FREELANCE NOTES | VOL. 5 PROTECTING YOUR CREATIVITY

Recibí la newsletter de mi amiga ilustradora Talía Cu y desde el título no pude evitar sentir una especie de complicidad con otra colega creativa. ¿Protege tu creatividad? Sí, hace todo el sentido del mundo en momentos donde el bombardeo de imágenes y los estímulos están presentes desde que despertamos. Proteger la creatividad es casi tan importante como dar click a GUARDAR en la versión final de ese archivo en el que has invertido horas./ I received the newsletter from my illustrator friend Talía Cu and from the title I couldn’t help but feel a kind of complicity with another creative colleague. Protecting your creativity? Yes, it makes all the sense in the world at times when the bombardment of images and stimuli are present from the moment we wake up. Protecting your creativity is almost as important as clicking SAVE on the final version of that file you’ve spent hours on.

💎 PROTECTING YOUR CREATIVITY 💎

En ocasiones y como Talía menciona en su newsletter, las redes sociales tienden a oprimir nuestros peores botones y podemos acabar sintiéndonos poco productivos y ansiosos. La cuestión más grande aparece para personas que vivimos de nuestra creatividad e Instagram termina representando casi una extensión del portafolio de trabajo. No es broma, en varias ocasiones algún cliente me ha pedido ver antes mi Instagram por encima de mi portafolio./ Sometimes and as Talía mentions in her newsletter, social networks tend to press our worst buttons and we can end up feeling unproductive and anxious. The biggest question appears for people who live from creativity and Instagram ends up almost representing an extension of the work portfolio. It’s no joke, on several occasions a client has asked me to see my Instagram first, instead of my portfolio.

Talía menciona en su newsletter la ansiedad que sintió revisando las estadísticas de un reel. Pero después de analizarlo, Talía llegó a la conclusión de que disfrutó de hacer ese reel y que se sintió creativa y ella misma. Al igual que ella siempre intento enfocarme en el proceso y no en la cantidad, pero creo que muchas personas hemos estado en esa situación y muy pocas veces las expectativas son alcanzadas, básicamente porque los puntos de comparación en redes son difíciles de limitar. / Talía mentions in her newsletter the anxiety she felt reviewing the statistics of a reel. But after analyzing it, Talía came to the conclusion that she enjoyed doing that reel and that she felt creative and herself. Like her, I always try to focus on the process and not on the quantity, but I think many of us have been in that situation and expectations are rarely met, basically because the points of comparison in networks are difficult to limit. But protecting your creativity has to do with set boundaries.

En mi post ABOUT NUMBERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA hablo un poco de eso. En esta época donde cierto número de corazones o de vistas pueden representar una valía no hay que olvidar que las actividades creativas nacieron con una intención de expresión auténtica y no como una casilla que debe ser marcada con una palomita. La creatividad es un proceso constante, que fluye y que cambia con los años, con el entorno y con un montón de factores que muchas veces escapan de nuestro control. Sigues siendo una persona creativa aunque hagas una pausa o aunque haya un momento donde las ideas o la ejecución no fluyan./ In my post ABOUT NUMBERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA I talk a little about that. In this age where a certain number of hearts or views can represent a value, we must not forget that creative activities were born with an intention of authentic expression and not as a box that must be ticked. Creativity is a constant process, one that flows and changes over the years, with the environment and with a host of factors that are often beyond our control. You are still a creative person even if you pause or if there is a moment when  ideas or the execution do not flow.

 🎯 UN NUEVO ENFOQUE / A NEW APPROACH 🎯

Talía propone una visión donde seamos más sincerxs con nuestra creatividad, dándole más valor a las ideas que realmente nos hacen felices. Proteger tu creatividad viene primero y lo demás vendrá después y al igual que ella tengo que intentar blindar las cosas que son un refugio para mí. ¿Cómo hacerlo? Es complicado, sobre todo en momentos que marcan pautas tan agresivas para mantenerse relevante en el plano digital. / Talía proposes a vision where we are more sincere with our creativity, giving more value to the ideas that really make us happy. Protecting your creativity is the first step and the rest will come later and just like her I have to try to shield the things that are a refuge for me. How to do it? It’s complicated, especially at a time when they set such aggressive guidelines to stay relevant on the digital plane.

Talía proponer crear NO con el propósito de compartir, sino crear para ella misma y si lo desea compartirlo después. Y últimamente he intentado hacer algunas cosas que no tengo que compartir, no todo tiene que ser hecho con la intención de ser publicado. Hay que proteger la creatividad y crear por el motivo primario de crear. Esto me recuerda a los inicios de los blogs en 2010, donde muchas personas a posta se unían al formato con la finalidad primaria de tener fama, regalos y colaboraciones vacías. En un mundo ideal la labor por crear vendrá primero y los resultados después, y una cosa no está peleada con la otra./ Talía proposes to create NOT for the purpose of sharing, but to create for herself and if she wishes to share it later. And lately I’ve tried to do some things that I don’t have to share, not everything has to be done with the intention of being published. Protecting your creativity is a priority in order to create for the primary reason of creating. This reminds me of the beginnings of blogs in 2010, where many people on purpose joined the format with the primary purpose of having fame, gifts and empty collaborations. In an ideal world, the work to create will come first and the results later, and one thing is not at odds with the other.

