I am a creative. What I do is alchemy. It is a mystery. I do not so much do it, as let it be done through me.
I am a creative. Not all creative people like this label. Not all see themselves this way. Some creative people see science in what they do. That is their truth, and I respect it. Maybe I even envy them, a little. But my process is different—my being is different.
Apologizing and qualifying in advance is a distraction. That’s what my brain does to sabotage me. I set it aside for now. I can come back later to apologize and qualify. After I’ve said what I came to say. Which is hard enough.
Except when it is easy and flows like a river of wine.
Sometimes it does come that way. Sometimes what I need to create comes in an instant. I have learned not to say it at that moment, because if you admit that sometimes the idea just comes and it is the best idea and you know it is the best idea, they think you don’t work hard enough.
Sometimes I work and work and work until the idea comes. Sometimes it comes instantly and I don’t tell anyone for three days. Sometimes I’m so excited by the idea that came instantly that I blurt it out, can’t help myself. Like a boy who found a prize in his Cracker Jacks. Sometimes I get away with this. Sometimes other people agree: yes, that is the best idea. Most times they don’t and I regret having given way to enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm is best saved for the meeting where it will make a difference. Not the casual get-together that precedes that meeting by two other meetings. Nobody knows why we have all these meetings. We keep saying we’re doing away with them, but then just finding other ways to have them. Sometimes they are even good. But other times they are a distraction from the actual work. The proportion between when meetings are useful, and when they are a pitiful distraction, varies, depending on what you do and where you do it. And who you are and how you do it. Again I digress. I am a creative. That is the theme.
Sometimes many hours of hard and patient work produce something that is barely serviceable. Sometimes I have to accept that and move on to the next project.
Don’t ask about process. I am a creative. #section2
I am a creative. I don’t control my dreams. And I don’t control my best ideas.
I can hammer away, surround myself with facts or images, and sometimes that works. I can go for a walk, and sometimes that works. I can be making dinner and there’s a Eureka having nothing to do with sizzling oil and bubbling pots. Often I know what to do the instant I wake up. And then, almost as often, as I become conscious and part of the world again, the idea that would have saved me turns to vanishing dust in a mindless wind of oblivion. For creativity, I believe, comes from that other world. The one we enter in dreams, and perhaps, before birth and after death. But that’s for poets to wonder, and I am not a poet. I am a creative. And it’s for theologians to mass armies about in their creative world that they insist is real. But that is another digression. And a depressing one. Maybe on a much more important topic than whether I am a creative or not. But still a digression from what I came here to say.
Sometimes the process is avoidance. And agony. You know the cliché about the tortured artist? It’s true, even when the artist (and let’s put that noun in quotes) is trying to write a soft drink jingle, a callback in a tired sitcom, a budget request.
Some people who hate being called creative may be closeted creatives, but that’s between them and their gods. No offense meant. Your truth is true, too. But mine is for me.
Creatives recognize creatives.#section3
Creatives recognize creatives like queers recognize queers, like real rappers recognize real rappers, like cons know cons. Creatives feel massive respect for creatives. We love, honor, emulate, and practically deify the great ones. To deify any human is, of course, a tragic mistake. We have been warned. We know better. We know people are just people. They squabble, they are lonely, they regret their most important decisions, they are poor and hungry, they can be cruel, they can be just as stupid as we can, because, like us, they are clay. But. But. But they make this amazing thing. They birth something that did not exist before them, and could not exist without them. They are the mothers of ideas. And I suppose, since it’s just lying there, I have to add that they are the mothers of invention. Ba dum bum! OK, that’s done. Continue.
Creatives belittle our own small achievements, because we compare them to those of the great ones. Beautiful animation! Well, I’m no Miyazaki. Now THAT is greatness. That is greatness straight from the mind of God. This half-starved little thing that I made? It more or less fell off the back of the turnip truck. And the turnips weren’t even fresh.
Creatives knows that, at best, they are Salieri. Even the creatives who are Mozart believe that.
I am a creative. I haven’t worked in advertising in 30 years, but in my nightmares, it’s my former creative directors who judge me. And they are right to do so. I am too lazy, too facile, and when it really counts, my mind goes blank. There is no pill for creative dysfunction.
