Strategy – Brave Enough to be Different

“Puppets” by Andrea Haslam. Forever seared into my mind and emotions. 

Puppets are wonderful things for children and adults alike, but at the age of 18 they became a nightmare for me. Way back then, I was asked to design a poster to promote a book.  It was for my Year 12 Art Exam (“A” Level in the UK).  I did my best.  And as they say the rest is history.

Thirty years plus later, I unearthed my art portfolio from that time and found a few gems.

It’s a screen print.  Put ink onto a screen and squeegee to print through a prepared design.  It’s a tricky process to get the design right.  Creativity.  Drawing.  Wax paper.  Tracing.  Cutting.  Ironing! The design is the most important part.

My chosen submission must have been one of these. Exhibit A or B.  I am unsure which exactly.  In 1983, to my untrained, unaware, uncertain eye I made the right choice.

However, thirty years plus later and to my more mature eye, I feel that they are bland, plain and BORING!

To my short-sighted, older eye, I would have made a braver, more challenging choice. The best version was a screen print, which I made as I was cleaning up.  But my younger eye, did not see it as valuable and ignored it.

You decide. Compare and contrast.

Now I am brave enough to be different.

I would have gone with Exhibit C. It’s more complex, not so obvious and sets the mind thinking WTF! But… would that have gained me a pass grade? We can only speculate.

When you are making your choices… do you go for safe or a little bit out there, risky and challenging?