Suscríbete a las newsletters de Talía Cu aquí: CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR + TALIA CU. Hay un montón e temas interesantes relacionados con creatividad y moda, sobre todo moda latinoamericana./ Subscribe to Talía Cu’s newsletter here: CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR + TALIA CU. There are a lot of interesting topics related to creativity and fashion, especially Latin American fashion.

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  • Hola Pablo, hou you doin’?
    Are you managing to survive to this (infinite) heatwave?
    Here is still the same: basically bloody hot, and no will to do anything at least until the 8.00 pm…
    Plus, even if you go at the beach is so full of people that its annoying. So I spend my free time lazily at the pool and eating ice creams (luckily i’ve got an artisanal Ice cream shop very near to my place): someway I feel like I’m loosing my precious summer time (especially after 2 years of pandemic), but… it’s the life, isn’t it?^^

    But let’s pass to the topic of the day: you always take out very interesting ideas and arguments when you talk of creativity.
    And, of course, you (and Talia) is right: you should follow your own creativity flow and try to not get dragged to the mainstream, to rest authentic, unique and maybe create your own niche.
    But on the other side, at least to me, it’s almost impossible to ignore the actual major trends, espcially if they appeal you! And it could even not be totally wrong because push you to experiment new ways and to try new things.
    But it must also be said that these trends are often very quick and tend to put more and more pressure on you!
    It’s a very confused field: you want to stay authentic and true but you even feel the need to conform yourself to the major trends to keep on having a kind of visibility….
    Doing only what makes you happy is all right and good in theory, but really the risk to loose everything is high: to me one should find a compromise between the 2.
    Maybe taking a break when you feel overwhelmed (like you’ve rightly suggested), to reconnect with your true self, but not totally ignoring what your “community” wants.

    To end, I wanna compliment you for improving your photograper skills: your pics looking more and more professional ! And doing those sets mustn’t have been easy at all!
    I especially like the first pic, it’s Pinterest worth!

    Baci!
    S
    https://s-fashion-avenue.blogspot.com

    • Hello Silvia, happy to have you over the blog once again! Same as you, sometimes with this heat it is impossible to go out and I feel that I am wasting my precious summertime *_*…. but hey it is too hot even to work properly.

      Thank you so much for your love and support, specially when I talk about creativity. I feel that you can really understand me since you are always pushing your creativity, specially when you have to talk about trends that are going faster everytime.

      Thanks again for your constant support and for the compliments! I am eager to take more still life photos for the blog in the upcoming months 😀

      Pablo

  • Social media has its pros and cons when it comes to creativity. But I have to say in many ways IG has had a negative impact. It is ridiculous that a client would want to see your IG as opposed to your portfolio. Unless they are hiring you to do marketing. Even models have to have a certain amount of followers which has nothing to do with their ability to model. I am not a big fan of that platform.

    But indeed create because you want and because you enjoy the process…

    Allie of
    http://www.allienyc.com

    • Hello Allie, thank you so much for checking out the blog post!

      Exactly that’s what I think! It is so sad that nowadays numbers in social media could matter for some jobs, I totally disagree with it.

      Lately I have been hating Instagram a little bit, to be honest.

      Best!

  • Hola Pablo! I hope you’ve been well. I need to come back to read this post and leave you my thoughts on it but I just wanted to quickly stop by and express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for your very kind and supportive words of encouragement regarding my recent situation. We have answers now which definitely helps since not knowing just makes you fear the worst. Well the news was pretty positive and the time off was what I needed to get matters sorted. If things work out accordingly I plan to blog again next week and I’ll be back here soon to read what I’m sure is full of thought provoking and compelling ideas. And the visuals you create always look so aesthetically pleasing and on point! Have a lovely weekend!

  • As always, you have written such an interesting post. I agree that it is important to protect iur creativity. One of the ways to do it is by finding and following our own rythm. Avoiding social media pressure can help too.
    Beautiful images too. Thank you for sharing.

  • As always, you have written such an interesting post. I agree that it is important to protect iur creativity. One of the ways to do it is by finding and following our own rythm. Avoiding social media pressure can help too.
    Beautiful images too. Thank you for sharing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️

  • This post is so on point, Pablo. There are so many articles about how often you should post, the best times to post, etc, but nothing that ever addresses the creative aspect. I personally have found that if I try to publish on a strict schedule or increase my rate of publishing then my creativity suffers. Publishing becomes more important than the content. Talía is right: create first, then decide if you want to share it.

    Of course, it’s easy for me to say that since I’m not making a living from my creativity as you are. I don’t have clients asking to see my Instagram.

    I hope you are having a great weekend!
    Michelle
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com
    https://mybijoulifeonline.com

    • Hey Michelle, thank you very much for stopping by!

