The other day I struck gold in a charity shop. There on the shelf sat a large box, clearly of 90’s design, boldly proclaiming its contents of 100,100 design and media assets. Spread across 9 CDs was a vast library of vectors, images, videos, sound, fonts and more!
The box contained 3 thick books that showcased all of the content with relevant file names and locations. All grouped by categories and well indexed. I didn’t even need to turn on my computer in order to be inspired. Flicking through these books I could see graphics and fonts that I could easily use in projects today.
What a fantastic opportunity to own my own office library of creative assets, royalty free and ready to use in formats still supported today nearly 30 years after it was produced.
I am aware that I can browse countless online resources and search for assets for my latest project but there is a catch. They require either an individual purchase of the asset or a subscription. Plus I have to “go online” to find things. Whilst not against the internet I am trying to reduce my reliance on it. My career has had me practically online daily for 20 years. Once online to search these design resource websites my undiagnosed ADHD brain gets far too easily distracted and before long I am checking email and working on other projects bar the one I should be focused on.
Sitting offline with these books and corresponding CDs of content is a breath of fresh air! I am physically engrossed in my research, and the joy of exploration and finding hidden treasures from the past that can be used today is near impossible to reproduce online.
Books? Indexes? That’s crazy right? How could that be as efficient as searching an online database? Well, they didn’t stop at books. The CDs are loaded with a perfectly adequate software package to browse and search all CDs for the content I need. Looking for a landscape? Type into the search box and away you go!
Ok, so I have to run that software in a Windows 95 VM but what’s not to love about one of the most impactful operating systems ever? The simplicity and complete lack of distractions are a pleasure to experience once again.
“OK”, you might say, “But 100,000 assets is nothing compared to millions online, not to mention these are 30+ years old and are surely no longer relevant“.
Great points but I believe that real creativity is unlocked with limitations. I have to be far more intentional with my offline library and consider new and creative ways to repurpose its content.
Where is the joy if I can quickly knock together a design or document online with minimal creative input from myself as I found 90% of the elements done for me? Sure on a productivity and speed trajectory, that is great if you need to do something quickly that is good enough. But if you want to spend time and be creatively challenged, whilst feeling proud of the finished product, I would argue that enforcing limitations to the creative process really unlocks your imagination.
No AI was used to write this post. Just me, and my messy handwriting! 🙂
Featured image by Nikita Zaitsev on Unsplash