{"id":1262,"date":"2017-01-05T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/"},"modified":"2022-08-17T15:18:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T19:18:54","slug":"young-architect-guide-the-creative-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bob Borson is creator of the famous Life of an Architect<\/a> blog, a Texas-based architect at Malone Maxwell Borson Architects<\/a> and an indispensable guide to professional practice. We are pleased to present a selection of his posts on Architizer, each one providing amazing insight into the complex process that goes into all great architecture.<\/em><\/p>\n

People frequently ask, \u201cWhere does the inspiration come from during your creative process?\u201d \u2026 enough so that I thought I would try to answer that question in the form of a post. When I\u2019m staring at a blank piece of paper, how do I start? Where do I get my inspiration?<\/p>\n

To answer a question about creativity, I think most people need to take a step back and think about their creative process. Most people tend to focus on the \u201ccreative\u201d part of the equation when they really should be focusing on the \u201cprocess\u201d part. It is a process \u2014 it takes time, and despite the fact that legendary Finnish architect Alvar Aalto said \u201cYou can\u2019t chew pencils and spit ideas,\u201d being creative is work and you shouldn\u2019t expect to sit down and be struck with genius \u2026 at least not all the time.<\/p>\n

I tend to break my own creative process into three different and distinct categories:<\/p>\n

Distraction<\/b>noun<\/i> di-\u02c8strak-sh\u0259n : something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention : something that amuses or entertains you so that you do not think about problems, work, etc.<\/p>\n

Inspiration<\/b>noun<\/i> in(t)-sp\u0259-\u02c8r\u0101-sh\u0259n : something that makes someone want to do something or that gives someone an idea about what to do or create : a force or influence that inspires someone<\/p>\n

Creation<\/b>noun<\/i> kr\u0113-\u02c8\u0101-sh\u0259n : the act of making or producing something that did not exist before : the act of creating something<\/p>\n

Pretty straightforward, but I don\u2019t really know which one to use when the ideas aren\u2019t flowing \u2026 so let\u2019s start with the easiest one, \u201cDistraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Throwing pencils into the ceiling is about as juvenile as distractions come, but it seems to work for me. I\u2019ll never have that big of a pencil collection stabbed into the ceiling because I like my pencils too much \u2026 I eventually go and retrieve them before too long.<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

This is Cubebot<\/a>, and it is one of the few toys I have around my work space. Cubebot came into existence when I bought him for an office gift exchange, and I recommended to one of my office mates that he should select my present \u2014 thinking he would like it. Despite his initial trepidation, he took the gift and Cubebot immediately came to live up at the office. Eventually I had to buy my own Cubebot because my friend HATED when he would come into the office and find that \u201csomeone\u201d had messed with HIS Cubebot. The bottom-right-hand picture is what I found one day when I came into the office [sad face]. Someone was tired of my antics.<\/p>\n

It was a great distraction while it lasted. Next, let\u2019s move on to \u201cInspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

Seeing something that you like, and then taking the time to understand why you like it, is a very rewarding process that frequently affects the way you ultimately see a thing. There is no shortage of books and magazines in my office \u2014 and I am deluged with new design magazines and trade periodicals daily. While the information is sometimes outdated by the time I see it, the process of critically looking at what other designers are doing is very inspirational.<\/p>\n

Finally there is \u201cCreation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n\n

There is a story behind why I started Life of an Architect<\/a> \u2014 and it is summarized by saying I needed a creative diversion. In the beginning \u2014 back in early 2010 \u2014 things were somewhat slow at the office and I needed a creative outlet \u2026 and Life of an Architect was born. I am constantly amazed by the amount of effort required to maintain this site. Just coming up with the topics is a challenge in and of itself, but the real challenge is how I have had to learn a million new things in order to fill out some idea of concept for an article and then execute it in a way that reflects the point I am trying to convey and still maintains some \u201cBob personality\u201d along with it. Maybe it doesn\u2019t sound hard, but it is \u2014 at least it\u2019s hard for me.<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, this site had existed a total of 1,396 days \u2014 that\u2019s almost four years \u2014 and I have written 551 articles, prepared 4,359 images and graphics and made three terrible videos [as of January 2017, the site is now seven years old, with many more articles]. They aren\u2019t all winners, but I had to start with a blank screen when I created each one. This sometimes<\/del> involved research, teaching myself new skills \u2026 and most importantly, it forced me to evaluate why I think about something the way I do so I could try to explain my position\/reasoning to others. At times it feels like the worst kind of homework (the \u201cvoluntary\u201d kind), but even four years later, it still fills a creative void. On Life of an Architect, I can do whatever I decide to do; I can explore my own interests and I can chase any rabbit I want down the rabbit hole.<\/p>\n

