Chibilicious - Having my own small, cute world is great

For commercial artists, being bugged down by Client requirements can put creativity in a shutdown. Requirements put a limit to vision and deadlines making matters worse. Flexibility to try out new things for a project can be hindered and following working trends for a specific industry can make a designer forget something very important: his or her own personal creativity.

A designer needs something personal to remind him or her creative meaning. In meaning, a shrine is a place or a furniure used to place meaningful intangibles through display of sentimental materials. For designers, it could be a place to store materials to help him or her in creative endeavors. It would really be great so spend some time everyday adding something to the shrine. It could contain books, art materials, candles, even incense. It could be very simple and it should evolve over time but it will always remain relevant to the designer. As a designer or artist, these shrine could help develop personal relevant creativity that is not often accessible as a commercial artist.

A shrine doesn’t have to be big and take up so much space. It could be something small like an ashtray or box that houses favorite knick knacks like marbles, pins, crayons or whatever the designer likes. It could also be a portable plant or keychain that has some memento inside.

I remembered a fad during my high school when everybody carried bulky organizers everywhere. They weren’t bulky from school documents or inserted allowance bills. They were full of pictures, love letters, stickers, drawings, slam-book like pages filled with notes, anecdotes and information of friends, colorful calling cards, stationaries, etc. Everybody liked looking at those organizers. Each organizer is relevant and tells a lot of its owners. Same thing was also done to wallets.

If you are a tech geek like me, a digital gadget can be really handly. My PALM PDA serves as my mobile shrine. Everything in my PALM is relevant to me creatively. I have my Notepad to doodle, my ebooks (learning textbooks and pocketbooks) to read in my free time, my japanese dictionary and workbook to practice on once in a while, some pictures to make me remember people close to my heart, games, some music, etc.

So a shrine can practically be anything that is relevant to a designer. Make your own shrine. Take care of it so you will never cease inspiration to create things you love. ^^

Below are some ideas that could serve as shrines. You can pick one or add some suggestions to the list.

1) Wallets and Organizers. These come in various shapes and sizes. Be creative in what you place in them!

2) Mugs and Boxes. The designs are in variety and could house your favorite stuff.

3) Keychains. You’ll be surprised on the variety of keychains available out there. Check out these displays. You can check out this page for more options.

4) Mobile Gadgets. If you have money to burn, try to find the portable gadget to fit your lifestyle. As long as it can house your tools and you can carry and use it anywhere (unlike a laptop, they can be a hassle to bring out compared to a PDA device).

5) Have a blog. Make a blog your own personal sanctuary. It will house everything about you. Your way of thinking, pictures, ideas, imagination, videos, etc. It’s everything about you and its yours so you can add anything into it.

Do you have other ideas that could serve as a personal shrine? Comment it here! ^_^

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