Designing With Distractions
“To choose art means to turn one’s back on the world, or at least on certain of its distractions.” Melvin Maddocks
Designing with distractions.
Maybe this doesn’t only apply to freelance designers and illustrators. I think it’s probably a conundrum that faces people in every walk of life, particularly as they progress through student years. The topic of distractions vs. comfortable background noise. Bear in mind when I speak of Background noise to a designer, I’m not simply talking about some music playing as you work, I mean everything. Tunes, design-related visuals, even videos streaming in your browser, (only half–hidden by an active Photoshop window.) Basically the question that I want to pose is, when does it shift from having inspiring material fuelling your creativity, to just a distraction keeping you from your full productivity. Where do we draw the line?
The truth is that we can utilise this background noise for different reasons in different professions. One fact that I found interesting was that most surgeons now find it very difficult to operate without some form of background music, in fact I’ve heard it said by medical professionals I know, that these days a CD player is one of the most vital pieces of equipment in an OR as it prevents the surgeons from being tense, and jittery. And hearing this, got me thinking, I actually do find silence quite oppressive when I’m working, maybe it’s being a product of the iPod generation that background music or visuals go arm in arm with creativity.
With this in mind though, it’s difficult when you are working freelance, because so much of your productivity depends on you being self-disciplined enough to know where the line should be. Where in an office you can have the boundaries set for you, when you’re privileged enough to work from home, it can be harder to come up with black and white rules as to what distractions are acceptable. I want to leave this question open and appeal for comments on the issue, partly because I’d be interested to see where everyone else draws their lines…but mostly because it’s a question that’s hard to come down with any definitive answer, (particularly if like me, you’ve got a Youtube video playing in the background distracting you)
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Designing With Distractions
Designing with distractions.
Maybe this doesn’t only apply to freelance designers and illustrators. I think it’s probably a conundrum that faces people in every walk of life, particularly as they progress through student years. The topic of distractions vs. comfortable background noise. Bear in mind when I speak of Background noise to a designer, I’m not simply talking about some music playing as you work, I mean everything. Tunes, design-related visuals, even videos streaming in your browser, (only half–hidden by an active Photoshop window.) Basically the question that I want to pose is, when does it shift from having inspiring material fuelling your creativity, to just a distraction keeping you from your full productivity. Where do we draw the line?
The truth is that we can utilise this background noise for different reasons in different professions. One fact that I found interesting was that most surgeons now find it very difficult to operate without some form of background music, in fact I’ve heard it said by medical professionals I know, that these days a CD player is one of the most vital pieces of equipment in an OR as it prevents the surgeons from being tense, and jittery. And hearing this, got me thinking, I actually do find silence quite oppressive when I’m working, maybe it’s being a product of the iPod generation that background music or visuals go arm in arm with creativity.
With this in mind though, it’s difficult when you are working freelance, because so much of your productivity depends on you being self-disciplined enough to know where the line should be. Where in an office you can have the boundaries set for you, when you’re privileged enough to work from home, it can be harder to come up with black and white rules as to what distractions are acceptable. I want to leave this question open and appeal for comments on the issue, partly because I’d be interested to see where everyone else draws their lines…but mostly because it’s a question that’s hard to come down with any definitive answer, (particularly if like me, you’ve got a Youtube video playing in the background distracting you)
Related Posts: