The 80% Idea.

Speaking to Fast Company, Cofounder and Creative Director Masashi Kawamura of the ad agency Party, observed that a "great idea to pitch is one that's only 80% there. We love to have that 20 extra space. It's a good space."

Kawamura says the 100% idea in your head "only gets smaller from there."

That's a liberating way to think about creativity: that it doesn't have to arrive fully formed.

How NOT to Design a Logo.

Although I am best known for my writing skills, I have also honed a critical design eye over the years.

I regularly receive compliments for my own logo, Writesquared, which was designed by the talented Stephen Walker. Check it out: http://writesquared.com/.

If you need to develop a logo, I have three easy-to-follow pieces of advice which can streamline the process, saving you time and money and yielding a better result:

* Don't go with your gut.  Hire--and then trust--a qualified design professional.

* Don't over assess.  When it comes to design, everyone and their brother is a so-called expert. Don't try to include all this input in the decision-making process or you end up with schlock.

*  Don't be a copycat. Nike, GM and Apple all have memorable logos. You are not any of those companies. Create your own editorial and design footprint.

Creativity & Drudgery Are Not Mutually Exclusive.

Do creatives balk at rules?  Does it matter?

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201111/stan-richards-unique-management-style_pagen_2.html 

Big Mouthing.

On a recent episode of the ABC TV show Cougar Town, Courtney Cox's character Jules admonished one of her friends not to "big mouth her."

Big mouthing in her world means using an obscure word when a familiar one will do.

On a recnet hike at Pinnacle Peak, I big mouthed a ranger. He and his colleague needled me about "talking fancy."

I've written before about the danger of using $10 words when $5 ones will suffice.

So, let this serve as a reminder: in life as in art, the lesson is to check your big fancy mouth--most of the time.

More Cool Words.

Time to hit the dictionary:
Delirium
Romp
Sanguine
Intractable
Volupine

Act, Learn, Refine. Repeat.

In the book Now, Discover Your Strengths, authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton advocate building strengths, not correcting weaknesses.

In doing so, you'll make great progress, but you'll sometimes slip.

The process is simple:  act, learn, refine. Act, learn, refine.They call it the essence of strong living.

Carl Jung captured this spirit, "Fidelity to the law of your own being is...an act of high courage flung in the face of life."

The book is focused on work-related success, but the mantra applies to all of life.

So, here's to stumbling with grace.

http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-Strengths-Marcus-Buckingham/dp/0743201140/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336754514&sr=8-1

Word Nerds.

You might be a word nerd if:

* You own a word-a-day calender
* You're on a first name basis with a librarian
* You buy books of poetry
* You own a Knidle or Nook
* You were a high school debator
* You correct your friends' grammar
* You once won a spelling bee