Designer Fuel

There are many people out there who design. Some design successfully and some who design, well, not so successfully.  Some designers are recognised for the hard work behind their designs and some are not. But behind all the designers there has to be a fuel that keeps them going.

For someone who isn’t a designer, who has never been through the motions of starting from scratch and producing something successful, or endured the numerous hurdles that present themselves in the design process may find it difficult to understand what can fuel this enjoyable yet at times tedious process. Why, if it is so difficult do we keep wanting to do it again, or carry on, or make something better? What fuels this? I imagine this is unique for everyone, though the one constant element between all of us is the ideas behind the process. We all have ideas. I believe this is a fundamental part of the design process.   I believe this may raise the eyebrows and roll the eyes of the cynics among us, followed by the thoughts of ‘of course there cannot be a design process without the ideas’, and yes I realise that. I’m more referring to what makes one idea stand out more than others.

In an individual mind, what fuels one idea over the other? What makes you carry one idea forward and leaving the others behind? Is it the visions of a beautifully athestic outcome or possibly that the idea is a solution to one of life’s unsolved problems? I’d like to think that people design simply for the sheer enjoyment but anyone who makes this claim will have an underlying reason for the simple fact that design requires passion.  Designing for the sake of designing does not involve passion and therefore would be unsuccessful and unrewarding. And somewhat pointless. (Thinking practically of course)  For the designers out there, what fuels your creativity? What elements are behind the success of your fuel?