Surprise Me
One of my favorite things is to talk with someone about a project -- it could be an article or a design -- and give them very specific concepts or ideas, only to get something completely different in response.
It's happened to me numerous times. I might wax on with a writer about where I see a specific profile going. Or I might chat with a designer and give them my thoughts on how I think something could be visualized.
Thing is, I often like their ideas better, and that's the most rewarding thing about the creative process.
Such was the case with my "conversation" (mediated through his agent) with illustrator Federico Gastaldi. I told him about our magazine's cover story, wrote down my concepts, and sent him some images. Soon afterward, he sent back his drafts. The first three pretty much followed my creative instructions, and they were very good, but not unusual. The fourth--his idea--was a beauty. Our lead article for the summer issue was about how Cal Maritime is replacing its dated training ship with a new, state-of-the-art vessel. See above for Gastaldi's "reflected" version, so clearly the best choice for our cover. It also drove our cover copy.