I am a creative. Every deadline I make is an adventure that makes Indiana Jones look like a pensioner snoring in a deck chair. The longer I remain a creative, the faster I am when I do my work and the longer I brood and walk in circles and stare blankly before I do that work.
I am still 10 times faster than people who are not creative, or people who have only been creative a short while, or people who have only been professionally creative a short while. It’s just that, before I work 10 times as fast as they do, I spend twice as long as they do putting the work off. I am that confident in my ability to do a great job when I put my mind to it. I am that addicted to the adrenaline rush of postponement. I am still that afraid of the jump.
I am not an artist.#section4
I am a creative. Not an artist. Though I dreamed, as a lad, of someday being that. Some of us belittle our gifts and dislike ourselves because we are not Michelangelos and Warhols. That is narcissism—but at least we aren’t in politics.
I am a creative. Though I believe in reason and science, I decide by intuition and impulse. And live with what follows—the catastrophes as well as the triumphs.
I am a creative. Every word I’ve said here will annoy other creatives, who see things differently. Ask two creatives a question, get three opinions. Our disagreement, our passion about it, and our commitment to our own truth are, at least to me, the proofs that we are creatives, no matter how we may feel about it.
I am a creative. I lament my lack of taste in the areas about which I know very little, which is to say almost all areas of human knowledge. And I trust my taste above all other things in the areas closest to my heart, or perhaps, more accurately, to my obsessions. Without my obsessions, I would probably have to spend my time looking life in the eye, and almost none of us can do that for long. Not honestly. Not really. Because much in life, if you really look at it, is unbearable.
I am a creative. I believe, as a parent believes, that when I am gone, some small good part of me will carry on in the mind of at least one other person.
Working saves me from worrying about work.#section5
I am a creative. I live in dread of my small gift suddenly going away.
I am a creative. I am too busy making the next thing to spend too much time deeply considering that almost nothing I make will come anywhere near the greatness I comically aspire to.
I am a creative. I believe in the ultimate mystery of process. I believe in it so much, I am even fool enough to publish an essay I dictated into a tiny machine and didn’t take time to review or revise. I won’t do this often, I promise. But I did it just now, because, as afraid as I might be of your seeing through my pitiful gestures toward the beautiful, I was even more afraid of forgetting what I came to say.
There. I think I’ve said it.
Heartfelt, vulnerable, humble, and brilliant—as only you can do. I love and appreciate this piece immensely—the Salieri metaphor is amazing.
Bravo 👏🏻
Beautifully stated, as always. Ties into a 2017 20/20 story I watched last night on genius, and question of “where creativity comes from?” And “what is creativity?” Mozart is one, you Jeffrey are another. And yes, I DO think of you as Miyazaki – because it is one thing to envision, but it is another thing entirely to execute. To create. You do both. And it is more than creativity (as you know) but the word captures the essence perfectly.
You made me cry on a Monday morning. Though to be fair, this is so achingly beautiful that I would have cried whenever I read it. Thank you for sharing your soul with the world. You make it a better place. <3
This is probably the most sincere article on creativity I have ever read. I appreciate you took the passing thoughts we call inspiration and wrapped them together in your writing, Jeffrey.
I’ll save the paragraph on ‘obsessions and how we look at life through our lens to resist’ to explain how I manage to live. Thanks for making it that clear to me.
High praise! Thank you, Henrique. I enjoyed checking out your personal site. Keep writing and designing! And thank you for sharing. – jeffrey
This is my favorite.
Just love it.
Such a great article, Jeffrey. This one stuck with me more than I care to admit:
> Some of us belittle our gifts and dislike ourselves because we are not Michelangelos and Warhols. That is narcissism (…)
Thank you for shining light in so many dark corners of my brain with a single article.
Love it, and it’s such a relief to hear that being a creative who works from intuition and impulsiveness is also ok, love it.
I can so relate to this
Perfect
Love it as it expresses all that designers feel and aspire for without the artist moniker. Being creative has no singular path but is divergent in seeking an end result.
