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 The Creative mind

My creativity story and journey to excellence as a

graphic designer.

Unuigbokhai Godswill

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 8

WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN? ............................................................................................................... 8

CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................................... 14

GRAPHIC DESIGN TODAY .................................................................................................................. 14

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................. 16

HOW I ALMOST GAVE UP................................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER FOUR..................................................................................................................................... 25

THE CREATIVE MIND; MY CREATIVE STORY AND JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE ........... 25

CHAPTER FIVE ...................................................................................................................................... 36

CHALLENGES AND HOW TO FACE THEM .................................................................................... 36

CHAPTER SIX ......................................................................................................................................... 38

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 38

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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.

A well-balanced blend of creativity and excellence is what every designer should

seek for and not just a skill.

My name is Godswill, you will get to know more about me later. But for now,

enjoy reading this.

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

excellence and show-casing jaw-dropping creativity.

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This book is aimed at answering the big question in the hearts of beginners out

there, “How can I be creative?”.

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

our Creator, God.

On that note, I pray that this book is a starting point for you on your journey into

the world of mastering creativity in Jesus' Name, Amen!

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 dates as far back as art itself.

Graphic Design is the process of representing information with visual and textual

content, such as lines, shapes, form, texture, color, typography, etc.

A graphic designer is one who implements graphic design elements and principles,

using a tool or software to pass information.

It would do a lot of justice to explain briefly some of these elements and principles.

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 Graphic Design Elements

Graphic Design Elements include;

Line; A line is a shape that connects two or more points.

Shape; A shape is any two-dimensional area with a recognizable boundary.

Form; When a shape becomes 3D, we call it a form.

Texture; Texture is the physical quality of a surface

Graphic Design Principles

Also, some design principles include the following;

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Space or negative spaces are the spaces around an element. Which needs to be

properly used to create a good feel around your designs.

Balance lends stability and structure to an overall design.

Alignment gives an ordered appearance to images, shapes, and blocks of texts by

eliminating elements placed in a disheveled manner.

Color is an important design basic and it dictates the overall mood of a design.

As a graphic designer, it is always important to have as much knowledge as

possible about color theory.

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

Types of Graphic Design

It would also be beneficial to be aware of some of the types of graphic design.

• Visual identity graphic design.

• Marketing & advertising graphic design.

• User interface graphic design.

• Publication graphic design.

• Packaging graphic design.

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• Motion graphic design.

• Environmental graphic design.

• Art and illustration for 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,

traveling millions of miles around the world.

Graphic design is widely used in advertising and other industries, marking

beautiful designs on everything from posters to t-shirts, record covers, and lots

more.

As I would always say, as long as money still exists, there would always be people,

businesses, and organizations. And without being told by a magician, you would

always need a graphic designer.

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Over these hundred years, graphic design has permeated the space of business and

consumerism, grabbing our, sparking our interests, or sometimes, blending

seamlessly into our surroundings.

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

and up to date with the world.

The moment you stop to grow 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 everything is

at a pause it still refuses to stay down.

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

I’m a Graphic Designer, Content

Developer, Programmer, and a frontier
for excellence and creativity, hence i
pioneer postive and rapid change.

I’m concerned about you and your

business. I offer brands the opportunity
to become that “one of a kind brand”
using graphics

I’m also concerned about your

development and exposure as a
designer. We can both learn and design
together
UNUIGBOKHAI GODSWILL

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In order not to bore you so much about me, click the link below to visit my

portfolio.

Link to portfolio – Click me

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 What is Creativity?

Creativity is and will always be God’s greatest gift to mankind.

And this is why…

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,

“creating from nothing”.

And if the world, as beautiful as it is now, was created from nothing, then it means

creativity has no bounds, the act of creating in itself is life.

Amabile et al. (1996) says

"...creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is

a necessary but not sufficient condition for the second."

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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

rooted in your imagination.

The Ride in the ‘90s has this to say about creativity;

"Creativity is the ability to illustrate what is outside the box from within the box."

Creativity is therefore the ability to create an imaginary world from nothing. It is

the process of mixing passion with skills, blending principles with emotions.

One can also see creativity as redefining the normal with breathtaking creatives

and design.

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 How it all started

Every great story began with a single step.

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. Just some few weeks before mukhtar, I had attempted creating a flyer

design for an event in my school.

I did it with all willingness and enthusiasm thinking I was doing something

beautiful. Well, to the best of my knowledge then, I was.

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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 just need to know that all these

things take time and you can do it”, she said with a smile.

All that motivated me and I decided to try again.

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.

(Meeting with Mukthar after lectures in one of the lecture rooms.)

