An interesting article, ‘On Creativity‘ by Andy Rutledge, was just posted on A List Apart.

I’m at odds with the word “creative” being used to describe what I do. In fact, ‘Creative Designer’ is my current job title. At best, the creativity is bridled by company wishes, company branding, and other limitations.

In good design, form follows function. Creativity is bridled from the outset, as visual output is dictated by utility. In web design in particular, there are many conventions for what a good looking website looks like; and the code itself is dictated by standards and conventions.

Graphic design is ruled by convention, not creativity. This is especially true for typography and book design — people like to read words set in a typeface which doesn’t distract from the text, because the eye is accustomed to reading from certain letter and word shapes. The most readable text is set in a typeface that is familiar to us, in a line-length familiar to us, in a point size familiar to us.

Perhaps there is a less obvious sort of creativity at work in the design industry. A process of idea generation, and a process of exploring solutions. Real creativity in anything is a challenge, but I think a small variation on an established model can make a huge and meaningful difference.