With so much enthusiasm and happiness, I rushed home and the first thing I did
was to turn on my computer and battle with the black and white cartoon. Even
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Wanting to make my teacher proud I did more.
I headed to YouTube and searched for videos on how to create cartoons. I was so
much concerned about the end product; I wasn’t even learning anything.
For the first time in my life, I used Photoshop and I had also done my first cartoon.
You needed to see me that day. I was so happy and feeling fulfilled.
Well, it was morning and time for school. I showed my teacher all that I had done
and he was so impressed and also gave me some tips and corrections.
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Fast forward to now, there is no design I can’t create using Adobe Photoshop. Yes!
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CHAPTER FOUR
THE CREATIVE MIND; MY CREATIVITY STORY AND
JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE
You would be wrong to think all I did to be the kind of a graphic designer I am
It was a step but not the first and last step I took. There was more.
A designer that doesn’t grow is on his way to being replaceable. The fight for
creativity and excellence is the fight against being replaceable in whatever skill or
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As we all know every great war won was not just due to fearless and brave
A future you fail to plan, you fail to feature in. It’s that simple.
Decision Phase
already decided not to design ever again. But then here I am talking to you about it.
believe God has blessed me with a skill that is as powerful as a nuclear weapon.
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What was that decision?
As time went by, I noticed I still wasn’t there and the big question surfaced;
You know those moments where you see a creative and for minutes you
wondering;
“Why couldn’t I think of such?” The funny part is if you had thought of it you
could have been able to do it but you just didn’t know it was possible that way.
2017 I said to myself, “I will create a design every day, till I get better”.
Now I was game on, but was that enough? Hell No!.
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Action Phase
My decision lead me to a series of actions that I would be sharing with you in this
book. I knew taking such bold steps with no mentor or someone to guide me
Well I guess for me I really loved my skill, so the commitment was already there.
Daily I ensured;
be “that good” and to be good at something you would agree with me that you
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Learning something new has two aspects;
I asked every question that surfaced. And mind you, Google and YouTube were
my best tutors.
graphic designer, you need to know all you can about the skill itself. You need to
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Every day, I topped up my skill level, I made sure I added something, I made sure
there was something new I discovered about being a skilled graphic designer.
To have a very strong and solid foundation, I knew I had to also master my tools
and software, which as at that time were just Corel Draw and Adobe Photoshop.
Make no mistake, at first it would make no sense but if you want to be better and
more skilled you will have to continue. I still could remember picking up flyer
designs all over the place as well as packets of product packaging like sachets of
biscuits.
And all these I did in a bid to be better. The goal will always, I repeat always direct
your actions.
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Knowledge is useless if not applied or used.
I balanced it up every day on both sides. 50% Theory 50% Practical. I will still be
Your mind has a way of storing whatever it sees pending when you need it. Daily,
Sight is powerful.
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If you can’t see it, you can't be it. Take it or leave it.
The moment you stop being imaginative as a graphic designer, you start losing
You want to be a skilled graphic designer and be able to stand out of the millions,
then be able to mentally and practically duplicate what others are doing your way
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I gave myself a lot of projects.
I duplicated any design I saw that was my ideal kind of creative. I was always
criticizing and looking for what they did wrong. Yes! It was that bad.
You want to be the best, beat their best. This isn’t a call for competition or
comparison, but a call to self-worth and value. Like is said BEAT THEIR BEST.
I took a lot of actions that led me to this stage in my career as a designer. Some
were personal, some I had placed young beginners through and they had the same
result as I did. The top of this list is the above-stated actions and decisions.
If you follow them and I can assure you of progress. But still, that wasn’t all.
Follow Me.
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Progress Phase
We are all creative beings by default. You just need to sharpen the creative man or
woman in you. It would lie dormant and be only a wish if you refuse to take drastic
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Progress is always forward and every step in the right direction no matter how
little.
I made progress because I was relentless. Had I done all that was stated above and
many more for just 730days I would not have made this much progress.
I made sure I surrounded myself with people of like passion and goal. We worked
like engines, the type that each part supports the other to achieve the set goal. You
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CHAPTER FIVE
CHALLENGES AND HOW TO FACE THEM
There are lots and lots of challenges that would want to hinder your journey. Some
I mentioned just these two because these are all you would need to start up as a
Like I said earlier, YouTube and Google were my tutors and you need Internet
Data to access them. Hence, I always had to subscribe for data. It wasn’t funny.
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The list is endless.
Always set your plans and strategies to accommodate your resources. There were
You limit yourself by thinking you don’t have all you need.
Yes, you need a mentor and good guidance. But even if you don’t have one, you
can still do it. All I had was a one-time encounter with Mukthar.
The internet is at your disposal if you can’t afford paying someone to learn.
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You don’t necessarily have to pay your way to learn everything. Offer something
in return. Have something that you can give for something else.
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CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSION
Know the things that would help you achieve those goals.
Note the resources that are available to you and plan with them and not out of
them.
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Keep a hungry and relentless mind.
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Please note, I am always available to listen to your questions and guide you.
Email – unuigbokhaigodswill@gmail.com
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