Each and every person is creative 🙂
My favorite website is back! Great article
Fantastic! Always love that “Zeldman touch” on an article. It’s just the right mix of inspiration and acerbic wit. Thank you!
Thank you so much! Nice to hear from you, also.
YES. Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing what we are all thinking. 😉
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Thank you for sharing such a good knowledge. Writing is a skill and you need to be focused to work on it.
Adore it because it captures everything designers experience and aim for, beyond the label of an artist. Creativity doesn’t follow a single route but branches out in pursuit of a final outcome.
You nailed it.
Thank you, that’s kind of you, Eileen.
Absolutely. Thank you for opening up and expressing what we’ve all been considering. 🙂
I loved the story so much. Well explained.
I would definitely recommend it.
After reading this, I feel reinvigorated and ready to tackle my next project with renewed passion and perspective. Here’s to all the creatives out there – we’ve got this!
I think am also creative because of your article i will approve myself.
Good article it will help people
Thanks to this article I can learn more. Expand my knowledge and abilities. Actually the article is very real.
It was a very nice article, thank you
You got this right.
great work
Thank you for posting this article, loved reading it.
Thanks for sharing informative content.
wonderful Blog post you have here
It’s really an Impressive post.
Thanks for this blog. i really enjoy it.
Thanks
I can definately relate to this!
Especially ”It’s just that, before I work 10 times as fast as they do, I spend twice as long as they do putting the work off.”
ha ha ha I’m a pro at being last minute larry!
Wow! What a thought—it captures exactly how I feel about creativity. I stumbled on it through some old bookmarks while trying to rekindle my reading habit, and what a perfect time to rediscover it in 2025.
Thank you so much for the informative and interesting post. HMFusa
It hit me in exactly the most painful part of my core – the part that is hushed and remains masked – through most of the years (more so with every passing year) – in order to allow me to assimilate, be, survive, within the industry. So many around expect me (us) to be boxed into what they define as process, with it’s clear documents to show for. But truth is that process is for those who need it. I always remember I don’t need it. What I need is juices that get my guts gong, and my guts know who to take it from there – It yields from within. You poetically reminded me to stay to true to myself. I love you for it.
Jeffrey Zeldman’s article, “I Am a Creative,” deeply resonated with me. His portrayal of creativity as an unpredictable force—emerging during mundane tasks or vanishing upon waking—captures the elusive nature of inspiration. Zeldman’s acknowledgment of the frustrations inherent in the creative process, where hours of effort may yield minimal results, is both honest and comforting. His emphasis on embracing obsessions as a means to navigate life’s complexities offers a profound insight into the role of passion in creative work. This piece serves as a poignant reminder that creativity is not a linear process but a journey filled with uncertainties, requiring patience and self-trust.
Your words beautifully capture the essence of true creativity — something beyond logic, flowing through rather than from us. That ‘alchemy’ is what makes art feel timeless and powerful. Thank you for expressing what so many of us feel but struggle to put into words.
For creativity, I believe, comes from that other world. The one we enter in dreams, and perhaps, before birth and after death. But that’s for wordpress website development poets to wonder, and I am not a poet. I am a creative.
For creativity, I believe, comes from that other world. The one we enter in dreams, and perhaps, before birth and after death. But beyondnews852 poets to wonder, and I am not a poet. I am a creative.
For creativity, I believe, comes from that other world. The one we enter in dreams, and perhaps, before birth and after death. But Heatalk poets to wonder, and I am not a poet. I am a creative.
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The way you describe deadlines as an Indiana Jones adventure is perfect. That adrenaline rush of waiting too long, then producing something brilliant at the last moment, is an experience I know all too well. It’s equal parts thrilling and terrifying, but somehow, it always works out. I think many of us creatives secretly thrive on that chaos, even while we complain about it.
Your distinction between being a creative and being an artist really resonated with me. There’s often pressure to live up to the “artist” label, but creativity has many forms and contexts. Sometimes it’s inventing something profound, other times it’s writing a simple jingle or solving a design problem. Both are valid. This essay is a good reminder not to diminish the everyday creative acts we produce.
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