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Mukthar: Baba, a black and white cartoon I go teach you o.

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

particular one he had taught me.

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

though it wasn’t so perfect as his, but it was close.

Wanting to make my teacher proud I did more.

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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.

They would say click this, I would click

Don’t’ click this, I won't

I did all that until it was finished.

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!

I am that good. Call it pride, but it is what it is.

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 CHAPTER FOUR
THE CREATIVE MIND; MY CREATIVE STORY AND
JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE

You would be wrong to think all I did to be the kind of a graphic designer I am

now, was just a cartoon.

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 in the fight against being replaceable in whatever skill or

niche you find yourself.

As I said, I did more…

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As we all know every great war once won was not just due to fearless and brave

warriors, another crucial and important factor is a good strategy or plan.

A future you fail to plan, you fail to feature in. It’s that simple.

Decision Phase

A lot changed with me as a designer and my approach to graphic design after my

introduction to adobe photoshop, I was born out of self-disappointment, I had

already decided not to design ever again. But then here I am talking to you about it.

Sometime around 2017, I made a decision that changed my life forever.

I say forever because graphic design is my superpower to changing the world. I

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;

“How can I be More Creative and Better?”

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 that you know 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

required commitment and determination from me.

Well I guess for me I really loved my skill, so the commitment was already there.

Daily I ensured;

1. I Learnt Something New

In the journey to mastering and unleashing my creative potentials, I knew I had to

be “that good” and to be good at something you would agree with me that you

need to know every bit about it.

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Learning something new has two branches;

- Knowing the Skill.

You need to know the Dos and the Don’ts.

I read every book I could find.

I asked every question that surfaced. And mind you, Google and YouTube were

my best tutors.

As much as mastering a design tool like photoshop is important in your career as a

designer, you need to know all you can about the skill itself. You need to

understand all the elements, rules, and principles.

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I would advise you to dedicate your time to master the tool.

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.

- Mastering A Design Tool.

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.

This I did by ensuring I had a design to do every day.

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 practiced or used.

I balanced it up every day on both sides. 50% Theory 50% Practical. I will still be

doing this till whenever you read this book.

2. I Constantly Feed My Imaginations Daily

One-way creativity can flow is by sight.

“…And God saw that it was good”

Your mind has a way of storing whatever it sees pending when you need it.

Daily, I made sure I was always seeing the things I wanted to become.

Sight is powerful.

Imagination is key to the doors of creativity and innovation.

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If you can’t see it, you can't be it. Take it or leave it.

I fed my imagination by visiting sites like Behance, Pinterest, dribble, etc.

I also fed my imagination by being conscious of the graphic designers around me

and what they were doing.

The moment you stop being imaginative as a graphic designer, you start losing

value and the moment value is lost, YOU BECOME REPLACEABLE.

3. I Duplicated Every Design I Could Find

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

and go a step further by doing it better.

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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.

I took a lot of actions that led me to this stage in my career as a designer.

Somewhere personal, some I have put 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

It takes commitment to learn a skill, but the courage to master it.

There were times I had to design for free.

Was it comfortable? No, it wasn’t.

Was it Worth it? Yes, it was.

To make progress you need to continue the course.

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

and demanding actions.

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Progress is always forward and every step in the right direction no matter how little

would get you there.

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.

Also, your company determines your commitment level.

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

want to be a skilled and creative designer, who are your friends?

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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

of which are technical challenge (A Laptop and A Smartphone).

I mentioned just these two because these are all you would need to start up as a

graphic designer technically.

You would also encounter Financial Challenge. Like I said earlier, YouTube and

Google were my tutors and you need Internet Data to access them.

Another Challenge could be a lack of a sense of direction and mentorship.

The list is endless.

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I would like to say this boldly,

REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION, KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

Always set your plans and strategies to accommodate your resources. There were

times I learned things through my imaginations.

You limit yourself by thinking you don’t have all you need.

Yes, you need a mentor and guidance. But even if you don’t have one, you can still

do it. All I had was a one-time encounter with Mukthar.

Do not limit yourself.

Stay above the lack.

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 CHAPTER SIX
CONCLUSION

Creativity is possible if you desire it.

Set a target for yourself...

Break that target down into daily goals.

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.

Always ask questions.

As a graphic designer, you need to always feed your imaginations.

Stay updated by following the trends.

Seek to know more by way of reading and practice.

Above all, NEVER GIVE UP.

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Please note, I am always available to listen to your questions and guide you.

Contact on WhatsApp – 09030564823

Phone Call – 09039313693

Email – unuigbokhaigodswill@gmail.com

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