      Exacty, I think it is important to enjoy the process as much as possible. Sometimes if we create with an schedule this point is difficult to achieve, but it should be the first thing… to enjoy

      best, xx

  • Protecting your creativity – Wow, what an interesting thought process! I really find this post an eye-opener as I never really thought much about my own creativity as I work with words and thus, imagery usually isn’t my focus but you’ve made me pondered about this topic and Talia’s rationale too is very thought-stimulating. It’s interesting that your client is more interested in your IG than your portfolio but could it be that he/she is from the IG generation, hahah where their images curated on IG are so-called extensions of how they project themselves out into the world.

    Designers work in totally different world I must say. Both my sibs are in the industry and they are luckily not cornered by IG-obsessed clients. I, on the other hand, create for fun and that is all. In a way, I’m grateful to be an outsider watching in on trends that come and go, especially on social platforms. I do use them as inspo but I’m not obsessed by reading ‘insights and stats’ to figure out my next move. It has a purpose, yes but if it’s to the point that it detracts from being able to enjoy the process, then a break from the numbers could do wonders, I believe. BTW: Your visual for this post is so very soothing and I really like the way you arranged your flowers! So eye-catching. Thank you for spilling the tea on your creative process and how you protect your creativity, Pablo! It’s all very fun to read. Please share more!

    Have a lovely week ahead 🙂

    • Hello Shanaz,

      Your comments always put a smile on my face. Thanks for your valuable feedback on this important topic. I know you also appreciate and take care of your creativity so it is important to talk about this situation.

      Luckily your sibs haven’t find this type of clients, unfortunately it seems that the importance of Instagram is going beyond the app and this could be frustating. I have made the decision to ignore the numbers as much as possible and try to enjoy the process, which is the important part 🙂

      And thank you so much for your lovely compliments, they really motivate me to keep creating content 🙂

      XX,
      Pablo

  • Thank you so so much for talking about this, I really enjoyed reading what Talia has to say about protecting our creativity. As someone who runs social media accounts for several people, it’s so exhausting to have to be constantly creative for others. It’s quite draining! I love the tip about creating not for the numbers, but simply to create. I definitely fantasize about getting off social media sometimes. Thanks again for this great post. I’m loving the freelancer notes series.

    Jill
    https://jilliancecilia.com/

    • Hey Jill, thank you so much for checking out the posts!

      I am super happy to read that it might be helpful with your current job! I can imagine it is quite draining but hopefully, little by little, you’ll find some tools that can help you to have a better relationship with it 🙂

      xx

  • hi fungi! i hope you are well!
    i really like your quote that we need are still a creative person even if we don’t create anything at the moment. in fact taking a pause is indeed very helpful for me too. it’s like taking a setback on seeing the bigger picture.
    and yes i agree that it is better to create for ourselves first and decided wether to post it or not, i think it all begins with who we are. As we understand ourselves better, our works becomes an extension of it.
    wishing you a lovely weekend!

    • Hey thank you so much for stopping by!

      I know you also work with creativity so I felt very happy to know that you enjoy this post 😉

      Thank you so much for the feedback tho!

  • Hola!
    A mi me pasa todo eso, jaja.
    Por un lado ultimamente pienso mucho sobre si lo que comparto lo hago realmente porque me gusta o me divierte hacerlo o es por la presión de tener que compartir. Por otro lado me pasa también que a veces me siento contagiada por la creatividad de otros y acabo también con la sensación de que estoy haciendo lo mismo que los demás en lugar de explorar más mi propio lenguaje. No se, supongo que es un arma de doble filo esto de estar, compartir y ver cosas en instagram. Por otro lado, Yo también soy de irme a Instagram como referencia de cualquier artista, producto o servicio, pero ultimante me gusta explorar otras plataformas como Pinterest o Vsco, Behance… Y por último creo que tu web siempre debería estar impecable mientras que en Instagram se deberia dejar espacio a compartir contenido más cotidiano. Es mi humilde opinión gracias por compartir esta reflexión

    • Hola Miriam, qué gusto tenerte comentando por aquí 🙂 Muchísimas gracias por leer ❤️

      Sí, me pasa algo similar, e intento siempre guiarme por la parte de lo que me gusta compartir (es por eso que algunas funciones de Instagram cada vez me parecen más “complicadas” de seguir porque las siento más como una tarea pendiente).

      Exacto, es un arma de doble filo. Así que lo de explorar otras plataformas (Pinterest y Behance me encantna, VSCO no la he probado) es lo mejor para no estar siempre en el bucle de IG 🙂

  • Hello Pablo. I’m back. I’ve never really given much thought to the concept of protecting my creativity but as I was reading through this post and Talía’s proposal to create for yourself, I realized that I do this already with many photography projects that I do for myself for no other reason than to develop my eye and experiment with lighting and composition. I actually find this process to be quite helpful with making me a better photographer and I have been able to use some of the techniques in my work. Your point about creativity being a constant process that is variable due to any number of factors is so true so it’s important that we do what works for us. Authenticity is vital and it really needs to be the source of our motivation. It’s sad how some people have devalued authenticity in order to play the numbers game in social media. As always you’ve given me something worthwhile to think about.

    • Hey Rowena,

      So happy to read that you are back and once again thanks for your motivation and for your feedback on these blog posts! They really motivate me to keep creating and to explore this kind of topics! ❤️