The very definition of creativity is the act of making or producing something that did not exist before \u2014 I can\u2019t think of an example easier to point at than my site. If you ever wanted a reason why you should start your own website \u2014 for professional or personal reasons \u2014 if you\u2019re an architect, there only needs to be one reason: creativity.<\/p>\n

So that\u2019s a look at my own creative process \u2014 or at least how I jump-start my creative process. Sometimes it means not doing anything, while at other times, it means that the act of constantly trying to be creative actually helps me when I need to be<\/i> creative.<\/p>\n

Cheers,<\/p>\n

Bob<\/i><\/p>\n

Enjoy this article? Check out more of our Young Architect Guides:<\/i><\/p>\n

Architectural Sketching<\/a><\/p>\n

The 7 Secrets to Happy Interning<\/a><\/p>\n

7 Tips for Getting Hired After Graduation<\/a><\/p>\n

Building Great Architecture Models<\/a><\/p>\n

Architectural Redlines<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Lies Told About the Profession You Must Ignore<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Convince Your Audience With a Powerful Project Narrative<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Write About Architecture<\/a><\/p>\n

5 Specifying Tips for First-Time Architects<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite the fact that Alvar Aalto said \u201cYou can\u2019t chew pencils and spit ideas,\u201d being creative is work, and you shouldn\u2019t expect to sit down and be struck with genius.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1886219","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[19,28701],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-1262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-details","category-practice","tag-guide","tag-young-architect-guide"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYoung Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect - Architizer Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite the fact that Alvar Aalto said \u201cYou can\u2019t chew pencils and spit ideas,\u201d being creative is work, and you shouldn\u2019t expect to sit down and be struck with genius.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-05T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-17T19:18:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bob Borson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Architizer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Architizer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bob Borson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Bob Borson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6a3bedf88f6a65e086c6b01e232a5161\"},\"headline\":\"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-05T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-17T19:18:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\"},\"wordCount\":1093,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Guide\",\"Young Architect Guide\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Details\",\"Practice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\",\"name\":\"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect - Architizer Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-05T14:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-17T19:18:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Journal\",\"description\":\"Inspiration and Tools for Architects\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Architizer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png\",\"width\":36,\"height\":36,\"caption\":\"Architizer\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Architizer\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/architizer\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Architizer\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6a3bedf88f6a65e086c6b01e232a5161\",\"name\":\"Bob Borson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c36b395d2ad63fc48d91a087e4c1c8956f310ea0fd1f48c602308a9564ecd7b?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c36b395d2ad63fc48d91a087e4c1c8956f310ea0fd1f48c602308a9564ecd7b?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bob Borson\"},\"description\":\"Bob Borson is creator of the famous Life of an Architect blog, a Texas-based architect at Malone Maxwell Borson Architects and an indispensable guide to professional practice.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/author\/bob-borson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect - Architizer Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect - Architizer Journal","og_description":"Despite the fact that Alvar Aalto said \u201cYou can\u2019t chew pencils and spit ideas,\u201d being creative is work, and you shouldn\u2019t expect to sit down and be struck with genius.","og_url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/","og_site_name":"Journal","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/","article_published_time":"2017-01-05T14:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-17T19:18:54+00:00","author":"Bob Borson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Architizer","twitter_site":"@Architizer","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bob Borson","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/"},"author":{"name":"Bob Borson","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6a3bedf88f6a65e086c6b01e232a5161"},"headline":"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect","datePublished":"2017-01-05T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-17T19:18:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/"},"wordCount":1093,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Guide","Young Architect Guide"],"articleSection":["Details","Practice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/","name":"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect - Architizer Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-01-05T14:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-17T19:18:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/practice\/details\/young-architect-guide-the-creative-process\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Young Architect Guide: The Creative Process of an Architect"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/","name":"Journal","description":"Inspiration and Tools for Architects","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Architizer","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/favicon.df2618023937.png","width":36,"height":36,"caption":"Architizer"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Architizer\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Architizer","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/architizer\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/architizer\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/architizer\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Architizer"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6a3bedf88f6a65e086c6b01e232a5161","name":"Bob Borson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c36b395d2ad63fc48d91a087e4c1c8956f310ea0fd1f48c602308a9564ecd7b?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6c36b395d2ad63fc48d91a087e4c1c8956f310ea0fd1f48c602308a9564ecd7b?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.architizer.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Flogo-600x600-1.jpg&r=g","caption":"Bob Borson"},"description":"Bob Borson is creator of the famous Life of an Architect blog, a Texas-based architect at Malone Maxwell Borson Architects and an indispensable guide to professional practice.","url":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/author\/bob-borson\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_project","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_project?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_brand?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_firm","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_firm?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"architizer_product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/architizer_product?post=1262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}