Useless Projects: Catalyst for Creative Ideas

Can you give an example?

Sure. In the past, Google encouraged its employees to use part of their workday for passion projects—without requiring them to align with the company’s strategic goals. One of the outcomes was Gmail, one of the most used apps outside of their search engine.

When you free yourself from these pressures, your creative genius can rise to the surface again. Over time, these seemingly "useless" projects lead to fresh ways of thinking and help designers grow—both practically and metaphysically, as writer Maria Popova would say. And in the end, clients benefit from the designer’s exploration, even if the proj... See more

Before we talk about "useless" projects, let’s take a moment to look at a "useful" one. In a typical project, a designer’s creative potential often sits buried, like a dormant hydrogen atom, as compromises and decisions by committee guide the client/creative relationship. Many of the ideas that ignite excitement in the designer are worn down by the... See more

The idea is, the fewer constraints we’re exposed to, the more authentic the artwork becomes. While this may not be commercially viable right away, that’s not the point.

I want to initiate something that can bleed into future concepts—a platform, an incubator, where designers can show not what is, but what could be. It’s about experimenting with styl... See more