The Spark and the Drift

The spark is something every designer remembers. That instant when creating something was magic — sketching in the margins, reordering shapes until they clicked, losing hours to color and shape. It wasn’t about tools or clients or trends. It was about curiosity. About building something that just did not exist a moment prior.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” — Pablo Picasso

But between passion and profession that spark can start to wane. The thrill of discovery becomes the chore of delivery. The work gets done, but something crucial — something living — begins to fade.

The Creative Drift

This goes on to show that loss of passion does not happen in one moment. It’s gradual. Deadlines stack up, feedback loops become tight, creative choices are filtered through layers of approval. Little by little, instinct gives way to efficiency.

We stop experimenting because doing so feels risky. We stop questioning because it slows everything down. We design to please instead of provoke.

“To design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master.” — Milton Glaser

But clarity does not come from control alone — clarity comes from care. This is the lesson I take from remembering that design is more than problem solving: it is meaning-making.

Remembering the Why

And every creative path starts out with a “why.” For some, it’s storytelling. For others, it’s beauty, protest, or order. Over time, that purpose fades beneath briefs, revisions, and results. But it’s still there, waiting to be rediscovered.

Restoring the original impulse changes everything. It restores play. It restores courage. Design in fact asks you not just how things look, but why they are there.

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.” — Steve Jobs

Reigniting the Spark

But if passion fades when not nurtured, then the antidote is straightforward: feed it. Explore outside your comfort zone. Learn something unrelated to design. Work with people who view the world differently. And most importantly: make something that doesn’t have to sell, perform, or impress.

Not because passion is self-sustaining. It’s self-renewing. If given attention, time, and permission to be imperfect, it grows.

“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” — Bruce Garrabrandt

Design started out with curiosity — not obedience. The spark never disappears. It just needs air.